For two-time Grammy winner Diplo, playing Pakistan is a way to foster good relations with the mostly Muslim country after an angry Jan 1 tweet from US President Donald Trump complaining that Pakistan gives “terrorists” a safe haven. He added that by having US acts connect with the large youth population - an estimated 60 percent of Pakistanis are under age 30 - “they can grow into being our allies”. More than 2,500 young people crowded into an outdoor venue in the capital, Islamabad, to a scaled down version of the event known for bringing together some of the hottest names in dance-hall, hip hop and electronic music. Among the headliners were Diplo’s chart-topping side project Major Lazer Soundsystem, DJ Chrome Sparks and Pakistani duo SNKM, which has played the South by Southwest festival and toured with Diplo in the US. “There’s a lot of bridges being built between here and the US,” says SNKM’s Adil Omar, who also has a successful hip hop career and a new album and film “Transcendence” to be released this year.

Source: bd News24 February 04, 2018 15:11 UTC