INSTEPREport
With the music-book album, Ismail Ka Urdu Sheher, Zohaib Kazi takes an untrodden path in the world of music and creates a fascinating, inviting world.
Karachi
Zohaib Kazi, a music producer who gradually made his way into Pakistan’s colourful music scene in the mid-2000s, launched his much-awaited graphic novel and music album, Ismail Ka Urdu Sheher on Monday, to a packed house. In attendance were some of the industry’s finest names such as Bilal Maqsood, Zoe Viccaji, Sikandar Mufti, Babar Shaikh, Naad-e-Ali Zaidi, Samra Khan, Saad Hayat, Raheel Manzar Paul and Rachel Viccaji among many others.
Zohaib’s experience of working for Coke Studio all these years helped him hone his craft, and this is his biggest and most ambitious project release to date.
What made Kazi’s album the talk of town, days ahead of its official release, is that it comes with a science fiction graphic novel, also written by Kazi, along with twelve songs that make up the music.
Published by Markings, which is spearheaded by Kiran Aman, the music-book album is the creation of Zohaib Kazi’s glorious imagination; he draws inspiration from science fiction and narrates a journey that is not just courageous but also one that is original and universal.
The launch event, held at Nueplex Cinema, to mark the release of this music project,
Sara Haider and Omran Shafique performing a track from the twelve-track mammoth album.
was split into various segments and made for an
“It is based on an excerpt from the book where Baraka is actively pursuing their campaign to send out a message in space,” Kazi explained while talking to Instep. “Daud is the commander of Baraka and the founder of the fabricon particle…the fundamental particle of ‘matter’; the thread of the fabric that matter is made from.”
A major highlight of the evening came with the quick and elating performance of the song, ‘The Death of Mehr-un-Nisa’ by Sara Haider, Omran Shafique, Zohaib Kazi himself and others. According to Kazi, this version had a different chord structure from the one in the album. This rendition also included a spoken word performance by Sarwat Gillani as she beautifully read an excerpt from the book.
So what exactly is this sci-fi book about? “Ismail Ka Urdu Sheher is based on a story that starts from earth and extends to the planet Elaan,
It seems that for Kazi arresting visuals are key as images of the characters that make up this 100-page novella were showcased on the big screen, and while Kazi and crew performed, the audience was treated to psychedelic visuals on the big screen that seemed to complement the music on display.
As the evening progressed, Zohaib Kazi also signed copies of his novella for fans, well-wishers and proceeded to chat with those who came out to support this unique effort.
While five songs from this twelve track album have been released online before, the new and old tracks serve as a soundtrack to the graphic novel. “The songs are intertwined with the book,” Kazi explained. “The illustrated book was necessary for the audience to get an idea of the visuals of the world [created in the book].”
The album itself comes in the form of a credit-card sized plastic with a pop-out USB attached to it, which you can safely store away in the card
Zohaib Kazi signs a copy of his music-book album for friend and fellow musician, Zoe Viccaji
Since Ismail ka Urdu Sheher is meant to be a sequel, can we expect more brilliantly executed audio-visual treats from Kazi in the future? “Can’t say when but it won’t take nine years, that I can bet on,” Kazi shared. “I have given myself a deadline of a year and a half … .the whole process was so exhausting that I’m kind of intimidated to jump on it immediately but I’m also feeling the temptation to explain the concepts further.”
Zohaib would like to encourage other artists and storytellers to expand the Ismail Ka Urdu Sheher universe by making extensions, prequels or perhaps alternate storylines. “That’s the eventual idea,” Kazi said.
– Photos by Kohi Marri