“Corporate Songs give us the opportunity to get out of our shells and collaborate with other creative people. People know that our in-house productions are a very extensive process; a single song takes months to complete.
In this case, we have very limited time – a one-time team is formed and we have to deliver in like 10 days! So it’s an intense exercise. But great fun!
….

We have known Ali Hayat for a long time (he’s the PEPSI man from the advertising world). He has been pushing to get the band on-board for the last 8 years, and finally a deal went through. We guess that made it special in a way… Ali’s a very good writer, and like all of us, he takes his time in coming out with his best!

Lyrics and melodies down, we went into Shuja Hyder’s studios to produce this song (drum recording and mastering took place at Gumby’s studio). We have worked with Shuja and Shani (his brother) before on the Cornetto Song and just like before the experience was awesome! This time however the sound was more rock and that made it much more fun for Shuja as well.”

While the song has been released and clips of it have also been used in the last 2 PEPSI commercials, the real excitement  will build once the OFFICIAL VIDEO is released.

The release dates is slated around the same time the T20 Cup kicks off!

Meanwhile, check out a BTS from the video shoot in Colombo. Seems like everyone had some great fun…

The Program:
Sponsored by the US Deptt. of State and designed by the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) in collaboration with Lisa Booth Management (Tour Managers) and Rock Paper Scissors (Media PR), Center Stage is a 6 month long program aiming at Cultural Diplomacy. 10 performing artists from Pakistan, Indonesia and Haiti have been short-listed to be part of this program and apart from performances they will also be engaging in activities like workshops, discussions, artist-to-artist exchanges, and community gatherings.
Click here to read more about the program and artists involved.

noori is opening the tour:
Yes, we have the privilege of being the opening performers (alongside our very own Sufi sensation, Arieb Azhar) for this program. And then, the fact that this will be our very first tour of the US, gets us even more excited. Especially so, because this won’t be the typical Pakistani musical tour – we are working with an internationally recognized company and will be performing for a much more diverse audience than what is usually experienced by Pakistani artists performing in the US.

In fact we are working out a a whole new content for our performances. We have been experimenting for the last few months with writing songs in the English language – a dream come true, especially for Ali Noor who had always been searching for an opportunity to try this out. In doing so, we have totally reworked our sound. We were faced with the challenge to create something that is contemporary western and yet incorporates eastern elements – something that has a Pakistani uniqueness and yet communicates to the typical American/Western music listener. We are in the process of completing a few singles, one of which we intend to release before we leave for the US. Stay tuned for more coming on that front…

Performance line-up:
Ali Noor: Vocals, Guitars
Ali Hamza: Vocals, Bass
Louis Pinto (Gumby): Drums, percussions
Zeeshan Parwez: Synths and Loops
Faraz Anwer: Lead Guitars
Rakae Jami: Sitar

Tour Dates:

06/19/2012, Tue
Washington DC
Millennium Stage @ The Kennedy Center, 2700 F Street
Show: 6:00 pm
Free Admission. With Arieb Azhar. Ph: 800.444.1324

06/22/2012, Fri
Huntington, NY
Huntington Summer Arts Festival, Chapin Rainbow Stage @ Hechscher State Park
Show: 8:30 pm
Ph: 631.271.8423 X 5

06/24/2012, Sun
New Haven, CT
International Festival of Arts & Ideas
Show: 7:00 pm
Free Admission. With Red Baraat. Ph: 888.ART.IDEA (888.278.4332)

06/26/2012, Tue
New Haven, CT
International Festival of Arts & Ideas
Panel discussion “Music of the People: Artists Talk about Music Inspiring Change.” A conversation about music as a tool for radical transformation in today’s changing worlds, both in the U.S. and around the globe. Moderated by Siddartha Mitter, a noted cultural critic, other participants include Red Baraat, Asphalt Orchestra, and sociologist and scholar Sujatha Fernandes. Ph: 888.ART.IDEA (888.278.4332)

06/27/2012, Wed
Ann Arbor, MI
Ann Arbor Summer Festival @ Top of the Park
Show: 8:00 pm
Free Admission. Ph: 734.764.2538

06/28/2012, Thu
Ann Arbor, MI
University of Michigan

Click here for further details…

Also:

Check out this article published in the Washington Post Style Blog highlighting the tour – noori’s Nishaan is the featured video in this post

Check out the noori press release and band portfolio – courtesy Rock Papers Scissors

And this time it hasn’t been delayed by a year! A great achievement for the noori team. All you fans who don’t have access to the real CD, our music is just a click away.

Visit our online music store on Facebook – ALL THREE ALBUMS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we present to you “noori Live at the Rock Musciarium” : our very first release through our very own record label BIY records.

This project which started way back in February, after a few hiccups, has reached its last leg.

Not only are we super excited, we are also extremely proud of that fact that this has been achieved without a single sponsor!

At the same time, this couldn’t have been possible without support from a number of people:

First and Foremost we would like to thank our partners i.e. “Radio 1” and “the Rock” for helping make this a reality. Without their support, all this wouldn’t have been possible.

Then we would like to thank Kashif Ejaz for salvaging the concert recording and turning it into gold!

