Mekaal Hasan presents
The Nightof Song
A live tribute to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, built from the songs of his 1996 album Night Song. Shahzad Ali Khan sings, Mekaal Hasan and his musicians play. Touring North America in fall 2027.
Guitarist, composer and producer from Lahore. For three decades Mekaal Hasan has put South Asian classical music, folk song and Sufi poetry in conversation with jazz and rock: on stage, in his studio and in the archive.
- Berklee College of Music
- The first musician from Pakistan to attend, majoring in jazz composition.
- The band, since 2001
- Sampooran, Saptak, Andholan and Live at Baroda, with line-ups from Pakistan, India and Canada.
- Digital Fidelity Studios
- His Lahore studio, behind records by Noori, Junoon, Jal, Zeb and Haniya and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.
- Rivayat, since 2020
- 156 songs recorded with 22 vocalists and 100 musicians, as reported by Arab News in 2023.
Stages, institutions and broadcasters Mekaal has worked with
See what he did with each
The Night of Song
Recorded live at Alhamra, Lahore, on 16 August 2024, and performed at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto that November. The six-track live album came out on 31 May 2026.
Listen
Rivayat
A series Mekaal began in 2020 to record Pakistan's hereditary, folk, classical and qawwali musicians in the studio, joined on some tracks by players from abroad. Two seasons are out now.
In the studio
Digital Fidelity Studios is where Mekaal records, mixes and produces, for his own projects and for artists across Pakistan.
Talk to Mekaal
Book a one-to-one session with Mekaal on guitar, composing, arranging or production. For concerts, tours and festivals, Haris Rana handles booking.
A tribute to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
The Night of Song
In 1996 Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Canadian producer Michael Brook made Night Song for Real World Records. Thirty years later Mekaal Hasan has rebuilt those songs for a live band: qawwali voices, tabla and harmonium beside electric guitar, flute, bass and drums.
How it came together
Mekaal's 2023 residency at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto led him back to Night Song, Nusrat's last release on Real World, produced by Michael Brook. Many of its songs, he felt, were sketches with loose structures. He arranged them for a band and found his lead voice in Shahzad Ali Khan.
Some songs carry new writing. On Ni Saiyon, only the opening line was ever released by Nusrat; Shahzad wrote the verses that follow.
The show premiered at Alhamra Cultural Complex in Lahore on 16 August 2024, presented by Lahore Jazz Club, and travelled to the Aga Khan Museum for two tribute concerts on 24 November 2024.
I just took songs from Night Song and arranged them.Mekaal Hasan, Images, Dawn, 2026
Mekaal Hasan's victory was visible.Isfandyar Khan, The News on Sunday, 2025
The ensemble
The songs
Line-up for future dates is confirmed per engagement.
Watch
YouTube channelTour
Fall 2027
North America
The Night of Song is planning a North American tour for fall 2027. Cities, venues and dates will appear here once they are confirmed with presenters.
For presenters: an eight-piece ensemble led by Mekaal Hasan with Shahzad Ali Khan on lead vocals. The press kit includes the stage plot; the full technical rider is available on request.
Presenter enquiry
Venues, festivals, universities and cultural institutions. Haris Rana replies to every enquiry.
Want it in your city?
Tell us where you are. Requests help presenters see the audience, and you'll hear first when dates are announced.
Music
Studio albums, live records, Rivayat and ensemble work. Press play on a cover to hear it here, in full, from the studio masters. Select a record for tracks and credits.
Stream everywhere
The full catalogue is on every major platform.
On the archive shelf
Recordings being prepared for release, including the solo album Square One with Billy Cobham, Unplugged at 11B and early concert material. Join the list to hear when they arrive.
Rivayat
Rivayat records the people who carry Pakistan's musical traditions: qawwals, folk singers, hereditary instrumentalists and classical players, captured live in the studio. On selected tracks they are joined by musicians such as bassist Anton Davidyants, Shez Raja and Gwen Lafitte.
- 156
- songs recorded by 2023
- 22
- vocalists
- 100
- musicians
Figures as reported by Arab News, 2023. Spellings follow the streaming releases.
