The time is now

Only a few existing bands can boast of a career spanning two decades in the Pakistan music industry. Though thick and thin, and lifetimes of many rock bands, Strings have been a venerable force at the heart of our modern music industry.

 Similarly, Atif Aslam has set himself apart from the rest of the pack. After a tumultuous breakup with Jal the band, he has gone on to make his own mark in the music world — in Pakistan and beyond. Now the two powerful entities join forces to release Ab Khud Kuch Karna Paray Ga, a music video (or anthem) describing the current situation and state-of-affairs of our country.

The band wrote the song keeping in mind that it would be a collaboration, and the only person that they had in mind was Atif Aslam. It was his broad appeal as a musician which created the interest — and working with the young musician proved to be worthy experience. Speaking of collaboration, there was one more person Strings was very eager to work with: director Jami.

Both Bilal and Faisal praise Jami’s understanding of the vision of Strings, “Jami is a part of Strings. He understands our ideas and tastes; and most of the time our concepts are very similar,” said Bilal.

Jami reciprocates by saying, “Strings are family, I just can’t say no to them.” He added that they approached him with an idea about doing something for Pakistan in terms of an anthem or a message. “We decided to go completely basic with this video because that’s the only way the concept could have come across. The video features powerful imagery that we haven’t re-created — and instead got from news channels.”

The video of Ab Khud Kuch Karna Paray Ga is very simple but hard-hitting in terms of content. The band and Atif are shot in and around Karachi buildings. It’s kinda old-school like that which is pretty reminiscent of the times when music videos were just that — shot around Karachi with just the band singing along.

The truly stirring stuff is when we see the news footage: suicide blasts, violence, corruption, etc. Granted it may be clichéd but that is exactly what the band wanted. “We always show the pretty side of Pakistan in most of our music videos and never the real stuff,” said Faisal. “I think we need to face reality and face our problems,” Bilal added. “Strings have always been a very romanticist band, we’ve never been politically charged — until now.”

“Currently we have quite a few problems which led to the decision of what to show and what not to show. We didn’t want it to be overtly graphic that people would just be turned off by it,” said Jami. “So we selected a couple of shots just to get the message across.”

And what about the message? “The video itself doesn’t have a concept — it’s a neeyat for all of us. The band had this idea of what it was going to be and it was pretty clear to them; we need to do something for Pakistan and we need to do it now,” said the director.

“The easy way out right now,” Bilal added, “would be to go abroad and make music. We’ve done that. But now because of what’s happening here, we’re staying right here.”

However the band admits that because of the current conditions of the music industry, it is now relying on the most powerful medium of them all: the music video (and in part television) to spread their music. “Our focus is music videos now. Simply because it is more effective than churning out a 10-song album. With albums you tend to spread yourself too thin, so we’ve decided to focus on releasing singles — and it is better to have your attention on one project or song at one time so that you get a better results.”

Faisal Kapadia added, “Also the current situation is very bleak. On all levels, whether it’s the music industry or the political landscape. All we hear is people talking about change and not actually taking that first step to change. Music videos like these can inspire a first step in people. And it doesn’t have to be a violent first step.”

In Ab Khud Kuch Karna Paray Ga the content featured is from actual footage which might give it an extra edge in terms of credibility — but will it do good with the masses? The initial response to it is mixed; some love it outright whereas others call its rawness as mediocre.

However, Strings, Atif and Jami are very serious about this music video and its message. Are we seeing a music revolution in the making? Only time will tell. “We’re working on another single at the moment,” said Bilal. “It’s going to be even bolder in terms of concept.”

SYMT - Direction Defined

The event attended by the local glitterati started fashionably late. Though once it started, it seemed like there was no stopping it as the band performed its single, Zamana, and the video for the song was also showcased. More songs were introduced and the event ended with a night of house music courtesy a DJ and a dance floor.

But that’s not what Symt is about. The band aims to be the next progressive and modern Pakistani rock band, and its sound is interesting to say the least: its rock, its loud and most importantly it’s catchy. Haroon’s vocals and Hassan’s guitars aren’t the only thing that had the audience’s interest piqued. Produced by Overload’s Farhad Humayun, the band’s rock sound is formidable if not loud. It resonates the same way Noori broke onto the scene with their first couple of songs, especially that of Suno Ke Main Hoon Jawan.

Joining Farhad is Mahmood Rahman also from Overload, taking over duty on the bass. Together, there is a certain harmony in the band. It may seem that Mahmood and Farhad are merely for support, however it is their contribution that makes the sound of Symt complete.

The upcoming album of the band is mastered by Shahi (Shahzad Hasan) and if Zamana is any indication of what the sound of the album will be like then Symt’s album will be something different, unique and a must-have.

Haroon’s singing is quite unique in the sense that his voice, though not as unique as say Atif Aslam’s, has the grunge and yearn of another Ali Azmat in the making. Similarly Hassan’s rock guitars riffs complement the Urdu lyrics (a feat very bands have achieved).