The video direction of Zeeshan Parwez has only added icing to this cake and we can’t thank him enough for doing so much for us so selflessly.

There are many other people whose names deserve mentioning, and many have been mentioned on the CD, but it’s time for us to stop here and share what we are putting out.

Our Live CD is out in stores nationwide, courtesy FRS international – our official distributor for Pakistan. The songs will also be available for online purchase in a few days, so keep checking up on us.

Check out the music video for Taaron Se Agay (Live at the Rock Musicarium) – directed by Zeeshan Parwez.

Also keep visiting our Facebook and Twitter pages for regular updates on promotional activities, competitions, signing sessions etc.

Lastly, all you noori fans out there, thank you very much for your support all throughout these years. Without you, we are not even half motivated to do what we do.

Love,

The entire noori team

OUR VERY OWN MOBILE APP!!

We told you we have something exciting in store for you guys and this is it for now with a lot more things to come!! With this app, we will keep in touch with our fans better than ever! You guys can save-the-date on our future concerts and also listen to our music on the soundcloud link on our app!

So far the app is in testing phase and is only available for download Android phones, but soon we’ll have it available for other platforms.

So go ahead and check out noori’s first ever mobile application.

And don’t forget to share your feedback and suggestions as to how we can make this a better experience for you.

As far as noori is concerned, they say that “it’s been an experience putting all this together (…) the band performed a concert of over two hours from which we had to cut out a CD of around 70 minutes max. Handling such a long timeline hasn’t been an easy task … pulling this off in a month was only possible because we have Kashif on board…”

Yes, there is a new addition to the noori team. His name is Kashif Ejaz and he’s one hell of an audio engineer. He has worked with some of the most well known names in the industry – starting from Shoaib Mansoor (Bol specifically), Hadiqa Kiani, Fariha Parwez – definitely check out his website and listen to the wonderful work he has done!
Kashif joined the “band wagon” at the Rock Musicarium gig. He will be noori’s audio guy for both live performances and studio recordings. The noori boys add: “What we love about him the most is that he genuinely loves his work – and that’s what made us click!”

And now, coming to the point….

The audio is ready for release, the release logistics are being worked out.

Since there is limited space on the CD, only selected songs from the concert will be part of it.

As a hype builder for the release, the band is sharing a special performance with their fans  – it’s an impromptu rendition of “Kuttay (Te Tho Uttay)”. The band hadn’t rehearsed this song, but the crowd demanded it so much, that they didn’t have any option. What they ended up jamming is something totally different from the way noori has been performing this song in the past.

Check out this EXCLUSIVE ONLINE RELEASE! Visit our Sound Cloud page…  (Best to Listen on Louder Speakers or Headphones)

Keep visiting this space as the date of release will be announced very soon!

If you want be part of history then you better not miss this one!

Date: 25th February, 2012
Venue: The Rock Musicarium, Lake View Park, Phase II, Islamabad
Time: 7:30 p.m.

Tickets @ Rs. 700/- Available at all branches of “Illusions”, Islamabad (F-6, F-7, F-10,F-11)

“8 months of jamming, tensions, gigging, back-and-forths and all those crazy things that happen when a a band re-unites after 6 years…  Add to that the frustration and constant reminders by fans and critics as to when we will put out some new stuff!
The pressure WAS killing us…. But you know us, we would die before we put out something we aren’t satisfied with!!

…. So Now….

Dear Everyone,

We share with you “Taaron Se Agay”. A song Ali Noor had composed almost 12 years back and which sounds nothing like what it was 12 years ago!
We’ve been experimenting a lot with our sound lately and in the future you will get to see many sides of noori.
But for this first release, we had to go back to where we started from.
This is another anthem for the young at heart!
It talks about emancipation, about freedom and this time, instead of reaching for the stars,
Let’s Think About Going Beyond The Stars!!!

Hope you enjoy it …

Rock On!!
- noori”

We thought we would let the band do the talking this time.

From nooriworld, note the following:

There is month long campaign building up around this song.

Stay tuned to this space — Stay tuned to the Facebook and Twitter pages — Stay tuned to Radio 1 FM 91 (our exclusive media partners) — There are competitions, merchandise, fan interactions, and a huge concert…. don’t miss out on the upcoming fun!!

Now that they have built up a decent repertoire of new songs, it’s time to start taking them out!

“Taaron Se Agay” is the first in line…. But there are still a few more days to go.

While the song will have its exclusive premiere on the Drive On show with Naveen Waqar (5-8 pm) LET’S START BUILDING UP THE EXCITEMENT towards that….

Stay tuned to Radio 1 FM 91; Keep visiting the nooriworld Facebook pages, Follow us on Twitter… There is a hell of a lot more to come.

This IS another NOORI COMEBACK FOR SURE!!!

Presents

A Fun filled Evening With

noori live in concert

IBA CHARITY CARNIVAL

All the proceeds will go to Indus Hospital

Date: 19 Feb 2012
Venue: IBA Main Campus
Time: 4:00 – 10:30 pm

For tickets and further details, please contact:

03335716947 – 03452903117 – 03452378776 – 03333375585