hat happens when three individuals – each with a skill set unique to them – come together for a song in earnest fashion? You already know the answer. But, for the sake of this piece, let me reiterate. The answer is: something beautiful.

Such is the case with ‘Tere Baajo’, a captivating new song by Turhan James ft. Abdullah Kasumbi and Umair Chughtai, better known as ‘izzchughtai’.

First, there is the audio. Sung with a great deal of emotion and range, you do not need to understand each and every word to know that it’s a memorable song that must be saved in a playlist that you revisit regularly.

In a planet that is designed by new releases, found on any digital streaming platform (and there are quite a few of them), here is a song that is not pretentious, over-the-top or excessively long.

With a running time of three minutes and 12 seconds, as you hear the song, you will realize that ‘Tere Baajo’ is very addictive and speaks of what it means to be without the beloved and what it feels like to miss their presence. It is not a song about social justice, but not every song needs to wear that apparel.

Produced by Turhan James (who is very selective) and Abdullah Kasumbi (who has enough songs on his musical roster for us to hear every song with his credit at least once), it shows the growing power of izzchughtai who has written and sung the song.

With crisp production, the effort here is not to overproduce. And so ‘Tere Baajo’ has a soul that is obvious and veers between raw and sincere. Even though all three artists are well-known to fans as well as within the music scene, what they’ve crafted is an original song that emerges like an unexpected surprise (if you like surprises) or an unexpected delivery as you scroll through music streaming sites just to see what has been released relatively recently before moving on.

Add to its lyrical and vocal achievement, the swirling opening followed by a catchy melody coated in an electronic soundscape, it is easy to see why it is so appealing from the moment you hear it.

It can work in a club setting and it can work if you’re simply walking under a night-sky and listening to music.

The music video is simple, visual enrichment. Directed by Ahsan Khalid, it has a minimalist character as we find James and izzchughtai in the same quiet street. But the shots also include an old-school interior that has an artistic aesthetic to it. One minute, izzchugtai is painting in a room that has drawings and paintings on the wall, and furniture that is not trying to be cool or straight out of a magazine, but makes you think of a time gone by and the architecture that has fled with it. It all blends together beautifully.

All three should take a bow because they’ve given us a song that is raw, real, and living in the present while evoking emotions like love and longing, minus unnecessary, trendy trimmings. It is a song that makes it clear that electronic music has many layers and ideas and here instead of throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks, there is a clear idea that drives the music.

With crisp production, the effort here is not to overproduce. And so ‘Tere Baajo’ has a soul that is obvious and veers between raw and sincere. Even though all three artists are well-known to fans as well as within the music scene, what they’ve crafted is an original song that emerges like an unexpected surprise.