I remember I have fallen in love with music with 'Dil Dil Pakistan' when 'Dil Dil Pakistan' used to be the heartbeat of million of hearts across Pakistan and there will be no exaggeration if I say that I haven't learn patriotism from any of great speech of a patriot or the enchanting of the boots of the soldiers but from that very song 'Dil Dil Pakistan'. Then I was introduced to 'Nazia and Zohaib' and I have learned love and affection among humanity through majestic and melodious voice of the two siblings with their songs like 'Dosti', 'Pyaar ka geet', 'Muskuray Jaa', understood the rich glory and simplicity of our rural culture by the song and its video 'Kariye Pyar Diyan Galaan', Nazia and Zohaib were all that international music meant to me at that time, these two and I feel obliged to mention 'Khalid Anum' contributed a lot in introducing this kind of entertaining music with serious subjects to kids through their appearance in different programs for children. As I developed the sense of understanding I have started to like the great Alamgir, his energetic and soulful songs like 'Kehdena', 'Albela Rahi', 'Dekha na Tha' and many others made me dance to the music for the first time. Music videos back then on PTV reminds me of flashy stages and flashy lights, a lone singer singing in the middle of the stage, standing like a statue but those beautiful voices were like melodious notes/waves of a musical sea touching the shores of the minds and souls. The best part about those music videos were that one can replace all the great singers within just one frame and have a completely different feeling. I remember Nayarra Noor singing some very poetic and melodious songs among them 'Watan ki mitti', 'Hum key tehray', 'Kabhi Hum khoobsurat thay' similary I can also think about all those other great lost voices like Madam Noor Jehan, Tahira Wasti, A Nayyar, Fareeda Khanum, Mehnaz and many others in that single frame.
In early 90's Pakistani youth had been pretty occupied with sports having back to back cricket, hockey and then football World Cups. Later in mid 90's we have witnessed a complete switch of music from pre 90's classical bandwagon turning into a completely different post 90's pop/rock culture. Different television music shows like MMC (Music Channel Charts), VJ (Video Junction) on local tv channels turned music into the most attractive activity among youngsters which worked a like a doorway providing immense opportunities to youngster in this new evolving music industry. Tons of bands and solo singers started to emerge out of no where giving a very vivid idea that music was already there in the roots of Pakistani youth but was waiting for a stage to set. 'Vital Signs' and 'Junoon' are the two iconic bands that ruled the industry for quite a long while. By now youngsters had started to follow the footsteps of these two iconic bands in their everyday lifestyle. Here I can't forget to mention that this musical era played a vital part in understanding the role of youngsters in the development of a society. Bands like Junoon, Jazba, Strings and many others started to highlight the core issues related to society and brought them to attention of youngsters, which the youth have taken very seriously and sometimes resulted in a dissolving or ban of some bands. Meanwhile pop industry was in drastic progress and many other new bands and solo singers made their way out of these TV shows and gathered the attention of local and foreign media, radio channels and cassette markets.
This is exactly the time when in my limited senses I started to learn about politics and different other issues related to different class and societies in Pakistan and across border, 'Jago' by Jazba is one of the song, and its video, which used to run through my mind and still do whenever somebody talks about the Kashmir Issue, 'Ehtisab' by Junoon still runs through my mind while discussing the corruption in politics of Pakistan, similarly other songs from different bands had started to create impact on the minds of the youth of that time. 'Junoon' has also helped in bringing the attention of youngsters towards the lost glory of classical music and mystic poetry of Sufi Saints and legendary poets like Allama Iqbal. I admit that I wasn't much aware of Iqbal's poetry until 'Junoon' introduced him to me in such a different manner in the form of Sufi Rock. Sufi Rock has taken a vital position during this while and a few other bands also tried to catch up with the main stream league of Sufi Rock but 'Junoon' remained to be the pioneer.
It is also due to Sufi Rock that youngsters have started taking interest in classical and folk music. Sufi music, Qawwalis and Ghazals became integral part of our music industry and then emerged a legendary Qawwal 'Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan' who shook the basis of understanding of Sufi music and given Sufi music a completely new dimension. He steadily started with typical Qawwalis and later twisted them with such beautiful mix of traditional folk and contemporary music that it left the whole world in surprise and awe. An awesome new dimension of music is emerged and in a very short span of time 'NFAK' conquered the world of music from the Tibetan mountains to the busy life of New York.
This was a very vital time for music in Pakistan where Pakistani music was almost touching the highest peaks of success not just within the country but all over the world. The ban on 'Junoon' made them move outside the country and they introduced Sufi Rock to the world, while NFAK was already pouring the magic of his majestic voice and music on the western world. Musicians from not just neighboring countries but from almost all around the globe were wishing to play or sing with him. This time period turned out to be a great twist in Pakistani music industry back home, where after the ban on Junoon and NFAK on a quest to conquer the music world left with a very little room for progress in Pakistani industry, however many bands like Strings, Vital Signs, Awaaz etc and solo singers were making the mark on the local screen.
