The flavour of Punjabi music might be diluted by the Western influences on it. Shahreen Khan aims to bring that joyous, energetic and enthusiastic spirit back with her new EP release called Punjabi Flavour. This is where the mother lode of the spice box is, creating an eclectic party mix of sorts almost effortlessly. The bhangra is imminent.
Her EP opens with Anklet (music and lyrics by Irfan Saleem), a sweet song that meditates on the little things that create rhythm. With the lyrics, she makes sure the feel and flow of the song are never disturbed. Her vocals are unaltered and unfiltered, making her singing impressive and enjoyable. As we progress through the EP, you hear different takes, but all leading to the adoring, cool language that is Punjabi. Shahreen Khan sings over some unique chord changes and progressions, traditional and rooted in the soil that her ancestors are from. The songs create a good mix of dance and indie styled music to keep the tracks peppy yet frequent between different sounds that have inspired it.
Ishq Musafir (lyrics and music by Zain Khan) brings beautiful instrumentals, creating an air of love and longing. Her voice has the joy and levity that plays with the instrumental pockets. The drawing in and indulging of the musician and listener is clear here, and there are no smoke and mirror tricks. It is truly something that she is good at, portraying poetic lyrics that are touching and puzzles of truth. Beauty Queen (lyrics and music by Irfan Saleem) brings back Shahreen Khan’s dance track feel, where it is really admirable to hear her tone change. She switches to a suave, dashing tone for her dance tracks, where she draws the crowd in with a great chorus.
The magic of balance
Creatively exploring possibilities with the sounds she adores, she understands and develops her own character arc this way. By the time you get to her bonus track, you’ve realized that it is creatively spliced to have a dance and singer-songwriter track. There is heart where it should be displayed, and attitude where it’s called for. By shifting sounds and styles, Shahreen shows her dynamic voice and the different tempos, rhythms and styles she has. She is no one trick pony, she’s a unicorn with rainbow wings.
From the Netherlands, she has found her musical cradle in Urdu and Hindi songs. Growing up with Bollywood, she has made sure she’s found her way back to where her ancestors migrated from. Her songs are 100% authentic, even more so than some Indian singers. In her search for herself, she has found music as the central pathway, and has us be a part of her experience. Her popular tracks like Tu Hi Subha Meri and Mujh Mein Hai Tu have got close to 50k streams on Spotify, because of her enchanting performance. Listen to her EP here:
