Instep overview

 

Patari Tabeer, a music series whose noble mission is to unearth and highlight unheard, raw talent from across Pakistan, is still doing incredibly beautiful things. Backed by the music start-up, Patari, the project brings together artists – who despite talent, explosive verve and heart have remained essentially undiscovered and without a national profile prior to this effort – with an equally capable and inventive music producer. The result is inspired creation and a musical narrative that is both strong and filled with enormous depth and honesty. By putting these young artists with producers who are willing to experiment and innovate, the songs have a musical architecture that is both unmistakable and unpredictable. What it really means is that these songs not only have a story but one that will stay with us.

In the first episode of Patari Tabeer, we as listeners were introduced to ‘The Sibbi Song’ by Abid Brohi, who counts Balochistan as home. Tying up with the terrific music unit, SomeWhatSuper, who count Lahore as their base, the track full of Sindhi rap versus is boisterous, retro and elating. It is not surprising that the song has broken all sorts of records for Patari, who also backed the six-track original indie effort, Patari Aslis, last year.

In the second episode, we fell in love with the heart-melting talent of 12-year-old Mohammad Jahangir who sang the folk classic, ‘Chitta Chola’. His poignant rendition of the song mixed with Abbas Ali Khan’s production made it a substantial effort that remains gratifying and moving.  Khan provided the song with a layer of darkness, a kind of obscure electro treatment that made it stand tall.

With the third track, Patari Tabeer unearthed the world of Lyari, a space that is entrenched in conflict, blood and violence by putting together the music crew of Lyari Underground with music producer Dynoman and letting the brave and defiant track, ‘Players of Lyari’ come to surface. The song is not only rebellious but tells the story of those who live in Lyari and echoes their sentiments and resilient ways.

Our story, therefore, begins with episode four of Patari that has brought with it a song called ‘Jugni’ performed by a man called Nazar Gill, and produced by the hugely talented Farhan Zameer. Before I get into the personal story of this artist, let me just say this about the song: it is sonically trippy, languid and laced with a kind of ambient, slightly psychedelic character that is fulfilling and completely compatible with Gill’s voice. Nazar Gill has the kind of voice that is deeply moving because the emotion behind it is so very real. Nothing is manufactured about it. ‘Jugni’ with its harmonious simplicity has lasting appeal and feels organic. Farhan Zameer, as music producer, deserves a round of applause for opting for his hypnotic treatment while Gill’s voice, full of flavour, character and hope, won’t let you down.

As Patari revealed in a statement about this particular collaboration, Nazar’s story is both moving and inspiring. Born in Faisalabad, he always "wanted to be a musician. He would find various ustaads in his area, and use the savings from his various jobs to pay for lessons. In the summer of 2015, while working as a house cleaner in a block of apartments in Islamabad, he decided to take a chance. He knocked on the door of one of the residents, who happened to be working at Patari. When the door opened, he asked for a few minutes to perform a song he had written."

Furthermore, Patari adds: "His story of a young man with a big dream, ended up becoming the template for Patari Tabeer. Once the project was underway, Patari asked Farhan Zameer to produce it. The team invited Nazar Gill to come down to Lahore, where he recorded the vocals. On Christmas Day 2016, Patari’s team drove down to Nazar’s family village near Faisalabad, where he was celebrating the occasion with his family. It was there, in their house and on a pair of borrowed speakers that he heard his song for the first time, in front of everyone he loved."

Authentic, spiritual and moving, Nazar Gill’s ‘Jugni’ makes for required listening for anyone who is looking to explore the voices of Pakistan beyond the commercial realm of urban pop music and corporate-fueled familiar-sounding efforts.

Since arriving in the month of January, Patari Tabeer has not only delivered songs that are memorable, honest and innovative but has done so with courage. From backing tracks like ‘Players of Lyari’ with its political undertone to their instinct of protecting these talented voices from an overzealous and often thoughtless news media, Patari has proven that not only is it the one-stop home of Pakistan’s most glorious music but it also has a deep, abiding respect for all artists, including mainstream and well-known names, indie darlings and all the ones we’ve seen and heard through the birth and existence of Patari Tabeer.

Since making its mark upon release, the music series has been covered by Reuters and Forbes while the first two songs from the series, according to Director of Content, Patari, Ahmer Naqvi, have within a week of their release crossed the one million mark. And industry insiders like  Ali Gul Pir, Asfandyar Khan aka TMPST, Sara Haider, Babar Sheikh, Momina Mustehsan, Jami, Nadia Jamil, Zulfiqar J. Khan aka Xulfi and writer Mohammed Hanif have endorsed this project as well.

Changing lives of those associated with the project while giving music listeners a sonic experience that is both experimental and lasting, Patari Tabeer remains an excellent effort with an inviolable record. Bravo.