The blue eyed boy of jazz is back again. After a stint at direction (in which he is still actively involved), Yasir has come up with yet another chart topper. A fusion of rock, bhangraand hard core romanticism - ’ My Love’ - his new album is soulful but with an undercurrent of commercialism. This Yasir waves off with his characteristic smirk while candidly admitting that commercial appeal is the name of the game. This is his third offering, but unlike the previous two albums this one is a solo effort.
His Arid Zone days are over, as are his carefree bachelor days – no more is he a teeny bopper who loved to hop all over the stage causing the cheesiest of controversies. The Yasir of today is a different man, mature and subdued with a straight forward approach to life. And this shows in his music. His ‘Jazz’ sponsored album is an amalgamation of his experiences over the years coupled with soulful memories and fantasy plots - result, tunes which are worth lending a ear to.
On a lighter note, Yasir travels down memory lane recalling experiences and voicing views about the ‘what-nots’ of life in general.
Yasir on his music: The base of my music is emotions. I pick up a particular feeling or sentiment and then string it into a song the way people pick up tunes. Being a director I visualize the song before I compose it. Music to me is expressing emotions.
On Arid Zone: A colorful memory of bygone days. That was a carefree time in life when me and some some boys from school got together to form a band. We formed a tune, did everything from composing to directing the video ourselves. At concerts we tried to introduce new gimmicks to entertain the audience; often it was wild! But then one of the band members Kamran, left for the U.S for higher studies and the other Shariq got busy with his MBA. Though Shariq helped me with Jogi, I was more or less on my own from there.
On marriage: Marriage has matured me. Definitely a step forward. As for losing out on female fans, that’s a very shallow attitude. A myth if anything at all.
On fatherhood: Has made me more sensitive, emotional and in a nutshell - closer to real life. The change shows in my music which has become softer. Gone is the hard edge, the metallic beat and the rock element - it’s smoother, softer and much more real now.
On direction: Direction is my bread while music is my butter. Like most directors have a style of their own, so do I. I like to stick to beautiful locations contrary to the saying of critics who insist that I stick to the run-of the-mill boy and girl theme. Pakistan has some of the most beautiful sights and I’ve explored these in my videos. ‘My Love’ was shot in Saif-ul-Mulk, one of the prettiest places, ever, a visually enthralling experience.
On Milan: That was my first song ever. It was about hope - about longing and it featured me and my two band members lusting after the same girl, except that she eventually walks off with another guy. But it gave me the boost I needed. After Milan there was no looking back as it released a burst of non-stop melody in my veins.
On border-hopping: Everybody’s jumping on the Indian bandwagon but not everyone has had a very good experience. Sajjad Ali was quite upset because they toyed with the video of ‘Sohni lagde’ and the end result was not as upbeat as the original song. But the fact remains that India has a bigger market and one has to look after one’s bread and better as well. So I am planning to release ‘My Love’ in India as well but I’d like to be a part of the whole thing. I would like to direct my video myself so that I’m in control and know what’s happening to my music.
On the local Pop scene: It’s like a directionless river. There’s so much happening but it lacks direct action. We have a lot of potential to make good music but sadly it’s not being utilized.
On the new album: It’s about passion, reminisces – a trip down memory lane. It has all shades of life. Sadness, longing, anxiety and hope. Chanmai, the first song has been sung in all four major languages of Pakistan. It’s a song with a message of tolerance. ‘Ay Sanam’ is a catchy ditty, with Spanish and Arabic undertones. Plus a couple of nostalgic tunes and strong romantic ones. It’s basically about emotions and the songs are all based on feelings that I felt at the time of composing it.
On sponsorship: I’m often talked of as the branded man, because I always seek sponsorship for my projects. Fact is one can’t survive without sponsorship. It’s a pre-requisite in these days of cut throat competition. What with MTV blasting the latest technology in our homes and V, B4U and ten others showing visually bombastic stuff, one has to have a substantial budget to make something that can at least be run side by side the dolper video on satellite.
On censorship: Liberalization is on its way, or so it seems at present. A good sign because creativity is stifled by restriction. The sad part is a lot of people misuse liberty by airing tasteless presentations which force the authorities to impose the same restrictions on all.
On Jazz girl Zara Sheikh: Despite being a star, she’s very down to earth. She’s definitely got the gloss which will take her far down the road of stardom. The song that features Zara ‘Ay sanam’ was included on the last moment on Mobilink’s (my sponsors’) suggestion. In the video she plays the Jazz girl - which she actually is! She steps out of the hoarding to make a lucky guy’s fantasy come true.
Whatever limits us we call fate!
Whatever we can’t change we call destiny!
The Day She Left…
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