Was Neon’s Cover of Junoon’s Mahi Aja Really Bad?

Source: Dawn Images

The fifth episode of the fourth season of Pepsi Battle of the Bands has recently broadcasted. Some bands like always impressed the judges. Some on the other hand did not. This resulted in their elimination. The hot topic of that episode is the battle between Neon and Aarish.

The episode format was that each band had to perform their favorite songs. Aarish paid tribute to the late Junaid Jamshed by performing Na Tu Ayegi. Their attempt was appreciated by the judges. However the audience on the other hand as seen on social media thought it was average as compared to their other performances.

It is important to note here that Aarish has a pop rock sound. This was more of an alternative rock song. It was something along the lines of hard rock and dark rock. This was something different from Aarish but was not good as their performances before.

You can watch the performance here:

You can watch the original song here:

Their competitor was the Neo Rock band Neon who performed Junoon’s Mahi Aja. They performed it in a funky style format. The original is similarly a funky feel. However it has more of a Sufi rock and soft rock touch to it. Another important thing to mention here is that the bass plays a major role in it. Brian O’Connell has done an amazing job with the bass line of the song. This song is one of Junoon’s underrated songs.

You can watch the original song here:

Now let us talk about Neon’s version. It had a completely different style. There was a strong funk as well as Neon’s own neo rock touch to it. They went experimental with Junoon’s Mahi Aja. The bass did not deliver much however it was just the amount of touch needed for the song. Neon’s stage presence is undoubtedly the best among all the bands.

However their experiment did not sit well with the judges. The song received negative feedback from all the judges. Bilal Maqsood of Strings criticized the Neon’s version heavily. He said that it was terrible and the band was not skilled enough to cover the song. This resulted in Neon’s elimination.

Neon was clearly better than Aarish in this episode. However favoritism got the better of them and they were eliminated. This also reveals the mindset of the judges and Pepsi Battle of the Bands. The elimination of bands such as Neon who are bringing something new to the table are not fit for the show. It’s all about making money and in Pakistan pop rock is popular with the youth and that is the only thing Pepsi is concerned about.

Bilal’s comments were way too harsh. He should remember that Neon are way better than Strings when they were at this age. Unfortunately it is a commercial show and experimenting is useless.

You can watch Neon’s version here:

You can watch the full episode here:

On The Fringe – A Different Type Of Show

Source: The Express Tribune

In the 2000s, Indus Music used to air a show called IM On The Fringe. It was one of the most popular television shows in the channel. The show was hosted by Pakistani music journalist and host Fasi Zaka. It followed a single camera format. The show was produced and directed by Pakistani musician Zeeshan Parwez.

The show was a first of its kind in Pakistan. It interviewed people related to Pakistan’s music industry which included musicians, music producers, music journalists as well as their friends and families.

The first episode aired in the early 2000s. It was entirely shot in Peshawar. The first episode featured Peshawar based English Musician Jehangir Aziz Hayat. In the episode, the host Zaka asks him a lot of questions regarding his music. He also does ask him some political and social based questions. For example he questions over performing grunge songs which is reserved for the lower class. To which he responded that it was simply because he was inspired by Kurt Cobain and Nirvana. There was no deep meaning behind his grunge songs.

You can watch the first episode featuring Jehangir Aziz Hayat here:

Another episode featured the alternative rock Entity Paradigm (EP). The episode features EP lead vocalist Fawad Khan,lead guitarist Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan (Xulfi) and drummer and rhythm guitarist Salman Ahmed. They talk about a lot of things in the episode.

They discussed Fawad’s mood. Salman criticized Noori’s performances. The band members also talked about how rock was better than pop. Rock stays true to its roots and they have acult following whereas Pop in Pakistan is quite commercial. At the end of the episode the band plays one of their popular songs titled Waqt. The episode concludes with Xulfi agreeing to produce Atif Aslam’s next album. The episode ends with Call playing at a concert in Lahore. The concert was attended by Atif Aslam, Ali Zafar and Strings.

You can watch the part here:

You can listen to EPs Waqt here:

Call performed a cover of Creed’s With Their Arms Wide Open. Although that performance is not available anywhere, you can watch Call performing their hit song Jilawatan here:

Another section featured the band Overload. Zaka went to Lahore for that show. He talked about how KFC, McDonald’s and Café Zouk started in the city. In the section Farhad Humayun talks about how he started drumming. He originally started from playing the guitar and then moved on to the drums. The drums had become an important part of his life. Overload since then has been known as a drumming oriented sound.

You can watch the section here:

You can check out Overload’s Dhamaal here:

It is sad to see that original shows like IM On The Fringe do not exist anymore.

