Dawn Images

Haniya Aslam has released a new track she refers to as her 'minstrel song.'

The singer - known as one half of popular duo Zeb and Haniya - released 'Ayi Re' which she had been working on for quite some time. The song comes with an animated music video that makes us wish we could pack up a bag and see the world.

The soft has a soft melody which you can't help but enjoy and find soothing. Haniya's vocals add to the whimsical touch to the song. Just the kind of music we needed, although we hate we can't travel at the moment. Thanks Covid-19.

When sharing the song Haniya had said, "It's a result of two decades of following the call of music and letting it take me wherever. Countless journeys, drives, flights, cities, friendships later I've returned home, but the adventure is far from over. This is simply the beginning of a whole new journey. And I can't wait to see where we go from here."

According to the singer, the team behind the song includes, "Drummer/percussionist extraordinaire Kami Paul and the most musical bass player I know Sameer Ahmed [that] are the groovy backbone of the track."

"The brilliant Justin Gray mixed and mastered it to perfection and Magdalena Wysoczyńska made this gorgeous mixed-media animation."

Speaking to Images, Haniya shared, "I've been chipping away at this composition for a few years now. It's very hard to say 'I'm done' when it comes to one's own creative projects. But around fall last year I began to feel it was time to share 'Ayi Re' with the world."

"I was hoping to release in February but life happened, and we didn't end up completing the track and video till May this year. And so I decided to put it out online in June."

She went on to say, "Right from the start, every song I've written has contained my story and my state of mind at that time. The same is true for 'Ayi Re'. Life has taken me on some incredible and insane adventures over the past 15 years, and I suppose this song is an attempt to process all those experiences and emotions."

"The process of writing it helped me understand everything that had happened, and also, to some extent, helped me unravel a particularly knotted existential situation.