Junoon, the biggest band in South Asia, is coming out with its new album on the 15th. The name of the album is Deewar. The album was supposed to be released by now, but due to the tragic event resulting in the lives of over 50 Pakistanis in a mosque bombing, it was delayed, and the special PTV launch program for the album was also called off. The album however, has not been released ** to anyone ** according to the Junoon management. The band will complete the video shootout for the song ‘pappu’ by the 15th.
Junoon, who are known to do very exquisite sound checks before their massave concerts, concentrated on the quality of sound in this album, thanks to experts like Brian and Alec. Working with them personally, I have come to know that they do not compromise ever when it comes to sound quality. Another interesting thing in this albums happens to be the fact that it does not feature Ustaad Aashiq Ali on the tablas. Now, Salman Ahmed, on the official Junoon forum confirmed that he will be back, as he was an integral part of Junoon, but he was not in this particular album for a reason. Also, he did not tour the US this year with Junoon.
Barish, Balma, Pappu, Deewar, Dhoom Tanna are up for demos on www.junoon.com so you can hear them. Some of the songs are also available on the audio forum of GS. So far, all the songs have been exceptional, with my personal favourite being Baarish and Dhoom Tanna.
Junoon: The Rock Star and the Mullahs (Thursday, July 17, 9 p.m.)
Producer/Directors: Angus Macqueen and Ruhi Hamid
Salman Ahmad is the charismatic lead guitarist for the popular Pakistani rock group, Junoon. Following the ancient Sufi tradition, the band’s music and lyrics reflect the moderate, liberal side of Islam. Salman has also become UNICEF’s chosen spokesman for AIDS prevention, and he and the group have publicly advocated the cause of peace with India. But a coalition of fundamentalist Islamic parties has made recent gains in Pakistani elections, and Junoon’s high profile places them in conflict with the hardliners. WIDE ANGLE follows Salman as he journeys to the tolerant, ancient city of Lahore and the fundamentalist stronghold of Peshawar to reveal the internal religious and political conflicts of the Islamic world. The mullahs want to ban the music but Junoon’s fans, among them Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, have made Salman a rock idol. From this trip emerges a rich portrait of modern day Pakistan, a pivotal nation in the war against terror.
Angus Macqueen has produced and directed some of the most prestigious documentaries on British television over the past decade. His films include DEATH OF YUGOSLAVIA (winner of the BAFTA and Columbia Journalism Awards), THE SECOND RUSSIAN REVOLUTION, THE HAND OF STALIN, DANCING FOR DOLLARS, and many others. He also directed THE EMPTY ATM about the Argentine economic crisis for WIDE ANGLE’s first season.
Ruhi Hamid recently filmed and directed a two-part series for Channel 4, WOMEN AND ISLAM, which examines the status of women’s lives in several Muslim countries. Specializing in working alone in hostile regions of the world, Hamid has filmed and directed numerous documentaries for British television. Her Channel 4 series LAHORE LAW was nominated for the Grierson Award for Best Documentary.
[QUOTE] Originally posted by Spock: *
Barish, **Balma*, Pappu, Deewar, Dhoom Tanna are up for demos on www.junoon.com so you can hear them. Some of the songs are also available on the audio forum of GS. So far, all the songs have been exceptional, with my personal favourite being Baarish and Dhoom Tanna.
I will post more info as it comes in...
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I couldn't find Balma anywhere...!!!
If you have it then plz post it in Audio Gallery.
The first review is out… The News (Pakistans biggest newspaper, whose sunday instep edition has usually been against Junoon) has given a very nice review and hailed junoon as the best!!! So much for you junoon critics, and also, read the sections in bold!!!
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Scaling Walls
From spiritual trips resulting in the output of sufi-rock to foreign ones giving way to Zeppelin-inspired tunes, **Junoon has come a long, long way and keep rising as they come up with their latest album. An Instep preview! **
By Farrukh Moriani
**For the last decade or so, Junoon has been categorized as Pakistan’s best music brand, and in true celebrity style, have remained in the news for their music or their personal lives. **Courted by controversy, mired in myriad debates surrounding their music and always seemingly at odds with the powers that be within the music industry and beyond, Junoon have lived up to the tag of the rebellious souls of Pakistani music. And yet, amidst all the anti-political posturing, the love-hate relationship with the media, kicking up storms with statements of one ilk or the other, they have successfully managed to stay at the top of their game by doing what they know best and sometimes better: making good music. If you don’t believe that, ask one of the thousands of Junoonis who buy their music and flock their concerts and swear by the name Junoon. Their music may have undergone a metamorphosis over the years, moving from guitar-driven-rock to head banging stuff and then on the religion shading sufi-rock to the hinting of Adult Rock in a contemporary mode to a more commercial/filmi style, but clearly, the junoon is still with them.
Their last album, ‘Ishq’, generated a lot of criticism from fans and critics alike for its distinct abandonment of the sufi-rock genre and its obvious flirtation with a more filmi, mushy style. While this writer would tend to agree that musically, the album didn’t gel in to a great extent and did not serve as the perfect bridge for the gulf that existed between their previous style and their newly acquired taste for the lighter stuff. It is easy to lose sight of the fact that as the premier band in Pakistan, there is a fairly heavy responsibility on Junoon to lead the way when it comes to critical decisions on the shape and sound of their music. Then again, that’s how it works in Pakistan; it becomes so easy for anyone to set a trend. But evolution has to happen, and like many other international acts, Junoon also made a bold step to change their style of music. They have been the pioneers when they started off with rock in the local scene, then not too familiar with even the R of it. ‘Ishq’ was 1990 revisited in the context of going with your own flow and working hard to convert the disbelievers. **For all their commercial savvy listeners, ‘Ishq’ demonstrated to me at least, that being true to their own musical inclinations, was still the first priority for the band. **
That said, the album did come in for much of flak at the hands of both sincere fans and the omnipresent hacks. So it would be perfectly reasonable to expect the band to bow before the criticism, revert back to a formulaic approach on their new album, dismiss ‘Ishq’ as an insignificant blip on their career radar and stow it away in the attic and go back to dabbling in the sufi-rock genre, right?
Wrong. In true Junoon style, their new album, ‘Deewar’, moves on from where they left off on ‘Ishq’. Not only is the music predominantly and significantly devoid of aspirations towards sufi-rock or any other formula-driven style, it presents an intriguing attempt at marrying political statements with personal expressions, as well as trying to make honest bedfellows out of rough-hewn rock and neo-pop. Importantly, with so much having been said about the imminent demise of Junoon as a group, **the making of ‘Deewar’ is the perfect riposte to all these rumours. **
One year in the making and flitting across two continents as it was mixed and produced in Pakistan and in the US, ‘Deewar’ is a statement of hope amidst the many hurdles, the resistance and the prejudices that surround our lives today, particularly against the backdrop of 9/11. The eleven songs on the album are not structured in the sense of revolving around a defined theme, as they touch upon romance, political realism and idealism, but the songs send out positive vibes and have an outlook that falls short of being naive but is sincere. Contrary to everyone’s expectations, the album does not contain any English songs and ‘No More’ which has been on heavy rotation on music channels, does not feature on ‘Deewar’ as it will form part of an English album-being launched through EMI, UK-that will follow the release of ‘Deewar’. To me that’s a plus, for I’ve never been too keen on multi-lingual albums as they tend to dissipate the mood, unless very tightly woven into a specific musical theme and treatment.
Three things stand out for me on the new album, which is due to hit the market on July the 15th: one, the continued pursuit of a sound that nestles somewhere between rock and pop; two, the swapping of some roles and evolution of others within the band; and three, the improved production values on the album which give it a crisp, tight sound. As we’ve said, ‘Deewar’ continues the journey begun with ‘Ishq’ in terms of musical outlook in that it consciously tries to shake off the strait-jacketing of the band in a music genre and tries to break free from the confines of stereotyping. All the songs may eventually be sending out messages - some subtle others harsh - about the need to hope for and believe in better days, but musically, the album is diverse with the softer gentler tones of ‘Sapney’ vying for attention with the bluesy-funky grooves of ‘Pappu Yaar’. This is clearly a result of the growing input of Ali in making the music for the band. Two of the songs on ‘Deewar’, the excellent opener ‘Taara Jala’ and ‘Sapney’ have their music done by Ali and present a sound that is fairly distinct from the rest of the songs on the album. And as part of the evolution of the roles of band members, while Ali dabbles with making music,** the album sees the launch of Salman as a serious vocalist. **
This role swapping is to me one of the exciting facets of the new album. Clearly, both have miles to go and promises to keep in their new roles, but it has to be said that Ali’s music and Salman’s singing (on the title track which was initially made in English, ‘Hangama’ and the remake of ‘Khwaab’ as well as backing up on ‘Ghoom Tana’) are outright revelations. What is also very obvious on the new album are the high production values, **as the work of John Alec and Shehzad Hasan and all the people at Imaad Studios at Karachi and John Alec Studios in New York have lent the album a well-knit, tight sound. Too often, Pakistani music has suffered as much for lack of quality content as it has for poor production values, but on ‘Deewar’ there’s a good package on offer. **
There are a number of songs that catch one’s attention, including the romantic ‘Taara Jala’, the flirtation with Ghalib on ‘Hangama’ and the enchanting remake of ‘Khwaab’ -which will be used as an anthem for a UN HIV/AIDS campaign. But to me, the strongest material on the album comes in the form of three songs: ‘Pappu Yaar’, which is a funky, tongue-in-cheek, index finger salute by the band to the people who are trying to write Junoon off (critics and bands alike); ‘Garaj Baras’ which dominates with Ali’s vocal play; and ‘Ghoom Tana’, which can be predicted a future hit with its inspiring feel and message. Incidentally, Ali Noor of noori features as a guest vocalist on this song. It is also interesting to note that the band reveals some of their influences by way of the title song, ‘Deewar’ which is almost homage to Nirvana, particularly their ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and ‘Baarish’, which is inspired by Led Zeppelin’s ‘Battle of Evermore’. But these two songs along with ‘Maza Zindagi Ka’, which Junoon should file under ‘forgettable’-represent the weaker commercial links in the album. There is also ‘Jhoolay Lal’ -which appears to be a sufi-rock number included on the album for ol’ times’ sake, but will have them dancing in the aisles nevertheless, for Junoon have this kind of music down to pat.
Sabir Zafar’s lyrics tend to lose their intensity, something Junoon has to look on while nobody can beat Ali in the race for the best vocals. Similarly, Salman’s playing and the work of the unsung hero of the band, Brian, continues to mesh together well. Junoon proves to be better called men than boys. Though, ‘Deewar’ might not define the new Junoon sound completely and while it represents a major step forward from ‘Ishq’, I believe that Junoon’s next Urdu album would be another healthy step in the music. There are still some loose ends to the album and the kind of solidity that emanates from the artist being at complete ease with what he has produced does not readily come though on this work. What ‘Deewar’ does do however, is to prove the band’s confidence in themselves and their desire to make music that is as much a real-politic statement as it is a reflection on their personal lives.
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*Originally posted by sherrybaba: *
Tell me more about the remake of khwab? I didn't see khwab on the song listings?This is so great!!!!!!!!!!!
I thouroughly enjoy khwab sung by ali azmat in concerts. It's simply beautiful and wondereed why they haven't released it before.
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You are right! When they performed khwab at our kazoo concert, everyone was like, what are they singing, but when the song went on, ppl were caught in the spell! At first only the old junoonis new what song it was...
Oh, and yes, they sing it on all their concerts now, its become a tradition, just like in the Pakistani concerts Salman plays the national anthem in the end! Sherry, alibeta must know about more details on this song in the new album...
he looks cool though