Pepsi Battle Of The Bands – The Elimination Stage

Left to right: Pepsi Battle Of The Bands Season 4 Judges Bilal Maqsood, Faisal Kapadia, Meesha Shafi and Fawad Khan (Source: Brand Synario)

The third episode of the fourth season of Pepsi Battle Of The Bands aired this Saturday. Host Hina Altaf was joined by her co-host well known VJ and media personality Ali Safina to make the show more interesting. The format of the show was changed as it was an elimination battle between two bands unlike the seasons before.

Before the bands started to battle against each other, Strings who were among the judges performed their song Chal Para from their new album 30. In this episode the bands that faced each other were E Sharp VS Skehlaaj, Neon VS Mousiqa and The Starzone VS Aaarish.

The elimination stage is an interesting concept and what makes it better is that each band will have to give their full. That way, the audience gets to enjoy it fully as well. However it is still quite a difficult task for the bands.

E Sharp VS Skehlaaj

Source: Something Haute

The first battle was between E Sharp and Skehlaaj.

E Sharp performed their original Sarkari Mulazim. They gave an energetic performance and stayed true to their funk rock genre. The song was appreciated by the judges. They did not give any negative comments although Bilal Maqsood did joke about Ahmed, the vocalist’s weird dance moves.

Skehlaaj performed their original Motion in their main grunge rock genre. There were obvious problems with the song. The song was similar to the song they performed in the auditions and the lyrics were quite weak. This was noted by the judges as well.

The battle was won by E Sharp.

Neon VS Mousiqa

Source: Something Haute

The second battle was between Neon and Mousiqa.

Neon performed their original Haddi Daal Dou. It was a comedy rock song. The vocals and music arrangement was great but was predictable. As for the lyrics, they were quite weak as well and showed a factor of something different was missing. The band received negative comments from the judges.

Mousiqa performed their original Dhundon Kia in the blues rock genre. There was nothing wrong with the song. Everything was perfect in fact for one thing: The vocalist’s low tones were quite flat but the high notes did seem to make up for it for some reason. There was room of improvement but overall it was a good song. The judges unfortunately did not like the song.

This one seemed like an unfair winner because Neon won over Mousiqa but many think Mousiqa were more deserving.

The Starzone VS Aarish

Source: Something Haute

The third and final battle was between The Starzone and Aarish.

The Starzone performed their original Taaron Ki Roshni. It was performed in the post ambient genre which is the band’s main genre. It was a sweet and melodious song. It was good but there was definitely room for betterment.

Aarish performed their original Awaaz in the pop rock genre. It was a huge improvement over what they had performed in the auditions stage and this was noted by the judges as well.

The three winning bands were called on to the stage and E Sharp which was the best performer of the day was awarded with a brand new Ibanez guitar.

The episode ended with E Sharp, Aarish and Neon moving to the next stage. The Starzone, Skehlaaj and Mousiqa went to the danger zone but The Starzone was saved from elimination while the other two bands were eliminated.

The next episode will feature the remaining six bands which are Auj, Blackhour, Jhoot, Marjaan, Seismic Tremors and Uraan battling against each other.

You can watch the episode here:

Dhoom By Call Shows The Band Experimenting With A New Genre

Dhoom album covering featuring from left to right :- Sultan Raja, Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan (Xulfi) and Junaid Khan (Source: Bookitnow.Pk)

Call is a Pakistani rock band which needs to be appreciated for moving away from the Pakistani mainstream music scene. They were among one of the bands that introduced hard rock in Pakistan. Their songs like Shayad, Jilawatan and Kaash are still a part of our playlist today. The band stayed true to their hard rock genre with the release of their first album Jilawatan in 2005.

The band regardless of its popularity was forced to go through the mainstream route. It was in 2007, when Pakistan’s music industry was going through a downfall. Call, like other Pakistani musicians were struggling to survive. Luckily for them the same year they performed the hit single Laree Chotee for the Bollywood film Ek Chalis Ki Last Local. It brought the band international fame.

Call’s entry to Bollywood did not end at here at all. 2009 was perhaps their biggest year in Bollywood. The band performed Dharkay Jiya for the film Aloo Chat and Yeh Pal for the film Aasma- The Sky is the Limit. The band also did the songs Kuch Aisa and Reh Jaane Do for the film Aao Wish Karein.

It was in 2011 when the band decided to release their second album titled Dhoom. It was released through Fire Records in Pakistan and independently internationally. It was a different sound for the band. The band had moved from hard rock to the more mainstream Pakistani pop rock. It was expected for them to the pop rock road with songs like Ho Jaane De and Hum Sey Hai Ye Zamana but many old fans were disappointed for them for moving away from their original hard rock genre.

