Shooting stars

By: Insiya Syed

When a new band starts making waves, many critics and fans alike anticipate success for their debut album. The debut sets the stage for a band to define its style, genre, and direction. Sometimes debuts fail to match the anticipation that precedes their release, even if the record is worthy of praise. Timing, however, is everything.

In the matter of the last couple of years we have been graced with powerful debuts by bands such as Entity Paradigm, Jal, Mekaal Hassan Band, Noori, Aaroh, Mizraab, and Fuzon. In the grand scheme of things, none of the bands faded into the background of musical debuts in comparison to their older, more established colleagues. They were all over the place and for once, after a long while, the local pop scenario had shown obvious signs of growth.

This year, since the piracy crackdown was softened (yet again) we have only managed to see the release of Shehzad Roy’s Buri Baat Hai, until Saturday September 10, which saw the release of Peeli Patti Aur Raja Jani Ki Gol Dunya, Noori’s anticipated second effort. All of the releases in the next few months will (or might be) worthy of critical acclaim, but the question that remains is: will these albums be able to meet and exceed the expectations they have set, given the timing and competition with other album releases?

The album launch/concert in collaboration with The Musik channel took place at the FTC auditorium on a day when Karachi witnessed the first monsoon rain (flood?). The invites clearly specified the start of the show at 7:30pm, but like the usual non-standard Pakistan time for such events it wasn’t before 10 that there was any sign of the new record. The band’s musical and visual independence was clearly the dominant factor at the launch. The stage was rather small but was used to its fullest, paying attention to the most minute details such as the spotlight on the ceiling. The gorgeous lights made one forget the delayed start for about two-and-a-half minutes.

The show kicked-off by launching the second video from the album of the song called Nishaan, directed by Mandana Zaidi and Umar Amanullah. The raw feel of the video/song set a rocking pace for a few shocked teen fans and the rest of the audience for the rest of the night.

As soon as the band launched into the first oddly-titled track, Kuttay, I looked here and there to see if anyone else had noticed the all-live performance being backed up by backing tracks and was sadly disappointed. By mid-song the word had spread like wildfire and most were hugely saddened. As any musician will tell you, performances can be stressful. In fact, they are stressful. It is impossible ever to be certain that they will go well or of the reaction of the audience. The drawbacks were that not only was the band relying on backup but also that the audience wasn’t aware or prepared for the dominant hard and raw sound in all the tracks compared to the debut album.

As I stepped out for a breath of fresh air I bumped into a few notable musicians and veejays discussing the monotonous sound of the record and how disappointed they are. Ali Noor explained: “The back-up tracks are vital for TV recordings. It’s a different album and the music has a lot of layers. The performance wasn’t entirely DAT but in fact a new test was carried out by playing around 40 per cent of the music live, whereas Gumby’s drums were completely live. This is a new concept and it will take some time for people to understand it, but it will really improve the overall live sound of the band. The only flaw that I can point out in my performance was my vocal levels, which did go out of control.”

Songs that were previously released online against the band’s will have been re-worked and therefore Khalla, Ooncha and Sari Raat Jaaga come off as the most developed and mature sounding tracks, especially in their combination of tempos and lyrics.

Driven by excitement and ambition, the band teamed up with Mekaal Hassan at Digital Fidelity Studio in Lahore to create a mature and fresh record, whose stunningly powerful production by Ali Noor can compete with a raging thunderstorm.

After only an hour-and-a-half long show without any calls for an encore I can safely say that the album is unique because it takes on many forms. It can be catchy and upbeat, but at the same time takes on an angry tone with intense, passionate force. As I heard the album the next day I was happily surprised by the overall magnificent sound quality of the album lyrically and otherwise. Even though I am sure that the beginning 45 seconds of Meray Log, that sound exactly like Jana Tha and Where the Streets Have no Name (combined) to me is a matter of co-incidence.

The funkily titled Peeli Patti Aur Raja Jani Ki Gol Dunya might indeed make Noori the band of the year for 2005 if they play their cards right.

First Published in DAWN, Images - Sunday, September 18, 2005.

Music journalism in Pakistan

Music critic takes a close look at music journalism and relishes the fact how musicians are always unhappy about honest journalism

By: Nadeem Farooq Paracha

Shampoo

It's funny how for more than a decade now I have heard almost all musicians crib and whine about critics. A natural and universal happening this, but the problem is each one of them say exactly the same damn thing (and that too over and over again, no matter what kind of music they are making). Not an iota of originality (or for that matter anything a bit intellectually challenging) taints their whining. And what is even funnier is the defensive ways most of my younger critic contemporaries react these foaming musicians.

One thing you can always, always hear from a disgruntled musician in this country is this: "Critics don't know about the technicalities of music." Really? I wonder how many musicians know about the "technicalities" of music journalism? Or for that matter, journalism? Period. None!

While I too am not such a massive fan of music journalism in this country (I sometimes find it to be a bit too defensive), but over the years I have come to like quite a few young writers in this area ever since people like myself, Farrukh Moriani, Farjad Nabi and M Ali Tim first started to scribble sweet lil' anythings in this regard some fifteen years ago.

