Wild City #233: Talal Qureshi

Wild City

For years, we kept clubbing the word "psychedelic" with Lahore's Talal Qureshi. Even as the Pakistan's electropop pioneer has transformed from a Coke Studio mainstay with esoteric productions on the side to someone who brings his worlds together and creates the collaborative woofer-friendly bangers, that characteristic zaniness remains. As evident by his 2023 debut album 'TURBO' and its recent re-release with a deluxe edition, it has married itself to the sound of South Asian hip-hop with sometimes a satirising presence of Pakistan's hyperlocal elements. It is embodied in the announcement he makes at the start of his Wild City mix before launching into cuts from the 15-track release, unreleased demos, edits of his other work and even someone Skrillex to demonstrate how his work can boom alongside the globally prominent. Contrary to most mixes of nearly all-originals, Talal's quick-moving mix is a product bigger than the sum of its selections. Constant flow through hard cuts between collaborations that feature the likes of Seedhe Maut, Faris Shafi, Hasan Raheem and Natasha Noorani speaks to the effective structures of Talal's productions. It's a mix worth a listen even if just for the reimagined energy of Talal's take on 'Faltu Pyaar' and 'Muaziz Sarif'. For more information and tracklisting: https://www.thewildcity.com/mixes/20584-wild-city-233-talal-qureshi