music
Music often travels faster than borders, carrying with it memory, language and a sense of place. In recent years, collaborative projects have leaned into this idea, bringing artists together not just to record, but to live and create in shared spaces. It is within this growing culture of exchange that a new initiative, shaped in the mountains of Hunza, began to take form.
Co-founded by Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan and Muhammad Ibrahim, Humnava brings together over 30 musicians from Pakistan and countries including France, Germany, Algeria and Zambia for an extended music camp in Hunza. The idea centred on co-creation: artists living, writing and recording together, allowing sound to emerge through shared experience. Its first release, Hairan Amanam, a Burushaski track translating to ‘I am in awe’ set the tone for this approach, blending regional roots with international collaboration.
Following that release, the project moved forward with its second track, Noor-e-Nazar, continuing the same immersive process. An Urdu love song, it explored a relationship shaped by tenderness, equality and partnership. Recorded live at Gulmit Old House in Hunza Nagar, the track drew from a local marriage ritual in which a couple prepares roti together to mark the beginning of their union. The gesture, simple on the surface, reflected a deeper idea of companionship built on shared effort and mutual growth, giving the song both cultural specificity and emotional weight.
Produced and curated by Xulfi and Sherry Khattak, Noor-e-Nazar featured vocals by Noman Asmet and Noorima Rehan, alongside a diverse group of musicians including Amine Laroug, Melvin Arthur, Muhammad Hunaid, Adnan Karim, Lina Belaid, Blaise Merlin and Dorian Jonas Goetsh. Much like the project itself, the composition brought together artists from different regions while remaining grounded in its setting.
Speaking about the track, Xulfi said, “When we had just started working on Humnava, and we knew Hunza was going to be the first chapter, we were researching to find out more about the magical place… it’s such a wonderful way to create a solid foundation for a relationship; one that says that we are in it together and we will make it happen together… I just felt that maybe we can remind people of that simple idea of love through Noor-e-Nazar and now we are here, the song is there for the world to witness.”
Written by Shajar Hussaini, Imran Ullah Hunzai (Ramz), Ali Raza and Xulfi, and mastered in London by Mike Hinton, the track extended the project’s collaborative framework across both geography and process.
As the season progresses, the next lineup of songs, including Qataghani, Holoyor and Darmaan, takes shape. The songs released so far are available on all major streaming platforms.
- You! desk