In the beginning of New Millennium a miracle happened for Pakistani Music Industry along with other shows supporting the music industry the giant Pepsi Company came up with a fortune changing idea for the music industry of Pakistan called "Battle of the Band" and just like the boom in the mid 90's through different local TV shows this event turned out to be a drastic success, which took a completely new turn towards rock, progressive metal and metal music, which made Pakistani youth to bang their heads to music. Then started a new beautiful journey for music, where not only music became the attention of youngster but also the drastic change in style and the strong content of music have caught the attention of the audience. As the event concluded, some extraordinary bands like Aaroh, Noori, Mekaal Hasan Band, Entity Paradigm, Mizraab, Call, Sajid and Zeeshan, Karavan, Opre and many other bands which so far had been the highlights of a few underground jamming sessions made their way to the main stream industry and started to change the fate of the music in Pakistan. They have been considered as the new lot of highly talented bands and music was started to be taken seriously as much of a career than just a hobby. The best part about this transition is that the values of traditional music had not be shattered, with inspiration from western rock and metal music, these bands intent to indulge them with classical and traditional music introducing classical vocals, flutes, traditional instruments and on top strong content to their work. This was what I really liked about this transition that along the adoption of advanced features of international music we have successfully managed to keep our traditions and values in music alive. These bands managed to rule the mainstream music industry of Pakistan successfully for quite a long while, introducing different improvisation to the industry like the introduction of metal to Pakistan, in which 'Faraz Anwar' played a vital role as a leading guitarist of the industry. 'Mekaal Hassan Band' kept the tradition of classical instruments alive with western music, producing a mesmerizing blend, 'Noori' with the traditional western music produced some great influential poetic work in their lyrics on social issues of the country and faced by human societies. Youngster who have now grown up enough to understand the need of these ingredients in music were satisfied and religiously following these bands and their music.
As the industry started to evolve and provided platforms to new and fresh bands many fame hungry so called musicians and instant gratification seekers started to join the league and there happened the worst ever thing to music, concept of a 'need of high quality glamorous video' to make music successful, which turned out to be a sweet poison for the industry. Initially, music videos tend to make sense and some good directors were doing justice to the job but as the trend took pace every he and she caught the charm and started to jump into the profession of music video direction, which became the main source of fame for these music mongers, sacrificing the quality of music and its content. The quality of music and it's content started to fade and focus was laid on the quality of videos and its quantity. Video directors have been paid heavily and fame seekers with money bags started to hire these directors to make their videos the selling point of their music instead the music itself. This made a lot of new comers, with a very little knowledge of music, exploit the already set stage and there started the descent of Pakistani music industry. The former bands have taken ages playing underground to mature themseleves for the mainstream industry whereas these new band/singers who were too young to be performing had taken the driving seat of the industry and became the reason for the downfall of the industry. Most of them have gained an instant fame which brought them to the attention of neighboring film industry and invited them to direct their film music and other songs. These Pakistanis as overseas artists in bollywood didnt bother to focus much on the content or music but the enormous amount that has been paid in return.The introduction of neighboring cinema in Pakistan played the role of last nail in the coffin and these artists started to gain popularity in home as well leaving aside the local music to expose to dust. I must say there is not much quality left in music we listen nowadays, however Pakistani music used to be rich in its melody, presentation, lyrics and theme. Now, It seems very difficult to revive the music in Pakistan back to its standards, a few efforts were laid by some telecom and beverage companies, worth mentioning is Coke along with a pioneer of music in Pakistan 'Rohail Hayat' re-introducing a mix of great artists like Abida Parveen, Noori, Strings and other folk singers in the shape of a television show called 'Coke Studio'. So far 'Coke Studio' has done well to provide us a glimpse of what our music used to be but havent been able to sustain as they are out of musicians and the audience in not ready to go back to the original form of music since they are now so indulged in the current glamorous but poor quality of music.
Yet , there are a few bands left like the last ray of hope for the industry who are still trying their best to revive the lost integrity in music, worth mentioning are the efforts of Mekaal Hassan Band, Noori, Laal and Strings. Laal is turning out to be an another shift in music which provides hope for the future of music industry in Pakistan. Laal is a recently developed band, emerged in the midst of political shifts in Pakistan, which invested their efforts and took major participation in the Lawyers movement, which I believe was regardless of any biased and provided them a platform as their launch. Laal is progressive band which is keenly working on the lost revolutionary poetry of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Habib Jalib, Allama Muhammad Iqbal and different other great revolutionary poets from all around the world. Like Mekaal Hassan Band they also have a flutist in their band which gives a soothing effect of folk music which is a sign of loyalty to the music of the soil. Their lyrics are very strong, content and thought provoking, being social activists and working along different labor communities it seems very obvious that Laal has a very thorough understanding of social issues that are faced in Pakistan by a common man and there music depicts exactly the same understanding of life and social issues that every patriotic Pakistani holds. I am so glad to see another Pakistan band emerging as hope for the future of Pakistani music industry which is just not a music industry but an institution, I wish Laal serves as the cradle leadership for upcoming bands who are looking to serve Pakistan through their music. As I have mentioned earlier to me music is not just a melody followed by a few rhyming lines. Now music has turned into a tool, voice of an oppressed, weapon against the oppressor. Music is sound to the soul, and the language of love and sooner or later as the music industry revives again with young talented bands following into the footsteps of 'Laal' we will conquer the hearts of our people with this same language of love which is Music.
