Musician Mekaal Hasan has been adding Indian artistes to his band, Mekaal Hasan Band. He holds that this ‘unique band’ includes some of the best talent from Pakistan and across the border. The band, which recently released their new album titled Andholan, has become more adventurous in its writing style, claim Mekaal.
Recent inductees in the band are vocalist Sharmista Chatterjee, bassist Sheldon D’Silva and drummer Gino Banks from India. Mekaal, who met Banks and D’Silva almost seven years ago in Mumbai, became friends with the duo after hearing them play during his visits to India. “I would marvel at their talent and eventually, Gino and I started discussing how we could carry on the idea of the band with an Indian contingent involved,” said Mekaal. “And so started our journey of how to make this unique band, which, I believe, has the best contemporary talent from both sides playing as one unit,” he added.
The musician believes that the incarnation of the band is its finest and reflects the band’s wide range of sound and dynamic, stating that the response the band has received so far has been “overwhelming”.
