It appears as if the floodgates have been opened for foreign entertainment and news channels. The last couple of years have seen an invasion by cable channels, which can be seen wherever you go, from restaurants and homes to shops. This is all part of the phenomenon called ‘globalisation’. Pakistani viewers, noticeably, are losing interest in local channels because of the glitz and glamor of the foreign media. It is easy to see that the majority of images beaming out of television sets are of foreign films and shows. Viewers …

Fuzon is riding the high wave. They have just bagged the Indus Music ‘Best Composer’ and ‘Best Ballad Song’ awards. The band takes time out to share their views with world Music Chief Editor ARSHAD MAHMUD and his team in this wide-ranging interview.

Arshad Mahmud: One remembers watching each one of your working independently. What brought you together as a band?
Shallum: I and Imran had been working together for about eight years. We live in the same vicinity in PECHS – and we knew each other very well. Immu also used …

From being heralded as Asia’s biggest rock act that redefined Sufi rock, Junoon has come a long way. The band that was applauded by U2′s Bono for their efforts at propagating world peace, is finally taking a break, what with all its members concentrating on their solo careers.
“The band has not split, but yes, we are concentrating on our solo careers,” is how Ali Azmat, the radical vocalist of Junoon, sums up the situation. “Brian left the band last year and is back in the US of A now. We …

For a quiet man, Asim Reza has a lot to say. His work speaks for him, whether in the mythical setting of an advertisement or in the documentation of a dancer’s synchronized footwork. The quest for artistic greatness influences his life and though he doesn’t blow the trumpet on his own work, it shouts for itself. But when credits are mismatched and his achievements ignored, Asim becomes verbose. He turns away from his creative pursuit very briefly, and lodges his displeasure in minimum words, careful not to contaminate his creativity …

Two years after its “Passion for Peace” tour stop here rocked Miller Auditorium, Pakistani-American rock group Junoon is back in town with the same goal in mind: To use its music to unite people across ideological and religious divides.
The trio, consisting of founding members Ali Azmat on vocals, guitarist Salman Ahmad and bassist Brian O’Connel, plays the State Theater on Monday as part of its current U.S. tour.
Azmat and Ahmad are Pakistani Muslims, while O’Connel is an American Catholic. They formed Junoon, which means “passion” in Urdu, in 1990, but …

The Rafi Peer Theatre’s 10-day world performing arts festival, 2004, is being held at the Alhamra Cultural Complex from Nov 27.
As many as 600 artistes of over 33 countries, including India, will perform in various disciplines of performing arts like dance, theatre, music and puppetry.
Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi will inaugurate the festival. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will attend its premier show on Nov 26, a day ahead of its formal launch.
Rafi Peer Theatre directors Faizan Peerzada and Usman Peerzada told newsmen here at the Lahore Press Club on Friday that …

EP’s first release was reputed to be filled with weird electronic sounds, synthesizer magic and the poppish guitar-driven anthems, long before the album saw the light of day or the introspective title Irtiqa was associated with this ambitious effort. With all the hype surrounding the album, Irtiqa is certainly one of the albums that Pakistani aficionados have anxiously been waiting for. Now, living up to all the hype and expectations, I imagine, is probably one of the band’s prime concerns. The album does deliver. Ambition and dedication is clearly visible …

While conducting a poll on the top ten Pakistani bands/soloists, I realized how ignorant of the pakistani music scene our expatriates are. For instance, the only bands they would know of were Junoon, Strings or EP…beyond that, most of them still thought that Awaz was making waves…ok, I’m exaggerating, come to think of it, our music scene has finally started making its presence felt…a far cry from just a year or two back when we were all still hooked on to the ‘I love junoon’ phase. Now, at least we …

Indus Music (IM) will hold the first pop music awards ceremony in Pakistan at the Alhamra Arts Centre on July 24.
The channel has also signed an agreement with MTV whereby IM will broadcast old English songs in a show called ‘MTV Classics’, presented and produced in Pakistan.daily Times reported.
The IM music awards focus exclusively on the popular music scene in Pakistan. The awards target two specific areas of Pakistani music: the history of pop music in Pakistan and the new groups and singers that have performed on IM and new …

The pioneers of Pakistani rock music, ‘Junoon’ have been invited to perform at the finale of the MTV Awards ceremony in Bombay in December (known as the ‘Immies’, conducted jointly as the Indian Music Industry Awards). The star-studded awards show will feature leading Western artists as well as the crËme of Asia and Europe. These awards are the Asian equivalent of the MTV VMA’s (Video Music Awards) held annually in New York and the EMA’s (European Music Awards) held by MTV Europe each year.
Junoon was previously invited to perform at …