And I can personally vouch for each one of them by suggesting that they know enough about the music they are writing about than a musician would know about journalism.

People like MAQ, QAM, Saba and Huma Imtiaz and Insiya Syeed (spelling: Insiya Syed) come to mind and I think they are all fair game and pretty competent. I've silently seen each one of them grow into terrific writers and break away from that shy, defensive streak a Pakistani (or perhaps any?) music critic is usually struck with when he or she starts his or her career and/or sidekick profession, as a music journalist.

In other words, today they are standing out in this field simply because they did not allow themselves to turn into groupies or over-enthusiastic spokespersons of pop acts of their liking.

Because there are still a lot of so-called music critics out there who sound more like groupies than critics, and I have also seen many extremely talented and bold critics suddenly turn into mush and vanish. Well, that's beside the point. Because the point is, again, that right before a musician utters that typically, cliched and redundant line suggesting that critics only have a half-baked knowledge about music, they should now prepare to first answer this question: How much do you know about music journalism?

And don't even dare trying answering this. Because I know you'll sound out of it. And the next time I hear you say this I'll request Fasi Zaka to sit on you! And he relishes doing that in more ways than one.

Gorayaan noon paraan kero ...

Recently while corresponding with former Bandbaja editor, Omar Tariq, he told me how sad he was when he noticed the way Junoon have put all these foreign reviews of the band on their website. I'm not surprised. Because Salman Ahmed has always been quite like that typical posh-class right-wing Pakistani who (like, say, Imran Khan), when in Pakistan will sound so chauvinisticly patriotic, but they are really the main sufferers of that more-gora-than-the-gora complex! This is exactly why their actions usually end up making them seem and sound so contradictory and confused all the time.

And this leads me to the way Aamir Zaki and Mekaal Hassan go on and on about so and so western music journalists. The truth is those music journalists that these fine gentlemen are always mouthing about are there only as expert writers for expert magazines. So much so they could have (and perhaps already are), salesmen for expensive musical and recording instruments. The bottom line being they are not music journalists, you dimwits!

For a crash course in music journalism and/or cultural journalism, go Google the names Lester Bangs and Hunter S. Thomson. But I'm sure you don't know who they are. But hey, I know who Pat Methany or Jaco Pastorius are.

All that Jazz (zzzzzzzz...)

I've always been a great admirer of Aamir Zaki ever since he was a prodigious and moody teen in the '80s. And I also find Mekaal Hassan to be greatly talented as well. His debut album was quite wonderful, really. But the moment both of these open their mouths and start talking about jazz it is only then I can't help myself wanting to shove one of those Louis Armstrong's big bad saxophones down their throats!

I'm pretty sick of these two airing their high and mightiness by saying how deeply involved they are in jazz and jazz-fusion. What they most probably do not realize is that this jazz line has actually become a predictable spiel, which is heavily parodied by those mocking such artistic pretensions. And anyway, how come this jazz influence always fails to clearly come out in an interesting and dynamic manner the way it did in the progressive-rock of say, Yes, King Crimson or Frank Zappa? I mean talking about incorporating high ideals in this respect, there used to be more Floyd coming out in Vital Signs' otherwise pretty harmless pop than I see Methany or any other godforsaken jazz chap coming out in either Zaki's or Mekaal's music. Zaki's debut sounded no more than glossy lounge music and Mekaal's music can be slotted and pegged right alongside all that New Age stuff doing the rounds out there. Where is the excitement, the depth and the passion? Where's that edge that's more about the mind and the heart than about that special chord or knob?

Mani Quami Movement

Faisal Qureshi did Mani a favour by using him in his skit show, Ulta Seeda, giving him some much wanted credibility and sort of saving him from becoming a bone sandwiched between idiotic, jaali Amreekan VJ's and the equally idiotic sarak-chaap no-brainers. But unfortunately, I wonder why this guy is always trying to put forward his "street credibility," the sort that was first made famous among the non-Amreekan entertainers by Umar Sharif some twenty years ago! However, twenty years later it sounds as irritating and as jaali as any FM89 tongue twister.

Whatever happened to that middle ground, I wonder?

Ring worms

The news is Strings have got into a mega sponsorship deal with a local mobile phone service. First of all after their stints with Pepsi and others, it seems Strings are a couple of musicians who are always hanging out along with cheap T-shirts and vests at Zainab Market, always waiting to be picked up by a sponsor. These guys spend more time signing sponsorship contracts than they do playing music. So don't be surprised if the next Strings album is no better than a bunch of soothing ring tones. Such a shame. I thought Junoon, Jawad Ahmed, Abrar-ul-Haq and the Vital Signs were the worst examples of gluttonous corporate cynicism, but Strings take the cake. In this millenium, they are always on sale.

First published: Instep, News on Sunday, Sunday 04 September 2005, The News International, Jang Group of Newspapers, Karachi, Pakistan.