Alan Walker in Lahore: 'Faded' DJ records with Alfaaz singers Hamza Malik and Zain Zohaib

Alan Walker is in Lahore, and the reason looks like Alfaaz, the song by Hamza Malik and the duo Zain Zohaib (Zain Ali and Zohaib Ali) that has topped Spotify's Pakistan and India daily charts. Pakistanis searching "what is Alan Walker doing in Pakistan" got their answer from the DJ's own Instagram: a studio session with the three singers, posted on Wednesday 4 November with the caption "BTW, it was a very productive day."

How a YouTube comment became a Lahore trip

The chain started online, The Express Tribune reported. Walker shared the Alfaaz video on his Instagram Stories, pointing at a masked figure behind the singers that looks a lot like his own hooded, masked stage identity: "Why is there a Walker in the video? Beautiful video btw."

Hamza Malik answered on YouTube: "The Walker is a mystery for now... but maybe we can solve it together." Walker then posted a clip from an airport saying Hamza had replied and "Let's go to Lahore and finish this."

What he did in Lahore

• Old Lahore and the Badshahi Mosque: a video of Walker walking through the old city with Alfaaz playing, placing a "mystery box" on the ground, and a photo with the singers at the Badshahi Mosque.
• Halwa puri and the Lahore Fort: Images Dawn carried photos released by Giraffe Studios, the label behind the song, of Walker at a traditional breakfast and at the fort.
• The studio: in a Giraffe Studios video Walker says he has "just got to Lahore" and is "about to go to the studio to work on some music". The clip calls it "a dream collaboration".
• A shawl and a teaser: Hamza Malik posted Walker wearing a shawl with "alfaaz" written on it in Urdu script and wrote that "there's another surprise as well". Walker's own teaser says "more to come soon".

What is not confirmed

Neither Walker nor the singers have announced a release, a title or a date. It could be a remix of Alfaaz, an English version or a new song. Walker has not announced a concert in Pakistan, so there are no tickets to look for. We will update this story when a release is announced.

Why Alfaaz is everywhere

• No 1 on Genius's weekly chart on Monday 2 November, ahead of songs by Tate McRae, Eminem and Radiohead.
• No 1 on Spotify's daily charts in Pakistan and India, and 42nd on Spotify's Top 50 Global on Wednesday.
• Second on the UK's Official Asian Music Chart.

It is Giraffe Studios' second big hit after Sheheryar Rehan and Zoha Waseem's Majboor last year.

Walker became a global name in 2015 with Faded, sung by Iselin Solheim, which has billions of streams. A collaboration would put a Pakistani song in front of his audience across Europe and Asia, the kind of reach Coke Studio's Pasoori had in 2022.

For more from Lahore this week, see our Lahore weather page.