The video is directed by recluse director Kamran Yar Kami. His previous venture, Hamesha, remains embedded in the minds of viewers across Pakistan. Kamran uses the same translation with Symt’s Zamana and transforms it into a bright and eccentric video. As mentioned, the band does emulate the feeling Noori brought in with it when it came round, but Symt takes it a bit further and somewhat darker. This definitely exudes itself in the video, especially if you compare with it Noori’s where you had people dancing around with the band. Symt’s is much darker in tone but quite similar.

The event showcased a band that is eager to prove itself with a strong Pakistani rock sound that has evolved from bands such as Noori, Call and eP. To coin an overused phrase, it’s a breath of fresh air amid an industry that seems to find itself troubled with the times and record label issues.

The Aunty Disco Project Tea Party

Underground band Aunty Disco Project's have surfaced with a new video, titled "Nazar". True to ADP style, it is quirky, surreal and – wait for it – commercial!

Omar Bilal Akhtar, the band's singer and songwriter, admits with a laugh, "Yeah, this is our first commercial video." The video itself may be commercial, but it sticks with the spirit of the band, "All we told the director, Umer Adil, was that we wanted it to be funny, which was very important to us," says the singer/songwriter. Although the video is funny, in a surreal way there is more to it than just that.

The track itself is very unlike ADP, a slow graceful number that reflects the band's true essence. "It was a different pace from what we do: hardrock covers, headbanging, but this was a very introspective track, and everybody on the band loves it. And it's quite personal to me."

Omar, or Oba as he is known, sounds much relaxed and calm about the fact that they are now veering into territory they thought they'd never venture into. "This is definitely one of the most easy listening tracks that we have, it's quite commercial." This is from the band that totally scoffed at the idea of anything commercial when they broke out with their self-released album, almost a year ago.

They did name drop a few directors back then, but it was pretty clear that they were steering clear from anything too commercial. Not anymore as Oba states: "Ali Alam's been a great influence on us, not just on our music, but as musicians. He was the one who introduced us to Umer Adil." And what about Alam's involvement in ADP? "We're negotiating at the moment," laughs Oba, "although we're writing songs and helping each other out, we're still touring together as a live act."

Before I can ask him, Oba gets one thing clear, "Imran is not a part of the band anymore." At first, one can assume that the separation was tumultuous, but Oba makes it absolutely clear: "He has his own career now and we have ours, but even with that we're helping each other out all the way through. We remain good friends." Even though they are one less Aunty, the band is adamant they are still ready to Disco it out.

From one Omar to another, Umer Adil, the director, has established himself with niche TV shows, from gardening, cooking to children's programs. Along with his wife, Beenish Waiz, the two of them came up with the concept of the video and presented it to the band. "When I first heard the song," says Umer, "I immediately had the image of the jester figurine [one of the first frames in the video] in my mind." He ran with the entire story of the video and it was pretty clear that they were meticulous with their storytelling. "We then expanded upon the fact that the jester is the storyteller and other nuances, so much that people will actually enjoy watching it over and over again."

The video opens on each band member, individually, from Oba's serenading on the guitar, to Omar Khalid's slumber on the hammock, to Yasir's chess playing. Seemingly each character is not connected, that is until we are introduced to the Tea Lady. Played by a friend of Oba, Natasha portrays a mysterious character, living in the middle of the forest, in what clearly appears to be an allegory to the Hut of Baba Yaga. And upon watching the video for the second time, I was picking up things I had not seen before. "That's the thing," states Umer, "it's open ended enough so that everyone understands it, but at the same time, it is open to interpretation and is multi-layered."

Shot on a farm outside Karachi, the video is one part costume drama and one part tea party satire. In it, the boys appear dressed in costume and get called upon by model Natasha, for tea. But nothing is what it appears to be, subtle hints dropped along the way, blink and you'll miss them moments and especially the twist ending, is what makes this video one to look out for.

The video is now airing on all channels. And now that the work is done both Umer and Oba are quickly getting on to other things. "I'm doing and will do a few documentaries at the moment," says Umer and I ask him about doing more music videos. "If the song is good enough," he replies.

Meanwhile, Oba and the group are busy writing new songs. "We've written quite a few now, they're interesting and different, but we don't want to do the same old songs over again. I think this is going to be a totally fresh start."

Ganda banda, two girls and a guitar.

With their album and video being talk of the town, musicians Zeb and Haniya are hardly staying quiet. Teaming up with director / musician Babar Shaikh they’re already working on a follow up video to Aitebaar.

“The girls approached me because they had seen what I had done with Paheliyan (by Mauj). It was something different, very vibrant and colourful.”

The director has a knack of envisioning unique and stylistic videos, while his last offering was taking Mauj for a haircut; he has a very interesting idea up his sleeve for the dynamic girl duo. “I’m going to be directing the video to Chup. It’s going to be quirky, funny and different. A sort of sarcastic look on the materialistic views society has these days.”

Babar went on to say that they’re hoping to shoot first week of August — with Muneeb Nawaz doing the details on styling and wardrobe — and then roll out the video soon after