Zayn Malik just opened up about a surprising connection he shares with late singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley: their admiration for Pakistani legend Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Earlier this week, during a street interview with the Track Star Show, the former One Direction star revealed that the Lover, You Should’ve Come Over singer was “weirdly, madly inspired” by the pioneer of modern Qawwali.
“Jeff Buckley was weirdly madly inspired by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan,” he told the interviewer. “Listened to a lot of his music and that’s why he used to do them like weird runs and stuff because he loved Pakistani music.
As the Hallelujah singer’s musical roots trace back to the late multi-instrumentalist and music producer, the video also featured a brief audio clip of Jeff singing Yeh Jo Halka Halka Surror Hae live at Sin-é, New York,in July /August 1993.
Interestingly, in a tribute of his own the Dusk Till Dawn hitmaker revealed he has dedicated a song to the iconic composer.
“I’ve got a song on my record called Nusrat and then I named it after him,” Zayn, 33, revealed. “I’ve got a new album coming out called Konnakol.”
The NFAK-inspired track, titled Nusrat, will appear on his upcoming album, Konnakol , set to release on April 17.
“Konnakol is like it’s the sound of like making percussion sounds with with your voice,” the Die For Me singer explained the meaning behind the name of his fifth solo studio album. “So I was using my voice to make the music and then singing over the top of it Well, I’m excited to hear it.”
