Currently the biggest band in Pakistani pop Faisal and Bilal – the band duo – at churning out good music. That’s what the music of the Pakistani band Strings is all about Currently the biggest band in Pakistani pop, Strings has had a tumultuous history of disbanding and then reuniting. What hasn’t changed is the [...]

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, [...]

Pakistan’s Sufi queen Abida Parveen said she will perform a concert in Bombay to boost peace efforts between India and Pakistan. “Music knows no boundaries,” said Parveen, known for her musical renderings of Urdu poets such as Aamir Khusro, Kabeer and Bulesha. “I’m happy I will be performing in this city for the first time [...]

Lollywood is a rough place to be in, especially if you are looking for a quick break. But once every while one comes across a success story that defies the rules of the film industry. Actor Shamyl Khan is one such example. It’s almost unheard of for a newcomer to make the kind of impression [...]

When the late legendary qawwali master Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan first sang in the United States, his concerts weren’t so different from those he performed in his native Pakistan. With ecstatic and hypnotic improvised songs based in the ancient poetry of Sufism, the mystic tradition of Islam, Khan electrified audiences for up to five hours. [...]

Yes, it’s now official. The pioneers of rock music in Pakistan, Junoon, have ‘fired’ their leading bass guitar player Brian O’Connell, setting the entire future of the band into uncertainly. Although the rumors of the split had been around for quite some time, the situation became obvious when during a press conference in the mid [...]

To the music scene now, it is great to have Junoon back. And boy is the band in topnotch form in its latest chart buster Dewaar. While some admirers would moan the very conspicuous departure from the sufi touch that of late had come to define the band’s sound, but progression is the name of [...]