Natasha Noorani’s personal narrative as an artist is most palpable in her solo music. We first heard it in her debut EP Munaasib that was produced by indie giant Ali Suhail. Now the singer and songwriter has dropped her first single off her upcoming album Ronaq; she has arranged, composed, written and performed the single ‘Choro’ herself.

Noted a press statement: ‘Choro’ is the first single off of Natasha Noorani’s upcoming album. Co-produced by Abdullah Siddiqui & Natasha Noorani, ‘Choro’ is channeling new-wave Pakistani pop music. For Noorani, the song represents a bold step from her previous EP Munaasib, into the world of Urdu Pop/RnB.”

The sound is fresh and not necessarily an extension of songs that were featured on Munaasib but rather like an embracing of a pop-esque wave of the contemporary age. The complex nature of the lyrical and sonic content serves as a surprise. Even in Urdu, Natasha articulates a world that exists and isn’t discussed enough. Likewise, the music video – co-directed by Natasha alongside Abdul-Rehman Malik - is a pleasant, complementary showcase that doesn’t overpower the other. The two previously worked on Natasha’s track ‘Trace’.

Noted Natasha in a statement: “The song is about being stuck in a toxic environment and the labour of leaving. Each space in the music video showcases a different aspect of that struggle. I wrote the first demo for this song in 2019 on my laptop webcam as a joke and it evolved into a song that has served me well over the years and I’m hopeful it will do the same for others.”

Natasha Noorani, an ethnomusicologist (from SOAS) is one of those rare artists who is able to walk the line between mainstream music and carving her own musical narrative. Natasha has many avatars such as being a part of Biryani Brothers (with Zahra Paracha) to being the co-founder of Lahore Music Meet to a collaborative artist who has worked with multiple artists including Sikandar Ka Mandar and Talal Qureshi and singing for films.

Jamal Rahman co-produces song
and directs video for Towers

Jamal Rahman, who has his sight set on cinema for quite some time (enough that he earned a diploma in screenwriting from abroad), is bringing his ideas to the screen in one way or another. Apart from co-producing a song called ‘Seedhi Baat’ by Towers, he also directed the music video which he admits is, in essence, a short-film.

A press statement noted, “Seedhi Baat is a contemporary take on narrative centric music videos that aim to subvert genre tropes in its pacing, performances and hyper-stylized visuals. The breakneck pace of the narrative is filled to the brim with clever details that unveil themselves upon multiple views, but pay attention because if you blink, you’ll miss it!”

“Written, directed and edited by Jamal Rahman, ‘Seedhi Baat’ casts the three band members Ashir Bhatti, Bilal Baloch, Changez Basir, as well as Jamal himself who has also produced the music. The cast also includes Sikander Ali, Daniya Emion, and Pervaiz khan.” The effort is produced by Samiya Ansari, who is associated with strong projects like Cake, Churails and 1978.

Pakistani music video directors have often used the medium of music videos to create short films, which has helped them in carving their name in the emerging cinema scene age. Adding his name to his predecessors, Jamal has directed a fantastic short with Towers. Towers and Jamal Rahman are no strangers to music, which potentially helped in the song’s overall favour. Check it out; this one is innovative with a sizzling score.

Guitar Collective expands; drops new video

In what is considered one of the biggest hits of their career, ‘Times Like This’, Foo Fighters once wrote: “It’s times like these you learn to live again/It’s times like these you give and give again/It’s times like these you learn to love again.“

This lyrical purity is proving true for some of Pakistan’s biggest guitarists in the age of a pandemic that is looming all around us. Numbers of patients has increased, creating a sense of despair. In the absence of concerts, this is an initiative that should bring some hope to people who miss live music. Guitar Collective featuring mostly the country’s top guitarists has grown and ultimately will provide some music as opposed to the gaping void. Apart from releasing a musical piece post Eid-ul-Fitr that featured guitarists from 6 different countries, Guitar Collective now includes 125 renowned guitar players from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Dubai and expats from USA, UK, Canada and Australia.

The initiative is the first in the region, according to the Collective. Beyond the video that was released post Eid, the Collective has several plans. Stated a press statement, “In the coming days, we plan to release introductory videos of all the guitar players so the community knows about them and their plans. There is constant content being published on our Facebook group from all the guitar players on the roster and is moderated strictly to ensure quality of content.”

They also aim to host sessions on subjects such as guitar techniques, theory and several others. With such strong names involved, we suggest you check them out.