“We fell in love with the poem the first time Reza (Mehdi) narrated it to us.” Singer-songwriter Faheem Abdullah recalls falling in love with “Hoor”— his latest single released with Coke Studio Bharat — even before the poem was set to tune. Billboard India partnered with Coke Studio Bharat to bring Faheem Abdullah and Arslan Nizami together to break down their Kashmiri folk rock ballad from Season Four of Coke Studio Bharat. The duo took explained the many themes and meanings behind their hit single, including their own interpretations of what is essentially a modern Kashmiri folk tale.
The song was first narrated to Abdullah and fellow singer Arlsan Nizami by Kashmiri poet Syed Reza Mehdi in 2022. The duo then spent the next four years building the perfect symphony it. The poem itself is rife with passion and existential angst, written as a conversation between an unnamed narrator and a powerful Kashmiri sheikh.
“Imagine holding someone by the collar and telling them, ‘It doesn’t matter that she’s in your captivity. This person is still mine.’ That’s what the song is, it’s the narrator’s passion for his Hoor,” Abdullah explains. Both Abdullah and Nizami also recognise the larger themes within the story. “He (the narrator) has been through the world looking for Hoor. In that sense, Hoor can also be seen as a personification of enlightenment. At least that’s my interpretation,” Abdullah adds. Nizami further explains the music of the song, calling it “complex and layered.” “The section before the guitar solo plays out in a 4/4 time signature, when the guitar starts playing it transforms to a 6/8. The song starts off simple and keeps blowing up as time passes,” he elaborates.
The duo describes Nizami’s father, Qaiser Nizami’s vocal solo towards the end of the song as “the perfect conclusion.” “His voice is from the heavens. It makes you feel very calm after all the chaos and the theatrics of the song. It’s poetry in motion, that’s all I can say,” says Abdullah. “Kuch cheezein aap bayan nahi sake, bas mehsoos kar sakte hai (Certain things can’t be explained, they can just be felt),” Nizami adds.
“Hoor” Song Breakdown with Faheem Abdullah and Arlsan Nizami is now live on Billboard India’s YouTube channel.
This is partner content produced in collaboration with Coke Studio Bharat.
