India is fast becoming a hot-spot for international artists, and our very own band Jal seems to have climbed the bandwagon. The lip gloss sporting boys are now headed to Agra to shoot their next music video. Well, we know there’s nothing new in that piece of info but guess where the video is meant to be shot… the Taj Mahal! That’s right one of the wonder of the new world will be a setting for a song from their album. The lads said that the romantic monument is an ideal location for their shoot, and are overwhelmed by the response given to them there. Hmmm… looks like we can all look forward to yet another soulful number from Jal, who first took us and all of India by storm with their hit, ”Woh Lamhey”. There is yet to be any word on the name of the song. We’re looking forward to it and hopefully the new video will live up to the hoopla.

Islamabad got a good healthy dose of rock as Entity Paradigm, Jal, Call and many other bands performed on 13th march 2004 at the opening of the Open Air Theater in the scenic “Shakarpariyan”.

The event was organized by Dream Weaver Productions (known for the highly acclaimed murder mystery musical “8 women” performed at Al Hamra Lahore in December 2003) and the Capital Development Authority. Tickets were affordable at rupees 500 a piece.

Fans poured in to experience the glory of their best-loved bands. The event was extroverted, but sadly there were some moments of disappointment owing to lots of sound problems and technical shortcomings during the performances.

Music has a greater influence than cricket, when it comes to improving Indo-Pak relations, believes Faisal Kapadia, lead vocalist of Pakistani band Strings. “In cricket one team wins and the other loses, while in the exchange of music concerts, it’s the audience that wins ultimately,” says he. Faisal alongwith Bilal, the lead guitarist, make up the band. Many a time they have performed live in India.

What’s the band’s take on the controversies of lip syncing, of late doing the rounds in India recently? “Often we are asked to do so by organisers, specially for shows on TV channels,” says Bilal. But he feels it is a crime to lip sync in a live concert. “Given a choice nobody would want to fool the audience,” he says.

Two years ago Arooj Aftab was a middle-class Pakistani teenager living her life according to plan: She was working studiously under the watchful gaze of her parents to finish a two-year advanced-level degree in math and economics, and planning a sensible career in accounting.

At the same time, Aftab was pursuing an interest that was not at all part of the well-established cultural framework. She was teaching herself to play the guitar. As if this weren’t radical enough, Aftab began writing her own songs. Forbidden by her father to enter a professional recording studio, Aftab did what any self-respecting Muslim girl determined to liberate herself from thousands of years of gender inequality would do: She learned how to use computer software to record and mix her own music.

Interview: Moazzam Abbasi
Hair and Makeup: KR Crew
Photography: Khawar Riaz

You are not only the queen of the local music industry, but happen to be the only big female pop star. Why aren’t there more female singers from good families out there? How have you managed to retain this monopoly?

Mizraab, a progressive metal band, is the brainchild of numero uno guitarist Faraz Anwar. The band has faced numerous problems in album release due to their heavy metal sound mixed with intelligent lyrics which do not fit in the usual mould of sad excuse for poetry with the masses are accustomed to.

First, they mysteriously ‘disappeared’ on Indus Music. Then, the release of their album, Maazi Haal Mustaqbil (MHM), has been floundering for a while now, with different release dates being announced at regular intervals. And yet there is no sign of the album anywhere. The seemingly endless series of delays has left everyone questioning why one of the most awaited albums of the year is being incessantly delayed, and delayed and delayed.

From Hum Na to Meri Duniya, your music seems to be very diverse in terms of musical expression. Are you trying to find your niche or this diversity is an attempt towards generating mass appeal?

Ifu: Diversity is the one salient feature in our album. However it is not an intentional effort for commercial reasons but is just the natural mood resulting from the sort of song writing we did. The music is simple, catchy & accessible. In this creative process if the album had become diverse and thus has mass appeal then it is a very desirable unintentional outcome.

Ali Azmat’s latest offering Social Circus has firmly reaffirmed Ali Azmat as the king of Rock n’ roll in Pakistan. Breaking away from the traditional aura of Junoon, Ali has gone all guns blazing in this latest offering of varied moods and personal life experiences. In fact it seems that Ali has tried hard to stay away from traditional Junoon territory and in doing has fallen flat on its face with glaring moments of mediocrity. However, the major portion of Social Circus stands out as original and inspiring musical extravaganza.

19th of june saw ANESTHEZIA rocking their heads off at THE PLANET. The show started off a bit slowly but once the infectious band took over the stage it was all worth the money. The band were supported well by KSP. There were problems- mainly technical, still the band were simply amazing. The show kicked of with the powerfull MIL TU ZARA. The hard rocking sound of the band made the cafe shake and cry for more. The powerfull vocals of shoaib and the guitar leads of adeel were as perfect as can be. This was followed by their hit number AB BHALLA. This song is simply perfect in its construction. The smooth vocals in the song and the guitar licks were simply amazing. After this the band did a few covers of GUNS’N ROSES, NIRVANA, and METALLICA. Then the band went for a break and the stage was taken over by KSP. They played blues and jazz styles and soon had the crowd ready to be anesthesized again. Anesthezia once again took over the stage and this time it was the powerhouse adeel who took over the vocals… GAME OF CHANCE was a pure treat for anyone who like hard rock. It was followed by NAZUK KHAWAB. The band finally wrapped it up with a few more covers

The upcoming Band Dehek is keeping its head steady. In this exclusive interview with Noureen Noor, Lead Vocalist of Dehek - Iftikhar talks about his work, his life and the future.

Rewaj: When did you know that the entertainment industry was the career for you?
Iftikhar: In the beginning I wasn’t really sure that I would take it up as a career. To me it was just a passion that I was part of and just didn’t want to leave it because I always loved the part of creation. I started out in the year 2000 professionally. I started to have so much fun with it that I just never looked back.