The track list of the album begins with Dhoom. The songs is a combination of both hard rock and pop rock and the lyrics can be better but the music makes up for it and it’s a good but not great song. Next on the list is forgettable Mein Aisa He Hoon so it is pointless to go into details and is a track that can be easily skipped. Rung Do and Yeh Pal are wonderful songs and does actually show that Call’s move to pop rock is a good sign. Ho Jaane De and Dharkay Jiya prove that Call was just made for pop rock.

The 7^th song on the list is the average cricket anthem Hum Sey Hai Yeh Zamana. You can also skip Kyun and Abhi Dair Hai in the album. Teri Haar Hum comes up next and would be a treat for hard rock listeners which is the band’s original sound. Laree Chotee is obviously a classic. The album ends with the soft Yeh Pal which is a sweet treat to listen to.

Overall, Dhoom is an average but decent album. It is not bad but not good either and is just something in between. Jilawatan was a way better album than this.

Naseer and Shahab Release Kaghaz Ki Kashti

Pictured: Shahab Qamar (Left) and Naseer Afridi (Right) – Source: The Express Tribune

Islamabad: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa formed and Islamabad/Australia based band, Naseer and Shahab have finally released another song. The song titled Kaghaz Ki Kashti was released on 12^th July 2019. It was distributed to all streaming platforms by Rearts Records. It is an Urdu song. The song has been performed in the soft rock genre which is the band’s main genre.

Shahab Qamar, one half of the duo is responsible for direction, cinematography and post of the music video. Technical assistance for the music video has been provided by Nazeef Maqsood. Saad Kaiser and Ali Qasim Khan have done work on Behind The Scenes footage. Ali Qasim Khan has also managed the production of Ali Qasim Khan.

The audio has been produced by Canadian based Pakistani producer, director and singer Zeeshan Parwez. The audio has been recorded by Nazeef Maqsood. The music has been produced by Shahab Qamar.

Kaghaz Ki Kashti features Naseer Afridi on vocals and Shahab Qamar on guitars. It is a song about depression. The song presents someone fighting against their inner self and doing their best to fight their inner self in order to overcome depression.

Naseer and Shahab are known for being a multilingual soft rock band. The band performs music in three languages namely English, Urdu and Pashto. Their English song is Born a Dead Man and Rise On My Broken Knees. Their Urdu songs are Hero, Meray Yaar, Pakistan and Geet. Their Pashto (which is the band’s mother tongue) songs are Za Pukhtoon Yam, Za, Sta Pashan Nayum and Ghalti Mein Shta.

Naseer and Shahab released their debut album self titled Naseer and Shahab this year. The album has been distributed by Rearts Records worldwide and is available digitally on many streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, ITunes and Google Play Music.

Naseer and Shahab was formed in 2010 and have received a lot of fame in a really short amount of time. They have won the 2015 Hum Award for the music video of their song Ghalti Mein Shta. Ghalti Mein Shta was also nominated for Best Single. They also have been nominated as the Best Emerging Band at the 2013 Lux Style Awards for their song Meray Yaar. In 2012 Naseer and Shahab was nominated as the Best Radio Rock Band at the Radio 1 FM 91 Awards for their song Za Pukhtoon Yam.

In 2014 Naseer and Shahab was featured in the 7^th season of Coke Studio and they performed their hit single Za Sta Pashan Nayam. Their song Rise On My Broken Knees was featured in the Pashto language Pakistani film Project Peshawar.

Naseer and Shahab is credited as the first Pashto rock band of Pakistan.

You can listen and watch the amazing recently released Kaghaz Ki Kashti here:

Hamesha by EP – A Song Way Ahead Of Its Time

Snapshot from the music video of Hamesha (Source: Desi Rock Metal)

Hamesha by the Pakistani rock band Entity Paradigm (EP) is a timeless track. It was the song that brought the band fame in the Pakistani music scene. It also brought the culture of head banging to Pakistan. It can be said that it is perhaps the most covered Pakistani rock song. Many underground and amateur bands have covered this song. It is pretty common to see them doing so.

Hamesha was released in 2003; one year after EP came second in the first season of Pepsi Battle Of The Bands. It is part of the band’s first and only album Irtiqa released in 2003 as well. The lyrics of the song are written by Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan (Xulfi), Ahmed Ali Butt and Ali Khan. The audio has been produced by Mekaal Hasan.

Hamesha features Fawad Khan on lead vocals, Waqar Khan and Salman Albert on drums, Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan on lead guitar, Ahmed Ali Butt on vocals and keyboard, Sajjad Khan on bass and Ali Khan and Hassan Khalid on rhythm guitars.

