“It’s times like these you learn to live again
It’s times like these you give and give again
It’s times like these you learn to love again…”

Music producer, guitarist, member of music group Mizmaar and owner of Dream Station Productions studio, Kashan Admani is undeniably working towards goals that bring the music industry together.

He started Acoustic Station, an online platform that invited artists to come and perform in an acoustic setup. It has gone on to feature a number of diverse artists such as Chand Tara Orchestra, Maha Ali Kazmi, Kashmir, Natasha Baig and several others. As Kashan confirmed to Instep earlier, he plans to do a second series as well.

Due to the emergence of COVID-19 and rising number of active cases, it remains to be seen just when the second season begins. But as the season of fear and anxiety sets in with no clear solution in sight, Kashan has begun work on a global collaboration. He notes that it is the first of its kind, since artists from seven different countries have never come together for one song. The single is called ‘We Are One/Aae Khuda’.

As the music producer noted, among international artists who will feature on the song include Grammy Award winning violinist Charlie Bisharat, Grammy nominee and legendary drummer Simon Philips, Indian act Euphoria’s front-man, Dr. Palash Sen, Brazilian singer-songwriter, actress and dancer Luiza Prochet, Russian multi-award winning jazz fusion guitarist, composer and record producer Roman Mironshinoke, bass player Stu Hamm, British singer-songwriter Lili Caseley and percussionist Gumbi Ortiz of Al Di Meola Band.

A total of 40 musicians will feature on the single that has been produced by Kashan Admani.

Artists who are featured from Pakistan include Najam Sheraz, Bilal Ali (Kashmir), Faakhir, Natasha Baig, Amir Azhar, Ahsan Bari (Sounds of Kolachi/solo), Natasha Khan, Farhad Humayun (Overload), Matt Laurent, Asad Rasheed (Mizmaar), Maha Ali Kazmi, Raafay Israr, Farooq Ahmed (Aaroh), Ali Khan, Dino Ali, Salwa Najam, Omran Shafique, Babar Sheikh, Imran Akhoond, Khaled Anam, Nida Hussain, Faisal Malik, Nazia Zuberi (Rushk), Meraal Hassan, Alex Shahbaz, Ashir Wajahat, Fahad Ahmed, Ammar Khaled, Eahab Akhtar and Sabir Zafar.

To be released this weekend, Instep asked Kashan Admani why he felt he needed to undertake such a massive collaboration.

“As a music producer and composer, I feel it’s my responsibility to address issues that concern humanity!,” began Kashan. “Covid- 19 has affected us all in ways we couldn’t have imagined! We are all suffering collectively in one way or the other.”

“Hence, it struck my mind that we need to give each other a lot of support to get through this calamity. The best way I could think of was to play my part in bringing musicians from all over the world together and make a song that will inspire everyone and give hope to everyone. To send out the message that humanity is united in fighting this pandemic! We shall get through this collectively. That’s all I intended to do and I am extremely glad and honored that some of the biggest names in the global music scene agreed to come onboard and we have been able to create history! A global collaboration of this level has never happened where artists from seven different countries collaborated on a song.”

He further reiterated, “I am doing this to show everyone that humanity is united in this time of a global crisis. All the artists involved in ‘We Are One/Aae Khuda’ believe in global unity to fight the pandemic.”

The one complicated part is featuring Euphoria’s Dr. Palash Sen, particularly since Indian artists are banned from working with their Pakistani counterparts according to across-the-border rules. It may apply to Bollywood much more so than independent acts, but it does make one wonder whether the single release will create a climate of intolerable cruelty for Palash Sen.

Discussing his rationale for saying yes to this very unique collaboration, Palash Sen told Instep what motivated him. “As a doctor, I heal both ways – with my medicine and my music,” began Dr. Palash Sen. “My bro Kashan (Admani) has given me a great opportunity to heal this world with a song he has created and we are all featured on it. It’s beautiful for me to be singing for my brother. I love Kashan very, very much; he and I are connected on another level, which has nothing to do with the fact that he’s from Pakistan and I am from India. We are connected on a humanitarian level; two brothers who respect and love each other. More power to my brother.”

Palash Sen carried on, “Kashan is one of the most phenomenal musicians I’ve known and I hope he keeps doing what he’s doing and does it the way he does it.

“Also, the fact that he’s been able to get such a huge ensemble of great artists on the song and I’m so proud to be with Stu Hamm, Simon Philips, Faakhir, Najam Sheraz, and everybody like Farhad Humayun and Natasha Baig, everyone who is on this song. I’m just so, so grateful representing my country being the only one from India.

“This is a huge honour and I just love being on this song and I hope people hear the message and the message is that we all have to be caring towards one another. There needs to be world peace; there has to be brotherhood, friendship, love and we have to follow the way of God and God will show us the way.

We put our faith in Him/Her so I think it’s also very important that we all as people and as citizens of the world start thinking about what this world is all about and start caring a little bit more about the environment, about the flora and the fauna, about animals and stop caring so much about ourselves so much. I feel man is a very selfish and greedy organism. Once this calamity ends, people need to take stock of how this world needs to be handled and what we have done to it. Yes, we are one as the song says and I do feel we are one; this entire world is one right now like a global village but I hope things get okay very, very soon and more than that, we as a people get okay. I’m not talking about the disease; I’m talking about us as people. How man treated this earth is how earth will treat man. I really feel that way so I hope and pray that we come out of this stronger and as better people with little more love, little more friendship and caring in our hearts. If coronavirus fixes us as people, the world will be a much more beautiful place.”

Look out for the song, ‘We Are One/Aae Khuda’. This is history in the making as far as collaborations between Pakistani and international artistes go.