“It’s not just for anybody, it has to be me.”
International pop star Zayn Malik is ready to reveal his most personal musical project yet on April 17, 2026.
The brand new fifteen-song album is titled KONNAKOL, and it focuses deeply on his rich South Asian heritage.
This unique title comes from a traditional South Indian vocal technique of making percussion sounds with the human mouth.
Malik shared these fascinating details during a recent live Q&A session hosted on the platform called TalkShopLive.
“There’s a lot more Indian influence, Pakistani influence and South Asian vibes going on and it was the basis for the production.”
The singer mentioned that he found himself singing sounds similar to qawwali and sufi music during the production process.
One curious fan asked how this specific project differed from the rest of his famous and extensive music discography.
Malik said that he “employed more of my knowledge of my heritage and the things that have inspired me and put it into my music”
He believes that whenever he adds Indian influences to his work, it feels much more like a special me song.
Malik stated: “It’s not just for anybody, it has to be me.”
Another fan asked if he learned anything new about his background while working on this very ambitious creative project.
He replied that he had not learned new things but rather focused on using his existing knowledge of heritage.
The artistic cover for the album features a striking image of the singer fused with a majestic snow leopard.
Malik chose this animal because the snow leopard is native to places like South Asia and his home country, Pakistan.
“The snow leopard is an animal that is native [to] South Asia, Pakistan, them kind of places.
“It just made sense to me that we use something that is symbolic in that sense on the cover.”
When asked about Indian singers who inspire him, he specifically mentioned his love for the legendary artist Sonu Nigam.
He recalled a beautiful song that the playback singer performed for the popular Bollywood film titled Agneepath years ago.
Although Malik could not remember the exact name, a fan confirmed the track was the emotional ‘Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin’.
The album’s production used the Konnakol technique in several songs to create a distinct, rhythmic percussive sound.
Fans are eagerly waiting for the scheduled release of KONNAKOL.
This upcoming release marks a significant departure from Zayn Malik’s previous pop and R&B sounds of the past.
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