The music video of the song has been directed by Kamran Yar Kami. Saleem Dad is responsible for the cinematography. The editing has been done by Imran Niazi. The music video was produced by Kamran Yar Kami’s production company LIPS Productions.

The song has been covered by many musicians more importantly rock bands and metal bands in Pakistan. It has become an iconic song ever since its release and is the most popular Pakistani rock song to this day.

Hamesha was covered in the first season of the show Nescafe Basement in 2012. The Nescafe Basement version featured the members of the bands Bayaan and Soch before they became famous. The song featured many other artists performing on different instruments. Unlike the original Hamesha which is an alternative rock song, the Nescafe Basement version is a combination of two subgenres of rock which are folk rock and hard rock.

You can listen to it here:

The song gained attention once again in 2017. The winner of the second season of Pepsi Battle Of The Bands Kashmir performed this song in the auditions stage. They did a soft rock version of it. They performed the song in front of the lead vocalist of the original song Fawad Khan who really liked it.

You can listen to it here:

In the final episode of the same season of Pepsi Battle Of The Bands, the original band members came together and recreated the song in an amazing way once again. It was one of the highlights of not just that episode but of that season.

You can listen to it here:

Hamesha has popularized Pakistan’s rock music scene and continues to be an influence on many Urdu and Hindi rock songs being produced today.

When Pakistani Bands Rocked Bangladesh

Strings performing at Ampfest in Dhaka, Bangladesh (Source: The Daily Star)

Jal signing autographs at Coffee World in Dhaka, Bangladesh (Source: The Daily Star)

When we think about Pakistani music, we believe that it is only listened to in India. However the truth is that it is appreciated all over the world. In 2005, three famous Pakistani bands proved this by performing in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka to a huge crowd. The bands were Junoon, Strings and Jal and they were loved by the people in Dhaka just like in Pakistan or in any other place in the world.

Junoon

From left to right: Brian O’Connell, Salman Ahmed and Ali Azmat (Source: Dawn)

Junoon is a Sufi Rock band that was formed in 1990. It currently comprises of members Ali Azmat on lead vocals and rhythm guitars, Salman Ahmed on lead guitars and Brian O’Connell. The band has released seven albums all of them which made them gain a lot of appreciation. They are best known for their songs like Sayonee, Pappu Yaar Tang Na Kar and Talaash.

Junoon has performed at many different places such as the USA, Canada, UK, UAE, India and Bangladesh. The band has also performed in Indian occupied Kashmir. In 2001, they performed at the United Nations opening ceremony. Junoon won the Channel V Award in New Delhi in India for Best International Group beating bands like Deff Leppard and Prodigy.

In 2005, Junoon performed at the Ampfest arts festival in Dhaka. The band made their entry in a helicopter to the stage. They were the last act of the show. They performed their hit songs like Yaar Bina, Dosti and Garaj Baras.

Strings

From left to right: Bilal Maqsood and Faisal Kapadia

Strings is a pop rock band that was formed in 1988 in Karachi. Its members are Faisal Kapadia and Bilal Maqsood. They gained fame through their song Sar Kiye Pahar which became the first Pakistani song to be featured on MTV Asia. They are active since 30 years and are the longest active in Pakistani music’s history.

The band is popular in Pakistan as well as internationally. In 2005, the band’s song Na Jaane Kyun was featured on the soundtrack of Spider-Man 2. They have performed for a number of Bollywood films as well such as John Day and Zinda. The band has performed in USA, Canada, UK, Qatar, UAE, India and Bangladesh. They have won many awards which include the MTV Asia Award for Best Artist – India.

In 2005, they performed at the Ampfest arts festival in Dhaka. The band entered the stage through a helicopter. They performed their popular songs like Dhaani, Chaaye Chaaye and Na Jaane Kyun.

Jal

From left to right : Farhan Saeed, Gohar Mumtaz and Aamer Sheraz

Jal is a pop rock band from Lahore. It was famous because of their three members Farhan Saeed, Gohar Mumtaz and Aamer Sheraz. Atif Aslam and Omer Nadeem have also been a part of the band. The band gained fame through their first song Adat and has released many songs and albums since then.

The band is popular internationally. They have performed in countries like India, Bangladesh and Nepal. They received the MTV Asia Award in 2006 for Favorite Artist India. They won another MTV Asia Award for their song Moray Piya in 2009.

They performed at The Sheraton Hotel and Amazon Club in Dhaka in 2005. The band performed their popular songs such as Adat, Dil Haaray Pukaray and Woh Lamhe.

