Asim Azhar, Shamoon Ismail, Young Stunners, Mooroo and
Tik-Tok star Areeqa Haq collaborate with other artists for an
all-star song, ‘Tum Tum’

It is great to see emerging musicians of this decade cater to an audience that craves new music. And, to be fair, some listeners are simply not as addicted to the bands of previous decades such as Junoon, Vital Signs, The Milestones, et al.
As the global sound and business model changes, so has the soundscape and the artists who will adapt to that sound will ultimately make it.

Three such popular artists are Shamoon Ismail, Young Stunners and Asim Azhar. After collaborating with Abdullah Siddiqui, Shamoon joins Asim Azhar in an all-star single, ‘Tum Tum’ backed by a music video.

However, when such a slew of artists with their unique fanbase come together for a song, expectations are far too high to be met.

Nonetheless, the effort made by Asim along with the rest of the artists is a decent example of a collaborative song from the new crew of artists ready to take over from past giants. While not indicative of their best work, Asim Azhar understands how to cater to a massive audience. This song is a prime example. Various other artists such as Raamis, Areeka Haq, Hania Aamir and Asad Siddiqui also feature in the music video with some ft. on the song as well.

As for its interpretation, it falls on the listeners and what they pick up from it. From its lyrical content, the song seems to be about girlfriend problems. Though a bubblegum pop-esque song, ‘Tum Tum’ should appeal to the huge base of Asim Azhar, followed by Shamoon Ismail, Mooroo, Young Stunners as well as the rest of the artists present.

Ali Suhail set for fifth solo album

The co-singer of the revamped Takatak (the nu-metal band based out of Lahore) that is racking up acclaim in the local music scene for its 2020 release, Acrophase, Ali Suhail is an extraordinary talent.

An LSA nominee, Takatak is just one of the many things Ali Suhail does. He continues to be a significant member of Sikandar Ka Mandar (SKM; two albums so far) as well. Suhail is also a producer for several indie artists including Shajie, Natasha Noorani and SKM.

After his last LP, Pursuit of Irrelevance (2017), Suhail is working on new solo material. He is gearing up to drop his fifth studio album, White Flag. But before he does, Suhail is thinking about releasing a slew of singles, he told Instep.

The first one from the lot is ‘Bubbleboi’ and Suhail has just dropped it. If you’ve been listening to his solo albums, you will understand just how much he has grown as a solo artist.

Having worked with Rahema Alam (who is behind the music video) and Yusuf Ramay, who played drums on ‘Bubbleboi’, Suhail had great things to say about them. “It was amazing collaborating with both of them. I didn’t have any direction or any guidelines for them to follow and their instincts have proven to be amazing. It’s been pretty amazing working with Yusuf & Rahema and to see how they interpreted the music I was able to give them.”

White Flag, the LP – slated to release soon – is an ambitious effort. It includes collaborations with Abdullah Siddiqui, Ibrahim Imdad, Shehzad Noor, Yusuf Ramay, Saif Abbas Rizwan, Aaishay Haque, Nasir Siddiqui, Adeel Tahir, Nadir Shehzad Khan, Hashim Cheema, Zain Peerzada and Varqa Faraid.

In other words: some of the most talented musicians in Pakistan. Describing what White Flag is about, Suhail said in a press statement: “The title itself is slightly deceptive as it seems to signify a retreat or submission but once you engage with it, it becomes an ambush.”

Talal Qureshi features Natasha Noorani on new single

Through one alias or another, Talal Qureshi has been dropping music and collaborating with some fascinating artists along the way. He was one of the headlining artist at Lahore Music Meet 2020 and during his set, Maanu and Faris Shafi featured respectively.

Natasha Noorani, the co-founder of Lahore Music Meet, along with others, hosts more than just the favourite independent symposium on music. She is also an artist, having collaborated with Strings, as well as a handful of other artists. She is also one half of Biryani Brothers and a solo music savant as well and has featured on the soundtrack of films such as Chalay Thay Saath (2017).

When two edgy artists like Qureshi and Noorani work together, the result is more than your average. With her husky voice and his producing tricks, the outcome is special. Dabbling in R’n’B and Soul, the single ‘Constant Summer’ gives Natasha an opportunity to showcase her vocal dexterity, again after her solo EP, Munaasib.

With Talal Qureshi producing songs featuring other artists, this is one of the better collaborations. It is pretty sweet in the sense that it has the depth to last beyond the sweltering summer, the monsoon season and beyond the pandemic [Covid-19] that has been infecting people and leading to catastrophic results.