The shadow of Junaid Jamshed’s death continues to haunt us. The former Vital Signs vocalist, who seemed to always carry an internal conflict, eventually exiled himself from the world of music to follow a higher calling and now remains a reminder of the past and all that could’ve been.
Ali Zafar sings ‘Uss Rah Par’ while Junaid Jamshed can be seen in the background. A poignant tribute that also features Ali
Hamza and Strings, it is, in many ways, the perfect end to a season that has seen both hits and misses. Here’s hoping another
season is on the cards.
MusicMix
In its finale episode, the music production remembers Junaid Jamshed.
The shadow of Junaid Jamshed’s death continues to haunt us. The former Vital Signs vocalist, who seemed to always carry an internal conflict, eventually exiled himself from the world of music to follow a higher calling and now remains a reminder of the past and all that could’ve been.
With his untimely death this year that sent ripples through the music community and beyond, a number of tributes have emerged that are meant to punctuate the loss felt by fans and industry members alike.
Among them is Atif Aslam’s tribute to Junaid Jamshed that he presented at the Lux Style Awards earlier this year and one that involved him singing a reworked version of the single, ‘Uss Rah Par’. It is an iconic song that told us upon release that even without the company of Vital Signs members, Jamshed could create music that had value.
The second and far more effective tribute emerged at the recently concluded edition of Pepsi Battle of the Bands where Vital Signs bassist Shehzad ‘Shahi’ Hasan took the stage and sang the single, ‘Namumkin’. During the song, Hasan noted ‘this is for you Junaid’ and in that moment stole proceedings from just about everyone. Joined by Asad Ahmed, who has toured with Vital Signs and also featured on their fourth studio album, Hum Tum, it was a moving performance; one that will echo through the years.
While these two tributes have made their mark, a third tribute to Junaid Jamshed is also on the cards and is set to appear via Coke Studio 10.
According to our information, the tribute is put together by music director Jaffer Zaidi while the song (‘Uss Rah Par’) being presented is the title track from Jamshed’s second solo album and was originally composed and written by Shoaib Mansoor.
For this particular tribute, artists Ali Zafar and Ali Hamza have joined forces with Faisal Kapadia and Bilal Maqsood of Strings in what is bound to be a rare collaboration.
Though Strings took charge of Coke Studio in its seventh season, they have chosen to stay away from the spotlight that follows performing artists and have given the opportunity to other artists instead. This means that they are returning to the role of vocalists for the first time since the breakthrough second season of Coke Studio during which they sang the melancholic, ‘Titliyaan’. For fans of Strings, this appearance is therefore an important milestone.
It is also interesting to see Ali Hamza and Strings take on the role of featured artist in a season where both have also played the role of music director.
Speaking about the song and how it came together, music director Jaffer Zaidi, whose work on the show so far has been nothing short of brilliant, noted: “When we were recording the song, we could tell there was something missing. I wanted Strings to perform on the song and they agreed! I feel like it’s an important contribution because they knew Junaid Jamshed and Vital Signs personally and spent time with them. They bring a certain value to the song that I can’t describe. I’m very happy with the song.”
Given the momentous nature of this collaboration including the coming together of some of the best musical minds in the country, balance of probability states that this collaboration will be special.
