The upcoming single is backed by a Jami-directed music video and is a juxtaposition of the internal battle between light and dark within us.
We’ve said it before and we will say it again, 2018 is the year of Strings. The music group featuring pop pioneers Bilal Maqsood and Faisal Kapadia, began the New Year with a brave move by announcing a new record called 30 as a way of celebrating 30 years of existence. The first single from that record, ‘Sajni’ was released last month, accompanied by a killer neon dream-esque music video, courtesy of Yasir Jaswal. Since arriving, ‘Sajni’ has picked up more than 500,000 hits on YouTube alone and has won over fans and critics.
The band is in no mood to slow down. Living up to their promise of releasing a single (with its own music video) every month, they are close to releasing the second single from 30, which is called ‘Urr Jaon’. To be released later this week, the single’s music video is directed by Jami, and a teaser of it has been unveiled by the band online.
Featuring shots of young children running against the sea, the winds and an indoor shot showcasing opulence, the 15 seconds teaser is fascinating and marks the union of director Jami and Strings after quite a while.
The song is described by the band (on their Instagram post) as a “mellow number featuring Maqsood’s mellifious vocals cushioned in the quintessential Strings pop-rock sound.” They also reveal that “the experience of ‘Urr Jaon’ is personal and heavy with emotion.”
As for the direction of the video by the maverick Jami, the band reveals in the same post: “Jami cleverly juxtaposes the war between the light and the dark within ourselves through the conceptual music video. Shedding light upon an issue that plagues our society, the song is given a new meaning with the visual landscape that he sculpts.”
Jami and Strings have collaborated on several music videos in the past such as ‘Anjaane’, ‘Duur’, ‘Main Tou Dekhoonga’, ‘Humsafar’ and many more, so this reunion is one we’ve been waiting for, for a long time now.
If ‘Sajni’ was pure joy and a celebration by the band for the fans with a realisation that here was a landmark that the group didn’t think it would reach - when it first began 30 years ago, ‘Urr Jaon’ feels introspective and poignant.
As Bilal Maqsood told Instep in an extensive interview last month, “‘Urr Jaaon’ talks about the day I’ll die and that feeling is that I am at peace and I want to be happy the day I die, without any regrets.”
While the video releases on April 6, it’s also great to see the band pushing its music without losing the grace that they have become synonymous for, whether it’s a morning show or the closing ceremony of Pakistan Super League.
– Strings photo by Khuala Jamil/Courtesy of Salt Arts