The All Girl Band –Pakistan’s Only All Female Musical Group

From left to right: Amal Nadeem, Anna Salman, Mishel Faheem and Sumera Waris

The All Girl Band also known as TAG is a Pakistani all female musical group. It is currently the only female musical group in Pakistan. The first all female group was the Benjumin Sisters. The band was formed in 2016. Its current members are Anna Salman on lead vocals and guitars, Amal Nadeem on the violin, Mishal Faheem on drums and Sumera Waris on the tabla.

The band is known to have the first female drummer of Pakistan Mishal Faheem and the first female table player Sumera Waris in its lineup. They gained fame through covering the John Newman song Love Me Again in the fourth season of Nescafe Basement. The band was featured alongside a group of other female musicians from many places such as Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar and Quetta. They were part of the band as well but left due to personal reasons. The song was appreciated by John Newman himself who appreciated it on his Twitter.

They are better known for doing covers but they do original songs as well. The band performed their original Middle of Nowhere in the second season of Levis Live. The lead vocalist Anna Salman was nominated in the Best Emerging Talent category at the 2019 Lux Style Awards for the song.

Members Anna Salman and Amal Nadeem made another appearance in Nescafe Basement in Season 5. Both members appeared in the title track of the season titled Jaagna Toh Parega. Amal Nadeem played the violin and provided backing vocals to the cover of the song Mehbooba in the season which was originally by singer Haroon Rashid better known as Haroon who appreciated the version.

The band is known for their covers and mash ups. They have covered and mashed up John Newman’s Love Me Again with the Game Of Thrones title track. They have also covered and mashed up Are You With Me by the Belgian DJ Lost Frequencies with Laree Chotee by the Pakistani rock band Call.

TAG has performed in different places in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. They will be also performing in Hyderabad in a few days with the Romanian dance pop band Akcent for the first time. The band has also conducted sessions related to breaking gender roles in different places in Pakistan as well such as the Lahore University Of Management Sciences (LUMS) and the University Of Central Punjab (UCP) in Lahore.

The band has also collaborated with clothing brands like Khaadi and Ideas Pret showing them moving from an underground scene to a more commercial scene. They performed the song Choo Liya Aasman in association with Khaadi and a cover/mash up of Jimmy Khan’s Baarish and Jason Mraz’s I’m Yours in association with Ideas Pret which featured Aarij Hashmi, Samiya Ansari, Noor Ali and Ali khurshid.

Kashmir To Release Bhago

From top to bottom, left to right: Bilal Ali, Usman Siddiqui, Zair Zaki, Shane J. Anthony, Ali Raza and Vais Khan (Source: BBC Asia)

Ever since Kashmir won the second season of Pepsi Battle Of The Bands, there seems to be no stopping to the band’s success. They have released a number of songs that did well at the local music charts. In 2017, their song Kaghaz Ka Jahaz was nominated in the Best Emerging Talent category at the 2017 Lux Style Awards which they won. They were also nominated in the singer of the year category for their song Khwaab at the 2019 Lux Style Awards.

The band has also been performing throughout places in Pakistan. They are currently signed with Pepsi Pakistan which distributes its music in Pakistan and Rearts Records which releases its music internationally.

Kashmir currently consists of Bilal Ali on vocals, Vais Khan on lead guitars, Usman Siddiqui on bass guitar, Zair Zaki on rhythm guitars, Ali Raza on keyboards and backing vocalsand Shane J. Anthony on drums. Its former members are Mashhad Shahryar who is now the lead vocalist for Mizmaar and Hyder Ali on drums who is now part of Tamaasha.

The band released their new song Pari this year. It was released by Rearts Records. Both the music video and the song gained a lot of appreciation.

In 2018 Kashmir returned to the stage of Pepsi Battle Of The Bands. It was the third season of the show and they performed their new song Darbadar. In 2019, they appeared in the second episode of the fourth season of Pepsi Battle Of The Bands. They performed their unreleased song Bhago.

Bhago is a song about a person fighting depression. It is about a person fighting his inner demons to overcome troubling experiences and trying to win. For them the best way to do that is run or as in Urdu which is the title of the song Bhago.

It is a funk rock track similar to Kashmir’s Kaaghaz Ka Jahaz which made them gain a standing ovation from the judges in the seventh episode of the first season of Pepsi Battle Of The Bands.

However Bhago is a unique song in its own right. The lyrics are quite catchy. The vocals are as always suitable to the tone of the song. As for the instruments, the band is capable of versatility and like all of their songs they have put the right tone of instruments for this particular song.

Considering that this is the live version, one can only imagine how amazing the studio version would be. The studio version is likely to be released soon.

You can listen to Bhago here: