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When Music turns Muziq
By Ali Z Jalal
A few years back, a void was created in our muziq (sic) industry. Ever since the Vital Signs became not so vital, the Awaz was choked out, the Strings became rusty, and the Junoon remained no more, room was created at the top. A Sawal was raised, which was to some extent answered by the Battle of the Bands (BOB), as BOB gave rise to several Entities, which could later on serve as Paradigms.
During this time, another rather welcome change was brought about, with the emergence of some music channels bringing in a flux of talent. Finally some noor was shed on the previously neglected underground musicians, some of whom had been hanging around at Gawalmandi eating siri paaye and singing (cussing?) while they were at it. Along with this, some fused music also found its way into limelight.
Vital Signs and Junoon could be proud, having inspired so many groups of talented individuals to take up music as a serious job. The rather dead music industry was once again buzzing, with the likes of EP, noori, Fuzon, Aaroh, Mizraab, Mizmaar, and whatnot. All these in turn inspired some more wannabe musicians.
Putting together a band has become a trend. A boy from the neighbourhood (must not be familiar with the term ‘in-tune’) as vocalist, a guitar (occasionally accompanied by a ‘guitarist’, otherwise even the vocalist can hold it pretending to strum it, no one will notice anyway), a bassist, a drum kit (look for the drum kit only, as the owner will be part of the package deal), and you may as well add a rapper too. In about 30 minutes, the band is made.
Now it’s time for the band to go through the formality of making a song. This is the part most bands just want to skip, but you see by technical definition, a band is a group of individuals accompanied by a song, or maybe two if one doesn’t do the job. Consequently, the band meets up, sits together for an hour, and comes up with a tune. Now a tune must have lyrics to support, hence they get hold of a rhyme, which preferably shouldn’t make sense. The only thing now left is a name for the band.
“What’s the most difficult Urdu word you’ve ever heard and wondered what it means?” they ask each other. The first and most difficult term that pops up is decided on as the band’s name.
Some days back, I switched on the TV to one of the local music channels and all I could hear was the singer yelling “Jaoon kahan? Jaoon kahan?” Then came what seemed to be an effort to play a solo. Another fellow was holding a guitar, and if the stringed instrument had feelings it would have filed a lawsuit against that fellow for physical abuse. After repeatedly asking the question for about three minutes or so the song ended. After the song ended, it took me five minutes to recover from the shock. No sooner was I out of it, than my misery began yet again. Initially I thought the next performer was Ali Noor and he had started another band but then I noticed two major differences. Firstly he wasn’t as tall, and secondly he could not sing. Much more can be said about such performers, but enough for now.
Now on a serious note: Our music industry seems to be filling up with such ‘rock stars’; as this term gains popularity, another term takes a backseat, i.e. musicians. Who needs skills when you’ve got a pretty face? Without skills, you may get to the top, but how long will you stay there? Not very long. The followers of the current rock music trends fail to comprehend one thing: the people who inspired them have years and years of work behind them. Success does not come overnight.
Music is by no means a mere hobby. Our industry is full of people who are in it for fun. It is high time to change that trend. There is no dearth of talent in this country, but this talent must be groomed. Unfortunately there are no institutions available for training, but as most of the world’s great musicians are self trained that is not a major problem. If the passion is there, the input will come naturally. If the passion is missing, you might as well call it a day.
Many musicians, especially guitarists also love to show off their skills. Music isn’t about showing off, if it’s not pure, it’s not music. People like Aamir Zaki are perfect role models. The guy lives music, and he doesn’t need to play fast to get the listeners’ attention. His guitar licks/solos are of such quality that they speak to the listener. That is the essence of music.
All the emerging acts seem to be suffering from some kind of urgency. What’s the hurry? Take your time, once you know your stuff, then make a leap. Look at bands like Karavan and Fuzon, most of these guys are in their thirties. They have spent more than a decade refining their skills, now they are masters of their individual arts.
Unless these new bands decide to work harder, or unless the music channels make a conscious effort to put a filter on the music they play, we don’t see things getting any better. At this point, the only hope lies with bands like Karavan (if they ever decide to wake up), EP (if they fine tune their act), Fuzon (if they become less calculating), Noori (if they get over singing lullabies), Mizraab (if they get a proper vocalist or if Faraz gets rid of that pseudo accent/heavy voice), Junoon (if the junoon returns) and last but not the least, the Vital Signs (If they are alive, reading this, and ever decide to make a come back).
Till later…
P.S. I’d like to thank a local music channel, because if it wasn’t for the torture they gave me in the name of music, I wouldn’t be writing my first article for the print media.
Ali Z Jalal was killed in a tragic incident in Lahore on Sunday, 2nd November, along with his mother and sister. His first article is also, unfortunately, his last.