Follow Rivayat
Artists on Rivayat
Select a name to see their tracks.
Digital Fidelity Studios
Mekaal set up his Lahore studio after returning from Berklee. It has since recorded, mixed and produced some of the best-known records in Pakistani music, alongside his own work.
What the studio does
Inside the studio
The control room and the rehearsal room, April 2023. Select a photo to see it larger.
Selected albums
Produced, recorded or engineered at Digital Fidelity. Roles vary by record.
Selected singles
Television and collaborations
- 2019Pepsi Battle of the Bands, Season 4
Mixing and mastering for the winners, Bayaan - 2018Coke Studio Pakistan, Season 11
Mixing and mastering engineer - 2018Wind of Change, Bangladesh
Representing Pakistan; Arale Arale with Priyo and ShamimWatch - 2017Coke Studio Pakistan, Season 10
Music direction for Mujh Se Pehli Si Muhabbat, sung by Humera Channa and Nabeel ShaukatWatch - 2015Coke Studio Pakistan, Season 8
Sayon and Kinaray, with Sharmistha ChatterjeeSayonKinaray - 2006Junoon
Guest bassist
Festivals and live production
Mekaal designs and runs live events as well as playing them: programming, show direction, front of house and technical production.
Films
Concert films and documentaries made by Mekaal or with him: performances recorded properly, and the stories of the musicians behind them.
The Night of Song, full concert
Screenings and licensing
For festival screenings, broadcast or archive licensing, write to Haris Rana.
Ask about a filmLearn
Guitar lessons from the stage repertoire, and long conversations where Mekaal talks about how the music is made.
Lessons
Conversations
I don't want perfect. Perfect is boring.
Mekaal Hasan on This Being Human, the Aga Khan Museum podcast
Press
Interviews, reviews, approved biographies and photographs. For interviews and the full EPK, contact Haris Rana.
In print
Books on rock and independent music in Pakistan and the wider region.
Short biography
Long biography
Photographs
Credit photographers as supplied with the press kit.
Press kits
Read any press kit here, or download the PDF. For the technical rider and high-resolution photographs, ask Haris below.
Press kits
Electronic press kits for presenters, festivals and journalists. Read them here, download the PDF, or copy a link to share.
Need something else?
The technical rider, high-resolution photographs and the intro films are available on request from Haris Rana.
About Mekaal
Guitarist, composer, producer, engineer and curator, based in Lahore.
I think the beauty lies in the adaptive nature of Nusrat Sb's compositions.Mekaal Hasan, Instep, The News, 2024
Recognition
Timeline
Where he has worked
Institutions, festivals, stages and broadcasters, with what Mekaal did at each. Select one for the details.
Musicians and artists he has worked with
Play the band
Real recordings of the instruments Mekaal Hasan and his musicians play. Use your mouse, tap on a phone or tablet, or play with your computer keyboard. Every instrument comes with lessons that wait for you, note by note.
Recordings: drums, cymbals, shakers, tambourine and cajon from the Versilian Community Sample Library (CC0). Nylon guitar, electric guitar, flute, piano, bass and harmonium from the tonejs-instruments library by Nicholas Brosowsky (CC BY 3.0), drawing on Freesound (quartertone, donyaquick), Karoryfer and the VSCO 2 orchestra. Tabla strokes and tanpura from Naad by Oormi Creations (MIT). Sounds are trimmed and levelled for the web. Your recordings stay in your browser and are encoded there; MP3 encoding uses LAME (lame.sourceforge.net, LGPL).
Contact
Pick the route that fits. Bookings, tours, press and licensing go to Haris Rana, who manages Mekaal.
Booking, tours and management
Concerts, festivals, The Night of Song tour 2027, press and licensing.
A session with Mekaal
One to one with Mekaal, booked on his calendar.
Studio
Recording, mixing, mastering and production at Digital Fidelity Studios.
Follow
Send a message
It goes to Haris Rana. Include dates and cities if you're asking about a performance.