After making waves with La Haasil and Haasil last year in late 2020 and early 2021, Sunny Khan Durrani dropped another track. His single Taaray is bound to bring up existential questions.
The rapper seems to ponder every artist’s dilemma, staying relevant. He even brought out his alter ego ‘Aetizaaz’ for this existential issue.
“Me to khaak ka putla par dhool nahi chaat’ta (I am a puppet made of mud but I won’t bite the dust)
Me to jo bhi kamaata wo me sab me bant’ta (I share whatever I earn)”
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No wonder the lyrics has a duality to them, …
“Baat kehdi, Hunar-e-Mehdi (I said it, Hunar-e-Mehdi/mehdi’s craft)
Kitne yahan mere waadon ke qaidi (How many here are prisoners of my promises)
Rakhun is gumaan me ke aaunga bachaane (I keep them under the impression I will come to their rescue)
Par aaunga ya nahi ye to khud bhi pata nai (Yet even I don’t know if I will or won’t)”
From self-critique to critiquing artists in general and their need for validation.
“Me dhongi faraibi me bechta umeed (I sell hope under deception)
Yahan jo bhi milenge wo dhan ke mureed (You’ll find worshippers of money here too)
Ye to dil ke Yazeed (They are Yazeed at heart)
Yahan firkay mazeed (There are further sects)
Jinki raahain hai seedh (Those whose path is even)”
Even if the lyrics can be a bit heavy at times, the track’s hook really highlights why the Log Kya Kahenge creator wrote this track.
“I revisited the conversation I had years ago about the track with the friend and reminded myself why I wrote it in the first place and the melody was already circling in my head and that’s where the hook ‘hum taaray, ye raaton me hi kyun ham chamkain‘ came from.”
Aside from his blunt and emotive lyrics, somewhat of a signature of the Fatwa Jari artist, the music video has cyberpunk touches. While car rides and car shots might be common in Pakistani music videos, the Taaray music video gives off ‘Nightcall‘ futuresque kind of synth-vibes.
Given the song lyrics, the visuals are a good fit for the track. Interestingly the rapper says the synth vibe is exactly what he was going for.
“I had this beat and concept in mind for 3 years. The subtle synth that plays throughout the track was a result of a midnight conversation I was having with a fellow artist on Awais’ rooftop and we were talking about how stars are always there and we embrace their presence in the dark night. But when it’s daytime and the world is running comparatively quicker they almost become invisible for everyone. In a strange way artists are the same.”
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Surprisingly, the ‘Awais’ he mentioned was there when he conceived the idea is the director behind the music video.
“I woke up one morning to an audio on Whatsapp from Sunny after asking him for a few days if he made something new, … As soon as I heard the track I knew we have to do a video of it and I knew what to do with the video. Taaray is a video that not only represents the track visually but it portrays Sunny Khan Durrani’s personas as an artist too.”
Awais A. Khan really played up the fact that this single brought ‘Aetizaaz‘ to the forefront in the music video.
“If you compare the two personalities Sunny and Aetizaaz, Sunny is more of upfront and carries all the negatives and aggression. Meanwhile Aetizaaz is more composed and and carries all that is not on the outer layer. I gave the white color to Aetizaaz and black to Sunny as they are driving around.”
That explains the lines, where the artist seems to accept that art doesn’t need hype. It just needs to be understood.
“Dharkanain hain dheemi mujhe shor nahi chaiye (Heartbeat slow, I don’t need noise)
Mere zehen ki majlis me tashreef laaiy’ye (Come into the caucus of my mind)”
This track was almost titled something else. But Taaray really simplifies the intensity of the feeling poured into the song.
“This project was titled ‘Under The Sky’ for years and when I made the baseline synth I wanted it to sound like the feeling you get when you look at blinking stars in a dark night and I layered it with drums that constantly pulls you back to the reality from the dream.”
What do you think of this track? We’d like to hear your take on the single in the comments below.
Yesss sunny and his work is mind blowing!
❤❤❤👏👏❣❣