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.