Braadri Orchestra makes a stunning debut with 'Karma Walay'

There's been growing anticipation for musician Hamza Jafri's new project, Braadri Broadcast, a compilation of 10 fusion tracks featuring 15 artistes from all over Pakistan.

After a launch event on Monday night, Braadri Orchestra's first single was released online. 'Karma Walay' tells us exactly what to expect from the eastern traditional ensemble.

The six-minute offering, featuring vocals by Sarfraz Ali, Akram Khan and Zarnab Rashid and lyrics by Tauqeer Chugtai, is a fusion of Punjabi folk and Urdu ghazal.

In an earlier interview with Images, Hamza said, "There is all this East-West fusion music happening, but no cross-ethnic fusion. Pakistan has such rich musical traditions from its provinces. It would be amazing to create a fusion between them, such as mixing Punjabi folk with Balochi, Sindhi with Urdu, Pashto with Shina, and so on.”

Hamza will release the rest of Braadri Orchestra's 10 original tracks through the course of the next year.

The main composer and music director for the project is Akram Raja, the videos have been produced by Rola, audio recorded by Bilal Nasir Khan and costumes designed by Yousuf Bashir Qureshi. Hamza’s bandmember from Co-VEN and Coke Studio percussionist Sikandar Mufti is the tech head and creative associate. And Hamza’s wife, theatre director Nida Butt with whom he’s collaborated on her musical productions, is the creative director of the project.