The Music Page
Pakistani musicians comment on the state of the music industry in 2008
By Sameen Amer
Rewind
Umar Mansoor (Kain)
In my opinion 2008 was a dull year for music in Pakistan apart from the debut video of Azal, Aisee Tesi, which was based on the our corrupt society, the debut solo album of Shafqat Amanat Ali with the hit track Kheriyan, and the epic songs by Rahat Ali Khan in his album Charkha. Apart from that, there was the same old commercialised stuff; same old Jal, same old Atif Aslam wearing "shocking colours", and same old Ali Zafar with some new models in his videos. Mizmaar and Ali Azmat were two of the few rock releases this year. Ali Azmat -- my all time favourite -- came out with Kalashinfolk with a different sound that is reggae rock, this time; the songs Leh Sambhal was my favourite -- kudos to Ali Azmat, the only man who supports and understands rock in Pakistan. I expect a lot of good music in 2009, and I hope the music scene will be a bit more impressive and less commercialised in 2009. I will most probably release some more videos of both of my projects (Kain and The Max Project) and maybe an album in late 2009.
Atif Aslam
Pakistani music industry is improving day-by-day. A lot of good people are coming and performing really well. I like the songs by Azal. All we need is that our musicians start taking music seriously -- some are coming only to get fame and money, losing focus on their passion for music. If that's not there, it won't work!
Sami Khan (Lagan)
A lot happened in Pakistani Pop in 2008: good videos, many new albums, but I totally fail to understand why there was no impact of most of the releases, be it a new artist or a senior. It's sad that now our people only appreciate or listen to the stuff that is there in across-the-border movies. It's about time we start taking our local talent seriously and appreciate them and give them the respect they deserve. On the whole, I think 2008 was quite productive, as a lot of talented artists were added to the industry, like Falak, Zeb and Haniya, and many more. Many senior artists released their new albums with new flavours, like Shehzad Roy, Ahmed Jahanzeb, and Strings. I am hoping that 2009 is even better for all artists, including Lagan.
Faakhir
We've been increasingly dependent on Bollywood to give us some sort of endorsement so that we can bask in the glory of the most popular source of entertainment in the subcontinent -- Indian cinema! The sad thing is that they are not using Pakistani music; they are simply using Pakistani voices to sing on the tunes composed by Indian musicians.
Other than that, the ongoing financial crunch, worldwide failure in combating music piracy in all its forms and manifestations and then the law and order in our country resulted in the reversal of all the good work done by us in the last few years. So, overall, the year has not been a good one for music in Pakistan, but some really good music albums have been released during 2008. And I see a great 2009 because the resilience and never say die attitude of our highly talented and passionate musicians has done it before and we'll do it again!
On a personal front, I'd taken time off work since my father was diagnosed with a major ailment in 2006. He passed away in November 2008. Therefore, I did not come up with anything new this year. But I am due for an album next year. However, this year, one of my songs, Marjawan, from my first album Aatish, was picked up to be featured in a Hollywood thriller called Stiletto as a part of its background score. Marjawan's inclusion in an English film proves that we can also successfully sell our music directly to Hollywood and other international clients instead of routing our work through India.
Sam (Akash)
Overall this year was a bit cold because of security issues. Most of the shows got cancelled because of the threats and bomb blasts. Still a few artists managed to release their albums, although most of them couldn't sell. Also, most of the artists made highly expensive videos, but the standard of the audios was not up to the mark. As far as Akash is concerned, 2008 was a bit good for us. Our biggest achievement was the Indian tour where we performed four shows in Punjab and Delhi, although we had to cancel two of our shows because of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Still we managed to perform and we also released our album this year in USA.
Nausher Javed (Inteha)
2008 has not been a very good year for the music industry. Very few albums got the hype and approval from the audience. Indeed some excellent videos came out, like Laga Reh by Shehzad Roy, but again they hardly stabilized the music scene. The main reason has no doubt been the politically unstable situation of Pakistan. This is one of the reasons why we had to delay the release of our debut album Kehna Chahta Hoon, which was due to be released in December. We hope Pakistan's situation soothes in the forthcoming year and we get the chance to hear some good music.
