Tabeer (album)

After leaving the band Fuzön in 2006, Ali chose to concentrate on his solo career as a vocalist. Based on folk and Sufi works, his first solo album Tabeer was commissioned and released by the Music Today label in September 2008. The album was also released by Fire Records in Pakistan as their mega Eid release. Tabeer was recorded, mixed and mastered in Pakistan by Shani Haider[5] at Couple of Good Studios. Rohail Hyatt, the co-creator of Coke Studio, was initially roped in to produce the album but was not ultimately able to work on it.[6]

Ali has stated that Tabeer was "a very personal piece of work" for him[7] and that the album was about establishing his own distinct identity as a vocalist, saying: "these were the songs that I always thought I'd do someday, and when I was approached by the Indian record label Music Today, I thought I'd sing those songs."[6] Several songs in the album have noticeably spiritual overtones, and Ali describes the album as having "soulful music with some Sufi elements."[4] He further stated that his goal was to experiment "...with the contemporary way of music, a mix of earthy and traditional tones, to give music lovers something fresh."[8] Ali has also shared that he ended up removing some of the songs he originally wrote and composed for Tabeer because they were thematically "very dark"[6] and hence not commercially viable at the time.

The album has strong Sufi overtones and features three noteworthy Sufi tracks – Rang Le, Dum Ali Ali Dum, and Bulleh Shah. Rang Le is based on the well-known Sufi devotional song, Mohe Apne Hi Rang Mein Rang De, written by Amir Khusrau as a supplication to his spiritual guide, the Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya, beseeching him to dye Khusrao in the colours of divine love. The theme of immersive colours, dyes, and hues is a prominent motif in Sufi poetry and imagery and symbolizes union and oneness between the seeker and God (as The Beloved).[9] Ali infused jazz improvisations into his arrangement of this track. Ali wrote and composed Dum Ali Ali Dum as a variation of the popular 600-year-old qawwali, Dama Dam Mast Qalandar, originally written by Amir Khusrau and modified further in the 18th century by poet and philosopher Bulleh Shah.[10] The song Bulleh Shah is based on the Sufi devotional Kafi Aao Saiyo Ral Deo Ni Wadhai written by Bulleh Shah where he celebrates the ecstasy of finally finding his spiritual master in Shah Inayat Qadiri. Ali chose to name the song after its writer. He also performed a version of this song for Season 2 of MTV Unplugged in 2012.

For "Khaireyan De Naal", Ali borrowed the primary chorus line from Tufail Niazi's folk song of the same name[11] and wrote and composed the song around it.[6] Rohi is a Kafi originally sung by Zahida Parveen, but Ali altered the composition significantly, affording it a more contemporary style.[12] Pagalpan is inspired by Sindhi folk music.[6]

Most tracks are written, composed and arranged by Shafqat Amanat Ali. "Naina" is composed by Shani Haider. The track "Tu Hi Tu Hai" was initially released as part of Zubeen Garg's debut (compilation) album, Zindagi,[13] in 2007 but was later re-released as part of Tabeer.

1. "Khaireyan De Naal"
2. "Naina"
3. "Dum Ali Ali Dum"
4. "Rang Le"
5. "Bulleh Shah"
6. "Pagalpan"
7. "Rohi"
8. "Kartar (Darbari)"
9. "Manqabat (Ya Ali)"
10. "Tu Hi Tu Hai"

• Saagar
• Kyun Dooriyan
• Muh Dikhai