Feature in MAG by Maheen Mustafa. Published August 9th, 2003
One of the hottest bands in town; Noori has taken our pop scene by storm with their catchy tunes, thought-provoking lyrics and highly innovative videos. Here they give us the lowdown on the latest pop scene.
Name: Ali Noor
D.O.B: September 23, 1977
Star: Libra
Expertise: Vocals and guitars
Emergence: 1994 with “Khath” and “Manwa Re”
Fact-file: Ali Noor pursued his dream to become a rock star from the word go. He was determined to take it far, spending night after night in his home-made recording studio for a period of more than 8 years. His first band, Coven, created a major mark in 1998 with the first English E.P to be released
internationally by a band from Pakistan. Meanwhile, he kept composing songs in Urdu, learning the art of composing music as well as mastering the techniques of studio recording. He is without doubt the guy who shaped Noori into what it is today.
Strengths: Focused and geared towards consistency, a very strong headed person who will stick to one thing till the end.
Weaknesses: Impatient, hot-tempered and very hyper to the extent that it’s dangerous!
Inspiration: His grandfather, Raza Kazim.
Driving force: People move him. The sadness, indifference and insensitivity of society motivate him to do what he does today.
Loves: Selflessness.
Hates: Selfishness.
Worst fear: Self-indulgence.
Dreams: To live life the way it ought to be lived.
Most cherished moment with Noori: The first ever performance of Noori in M-live where everyone in the audience was singing along despite the fact that their album wasn’t released, it was an overwhelming feeling.
Name: Ali Hamza
D.O.B: March 21, 1980
Star: Cusp of Aries and Pisces
Expertise: Vocals and guitars
Emergence: 1997, when he was studying in LUMS and had joined a music society there.
Fact-file: Ali Hamza initially started out with Ali Noor, and joined the band in October 2002. Hamza pursued music as a hobby throughout the 8 years that Ali Noor toiled in the studio. He became a bit more directed when he was at LUMS and set up a Music Society there, but again his work there was only half-baked. A few of his compositions “Gawal Mandi” and “BC” in particular; got leaked on the net, creating a market for Hamza in a rather notorious manner! After graduating from LUMS, Hamza planned to do o PhD in Economics but later changed his mind and decided to pursue arts instead. It was then that Ali Hamza joined Noori and decided to take music seriously. He feels that he has just started out in the music business and has a long way to go!
Strengths: His patience, relatively relaxed attitude and the fact that he’s naturally gifted with talent.
Weakness: Lazy, impatient, very confused, and thereby tries to complicate things that are at times simple.
Inspiration: Inspired by inspiration.
Driving force: Life is too short.
Loves: His family, his dogs and basically life.
Hates: Liars.
Worst fear: That he’d start regressing to what he was five years ago.
Dreams: That one day everyone would be completely open to him, not two-faced or duplicitous.
Most cherished moment with Noori: A show in Lahore in 2003. The type of chemistry that the band shared as a whole is something he is looking forward to seeing again.
Name: Mohammad AN Jafri
D.O.B: June 4, 1972
Expertise: Bass Guitars
Emergence: 1991, with Coven, putting his new found knowledge to use. It paved the way for other rock bands to prosper in the relatively new underground music scene.
Fact-file: Founder of the band Coven, he initially discovered that Noor’s voice was particularly suited for the rock music that Jafri did in Coven. Coven’s 30-min album was released with 6 songs, on which most of his time was spent on experimenting, recording, learning, and eventually building up and growing as a musician.
Strengths: His patience and composure.
Weaknesses: Too laid-back, carefree and has that happy-go-lucky attitude.
Inspirations: Inspired by anything that reaches out.
Driving force: To make a difference through his music.
Loves: Sensibility, wisdom, and sense of appropriateness.
Hates: Hypocrisy.
Worst fear: Being afraid.
Dreams: To do something that will leave a mark, to raise the standards of everything and to continue to do things that set new benchmarks.
Most cherished moment with Noori: When good songs come together and the sense of achievement one gets when that happens.
Name: Gumby a.k.a. John Louis Pinto
D.O.B: April 22, 1976
Star: Cusp of Aries and Taurus
Expertise: Drums
Emergence: 1989-90, at the age of 13, when he had his first ever concert with Junaid Jamshed and Aamir Zaki.
Fact-file: Gumby, considered the best drummer in Pakistan, has worked with several renowned bands like Awaz, Junoon and soloists like Aamir Zaki and Junaid Jamshed, before he joined Noori. His talents were discovered when he was seen playing at Ali Azmat’s house for Junoon. From there on, there has been no looking back for Gumby, as he’s now the official drummer for Nooril
Strengths: Speaks when he’s spoken to, and very confident about what he does.
Weaknesses: Extremely emotional and feels that if ever he has a downfall in his career, it would be because of this sole reason.
Inspirations: The drummer Jaid, who also features in Junoon’s video ‘No More’.
Driving force: Good musicians.
Loves: Life.- He’s content with the present and never lives in the future.
Hates: Mean and unfair people.
Worst fear: Loneliness.
Dreams: To become a proper jazz musician one day.
Most cherished moment with Noori: When Noor and Hamza brought Khichri (cooked by none other than Hamza and Noor’s mom!), yogurt and bananas for him when he was really sick with high temperature and an upset stomach.