Pakistani musicians comment on the state of the music industry in 2008
By Sameen Amer
Rewind
Umar Mansoor (Kain)
In my opinion 2008 was a dull year for music in Pakistan apart from the debut video of Azal, Aisee Tesi, which was based on the our corrupt society, the debut solo album of Shafqat Amanat Ali with the hit track Kheriyan, and the epic songs by Rahat Ali Khan in his album Charkha. Apart from that, there was the same old commercialised stuff; same old Jal, same old Atif Aslam wearing "shocking colours", and same old Ali Zafar with some new models in his videos. Mizmaar and Ali Azmat were two of the few rock releases this year. Ali Azmat -- my all time favourite -- came out with Kalashinfolk with a different sound that is reggae rock, this time; the songs Leh Sambhal was my favourite -- kudos to Ali Azmat, the only man who supports and understands rock in Pakistan. I expect a lot of good music in 2009, and I hope the music scene will be a bit more impressive and less commercialised in 2009. I will most probably release some more videos of both of my projects (Kain and The Max Project) and maybe an album in late 2009.
Atif Aslam
Pakistani music industry is improving day-by-day. A lot of good people are coming and performing really well. I like the songs by Azal. All we need is that our musicians start taking music seriously -- some are coming only to get fame and money, losing focus on their passion for music. If that's not there, it won't work!
Sami Khan (Lagan)
A lot happened in Pakistani Pop in 2008: good videos, many new albums, but I totally fail to understand why there was no impact of most of the releases, be it a new artist or a senior. It's sad that now our people only appreciate or listen to the stuff that is there in across-the-border movies. It's about time we start taking our local talent seriously and appreciate them and give them the respect they deserve. On the whole, I think 2008 was quite productive, as a lot of talented artists were added to the industry, like Falak, Zeb and Haniya, and many more. Many senior artists released their new albums with new flavours, like Shehzad Roy, Ahmed Jahanzeb, and Strings. I am hoping that 2009 is even better for all artists, including Lagan.
Faakhir
We've been increasingly dependent on Bollywood to give us some sort of endorsement so that we can bask in the glory of the most popular source of entertainment in the subcontinent -- Indian cinema! The sad thing is that they are not using Pakistani music; they are simply using Pakistani voices to sing on the tunes composed by Indian musicians.
Other than that, the ongoing financial crunch, worldwide failure in combating music piracy in all its forms and manifestations and then the law and order in our country resulted in the reversal of all the good work done by us in the last few years. So, overall, the year has not been a good one for music in Pakistan, but some really good music albums have been released during 2008. And I see a great 2009 because the resilience and never say die attitude of our highly talented and passionate musicians has done it before and we'll do it again!
On a personal front, I'd taken time off work since my father was diagnosed with a major ailment in 2006. He passed away in November 2008. Therefore, I did not come up with anything new this year. But I am due for an album next year. However, this year, one of my songs, Marjawan, from my first album Aatish, was picked up to be featured in a Hollywood thriller called Stiletto as a part of its background score. Marjawan's inclusion in an English film proves that we can also successfully sell our music directly to Hollywood and other international clients instead of routing our work through India.
Sam (Akash)
Overall this year was a bit cold because of security issues. Most of the shows got cancelled because of the threats and bomb blasts. Still a few artists managed to release their albums, although most of them couldn't sell. Also, most of the artists made highly expensive videos, but the standard of the audios was not up to the mark. As far as Akash is concerned, 2008 was a bit good for us. Our biggest achievement was the Indian tour where we performed four shows in Punjab and Delhi, although we had to cancel two of our shows because of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Still we managed to perform and we also released our album this year in USA.
Nausher Javed (Inteha)
2008 has not been a very good year for the music industry. Very few albums got the hype and approval from the audience. Indeed some excellent videos came out, like Laga Reh by Shehzad Roy, but again they hardly stabilized the music scene. The main reason has no doubt been the politically unstable situation of Pakistan. This is one of the reasons why we had to delay the release of our debut album Kehna Chahta Hoon, which was due to be released in December. We hope Pakistan's situation soothes in the forthcoming year and we get the chance to hear some good music.
