Meesha Shafi has revamped her Instagram account to gear up for the release of her debut album, Khilnay Ko. She announced this step in her musical journey on Instagram on Thursday with the album’s cover art and a statement.
“Khilnay Ko is a deeply introspective and therapeutic journey through the shadowed corridors of the human psyche,” Meesha wrote. “This album is an exploration of isolation, otherism, mental health, abandonment, and the relentless tension between contrasting forces that shape our existence. Each track is a reflection of the internal battles that so many face along their healing journey but rarely speak of – feelings of displacement, loneliness, and the overwhelming weight of being.”
The album art features Meesha towards the edge of the frame, dressed in a black-and-white flared top, which is webbed with abstract print. The lower half of the top contains drops down her thighs, containing sketches of eyes and lips. The singer rocks the ensemble with a bob haircut, her facial features partially obscured by hard shadows.
At large, the portrait is reminiscent of Baroque art, playing with varying levels of depth through chiaroscuro lighting. The building’s margin almost slices the photo in two, separating Meesha and the rocky props she stands on from the structure’s multiple archways. The narrowing frames of the archways elevate the sense of depth that the portrait eagerly asserts.
Khilnay Ko arrives on streaming platforms on Friday, though fans can hardly wait. “Every bone in my body is aching to experience this!” gushed a user. “Finally! I’ve waited so long for this moment. Thank you so much for this gift,” wrote another.
The anticipation is well-placed as Meesha has been crooning her way through her musical journey. Previously, she sang for the OST of drama serial Jaisay Aapki Marzi.
Before that, in 2022, she collaborated with brother Faris Shafi on the Coke Studio Season 14 track Muaziz Saarif. Written by Meesha and Faris, Muaziz Sarif was composed by the siblings alongside Xulfi, while Action Zain and Abdullah Siddiqui arranged the track and co-produced it with the Hum Zalmi hitmaker. Xulfi’s idea of pairing the two was to create an “unusual track,” as per the song’s press release.
Taking to his Instagram, Abdullah penned an appreciation post for the song. “This was a difficult song to make – here we have two explosive, wildly original artists at the top of their game, who sonically have absolutely nothing in common,” he said. “And yet, [the song] is so cohesive in its own unique way. That’s how we found our sonic common ground.”
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