Maanu, a Lahore-based singer, songwriter, rapper and producer, has quietly shown his grit by releasing music, even in these relentless days and months of uncertainty and a pandemic outbreak.

Since the Covid-19 outbreak has changed what was once considered normal and as a new normal emerges, Maanu has been consistent in releasing music after his debut LP Yain City that arrived in 2020. Apart from collaborating on ‘5 Am’ with Talal Qureshi this year, he has also worked with Hasan Raheem for a song that also featured Talal Qureshi and released in 2021.

As a solo artist, he continues to leave a mark, first with ‘Melancholic’ that was released earlier this summer and now with ‘Risky’. Embracing a collaborative spirit in a true sense, for ‘Risky’, the music video is directed by Zain Peerzada and Luke Azariah with the song written, composed and performed by Maanu and produced by Arhum Sameed. What’s most fascinating is that when you listen to the song, it makes a stronger than its preceding single, ‘Melancholic’. The production is solid but not overdone while the overall motif of sound is electronic but downplayed to a point that Maanu’s vocals are on top of it and sound great.

As for what the song is addressing, it is about a relationship between two people and the complexities that come with it. The music video also has a narrative, which would be best seen rather than a discussion.

The rappers in Pakistan across the board seem to be the sound of the moment as they continue to drop music with regularity. Dabbling in electronic music, they are gaining a strong following. Maanu is certainly one of them.

Kashan Admani announces a film project

Kashan Admani, who first shone in the spotlight with music group Mizmaar, has accomplished a great deal since those early days. In fact, right now he seems to be the man of the hour. Apart from launching a state-of-the-art studio in Karachi called Dream Station Productions, he also created a digital music platform called Acoustic Station. Season 1 featured the likes of Chand Tara Orchestra among many others. Having been a member of the Coke Studio sessions (house-band), as well as a session player for Junoon, and Strings, Kashan is also a member of the mighty Guitar Collective that also features the likes of Asad Ahmed and Omran Shafique.

Given his drive to constantly keep on working, Kashan Admani has announced a film project called Carma, which he is producing as well as directing. The thriller features an ensemble of prominent actors such as Adnan Siddiqui, Zhalay Sarhadi, Osama Tahir, Arjumand Rahim, Khalid Anam, Paras Masroor and many more, it is described as a film “with great actors, strong women, a Tarantino inspired non-linear storyline & soundtrack.”

If you analyze the teaser trailer, it is obvious that this is not going to be your run-of-the-mill dramedy, a genre that has made Pakistani filmmakers new kings of the contemporary cinema. Carma, on the other hand, is far from it. Whether Kashan Admani be as successful in directing a film and in the arena of cinema as he has been with music remains to be seen.

Rearts continues to be a source of
good music

Technology is helping redefine how human beings communicate but even before such a situation, the pandemic known as Covid-19 emerged, the digitization of music had already begun. Now any song is just a click away. But what song will it be? There is such a thing as too much content that can cause a sort of dissonance. However, with platforms like Rearts it is easier to see what music is emerging as a single, EP or LP and whether it will appeal to your musical sensibility.

Apart from high profile names associated with Rearts PK such as Ali Noor, Auj and Bayaan, Rearts has unveiled a series of material ranging from singles to EPs. Among new music is ‘Wo Chahe’ by Samandar ft. Hisar Zaidi, Pakar Dhakar’s EP titled Hum, Shorbanoor’s ‘Prelude to Murder‘, ‘Thinking About You’, performed by Uzair and Zoha Zuberi and written by the latter among other releases.

Another great and underrated space is A for Aleph where musicians as diverse as Wajiha Ather Naqvi, Takatak and Aizaz Sohail have recorded their respective albums while A for Aleph Records also representing artists such as Naqaabposh (Seth aur Saanp), Aziz Kazi (Cacan), Aam Taateel (Khudsar), Aizaz Sohail (Khayal) among several other talented names.