Music group Kashmir and Patari Tabeer sensation, Abid Brohi
cover Tahir Shah, Mathira and Waqar Zaka in the second
video from Patari Funkariyaan.
As music group Kashmir collaborates with Abid Brohi for Funkariyaan, Patari CEO Khaid Bajwa explains the mission behind the movement.
Patari, a tech music startup that is home to some of the most glorious music made in Pakistan, is so much more than your average streaming platform. Since appearing on the horizon many moons ago, they have backed a number of curious ventures that represent both the diversity of music and this region.
Patari Aslis, for instance, featured a number of brilliant indie acts while Patari Tabeer uncovered regional artists from across the country and teamed them up with equally talented music producers.
As the startup gears up to unveil the final song (featuring Zarsanga) from Fanoos, created by Zohaib Kazi in partnership with Patari, fans have ‘Patari Funkariyaan’ to contend with.
The first product of this venture, released three weeks ago, culminated in a video featuring Ali Sethi and Ali Hamza as they sang traditional shaadi songs. Playful in nature and released in the shape of a video, it was made without any prior rehearsals or jamming session but captured the artists on their spontaneous best.
In the inaugural Patari Funkariyaan video, Ali Hamza and Ali Sethi sang traditional shaadi songs on the fly.
The second video, released last week, is fortunately just as appealing as its predecessor since it features music group Kashmir, who were crowned winners of 2017 Pepsi Battle of the Bands, alongside Abid Brohi (aka Sibbi Boy) who broke onto the scene earlier this year with Patari Tabeer’s ‘The Sibbi Song’.
In the Patari Funkariyaan video, which runs over two minutes, Kashmir and Sibbi Boy sing or rather cover songs by the likes of Tahir Shah (‘Eye to Eye’), Waqar Zaka (‘Nahi Parha Maine’) and Mathira (‘Jhoota’).
While Kashmir’s vocalist, Bilal Ali, armed with an acoustic guitar, lends rich soul to even bizarre tunes like Shah’s ‘Eye to Eye’, Sibbi brings his own flavor to the tunes and sort of steals the show, reminding us that he can make even tedious-sounding tunes remarkable.
Speaking to Instep from Lahore, Patari CEO Khalid Bajwa explained that the idea behind Funkariyaan is to embrace the quirkiness and spontaneity with which artists work.
“Funkariyaan is about spontaneity and showing a side of musicians that is very human and very quirky,” said Bajwa. “For example, with Ali Hamza and Ali Sethi, it was about whether these guys can create something on the spot, play on their ability and their inherent chemistry. That is how music is actually made. The idea is to showcase the creation of music in the moment. The cost of doing it for a musician is very low and the cost of putting it out is very low.”
Though Patari is working on a number of initiatives that will be disclosed when the timing is right, the purpose of Funkariyaan is to keep the momentum of music alive and relevant in some form.
It has to be said that in an age where corporatization of music is at an all-time high and artists can, at times, sound overproduced and/or stuck in a particular sound, Patari Funkariyaan comes across as a refreshing change of pace. And it’s not over just yet. There is a third video in the pipeline as well and it will feature pop music superstar Ali Zafar.
Beyond Funkariyaan, Patari has a number of ambitious and inclusive projects in the pipeline including plans to launch a second volume of Patari Aslis. This means that the startup’s quest to release original music is far from over. For now though, give Funkariyaan a view. It is, as Bajwa puts it, the creation of music in the moment and that has its own lasting value.