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A slew of Pakistani musicians get endorsed by Rolling Stone India

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Sat, 10, 18

Independent artists from Pakistan have been making waves for some time now. The most recent example is a feature article on five artists – Ammar Farooki, Jay Alvi, Natasha Noorani, Farhad Humayun and Abdullah Siddiqui – that has been published by Rolling Stone India this week.

The article describes Ammar Farooki’s new single: “A little bit of Eddie Vedder and the winsomeness of nineties rock are predominant on Lahore singer-songwriter Ammar Farooki’s debut single ‘Caveman’,” before reminding us that he’s been performing for a few years and has an EP called Songs From the Cave coming soon.

The multi-talented Natasha Noorani’s recently released solo EP, the transformative Munaasib is described, in the article as sublime. “A vibrant, refreshing dose of R&B and soul fed through modern electronic and rock production. The five-track EP pulls and pushes in all directions, from the stomping ‘Apocalypse How?’ to the hectic ‘Fever Dream, alongside sublime multi-layered songs like ‘Work’ and ‘Occupy’,” noted Rolling Stone India.

The experienced musician/drummer Farhad Humayun, who was the force behind music group Overload that emerged with great flair in 2003, said the article “brings out classic disco-funk with a heavy serving of filmi kitsch on his latest, ‘Kambakht’,” before adding, “If you need any more proof that drummers can be rockstars as well, look no further than Humayun, considering his powerful croon that goes with vocalist Faiza Mujahid on the song. It’s got a solid brass section and a glamorous music video to boot.”

The article also noted that Abdullah Siddiqui, the Lahore-based electronic music producer “goes beyond just making beats” while having stated about Jay Alvi, a member of the collective Daranti group as “Karachi-based rapper Jamal Alvi aka Jay Alvi fires off with socio-political commentary on the country in Urdu and English on his new track ‘Kab Tak,’ adding, “Starting out in 2007, Alvi worked with Indian rappers like Enkore, D’Evil and KRU-172 on his D.E.S.I. Mixtape and went on a break in 2012, restarting with Daranti Group in 2016 to get back in the ring for old school-flavored politically conscious hip-hop.”