noori and Saeen Zahoor headline Coke Studio 2 opening episode with ‘Aik Alif’!
It was a huge departure from the way noori is categorized in the music scene. Somewhat reminiscent of the early ‘Manwa Re’ days. In the words of producer Rohail Hyatt, ‘Aik Alif’ was going to open up a whole new avenue for noori. And so it did. The kind of response the band has received for this song is amazing!
It started with Ali Hamza making a few trips to Saeen Zahoor’s house. The two hit off instantly! The Saeen himself was looking for an opportunity to try out something new, something he hadn’t ever done before. After going through a few different tunes, the two (Saeen and Hamza) locked upon ‘Aik Alif’. According to Ali Noor, this was not like the rest of the Saeen Zahoor melodies, which usually revolve around minor scales; ‘this one was right down our alley’, says Hamza, ‘and that made it easier to link up with Saeen’.
Add to that some of the most powerful verses of Bulleh Shah (very applicable to our present situation) and you have a perfect song for Pakistani listeners.
noori must thank Zehra (Apa) Nigah for helping out with the lyrics for their part of the song. Yes, the noori part was written by Ali Hamza in collaboration with Zehra Nigah! We must also thank Rohail Hyatt and Coke for giving us the opportunity to do something we had always longed for. This is definitely a new turn in the noori journey!
Check out the song and judge for yourself..
Download Audio
Lyrics to Saeen Zahoor’s part
Parh parh ilm te faazil hoya
Te kaday apnay aap nu parhiya naaee
Bhaj bhaj warna ai mandar maseeti
Ve kadi mun apnay wich warya naaee
Larna ay roz shaitaan de naal
Ve kadaay nafs apnay naal larya naaee
Bulleh Shah, asmaani ud-diyaan pharonda ay
Te jera ghar bheta unoo pharya naaee
Buss kareen o yaar
Ilmon buss kareen o yaar
Ik Alif teray darkar
Buss kareen o yaar
Allah… Sayaan…
Lyrics to the noori part of the song:
Ni mein jaana jogi de naal…
Jo na jaanay Haq ki Taaqat
Rabb na devay uss ko Himmat
Hum mun ke dariya mein doobay
Kesi nayya, kya manjhdhaar
Bass kareen o yaar…
Ali Hamza's Blog Posts
Ali Hamza's Tweets
06/18/2009
Hi guys,
this was a great piece of music work that indicates the ideal Sufi live performance and perfect instruments collection.
i hope you will include this song in your up coming album!
sustain your great work in a positive gesture!!
Zeeshan
(Toronto)
06/19/2009
very very nice my god.man na paray ga.have fun.
06/23/2009
Wow, what a song, what a melody…it really takes to an amazing mystical journey and inspiration…well done guys, you rock!
Accept my hearties best wishes and appreciations for all your upcoming endeavors…
06/24/2009
ITS BEAUTIFULL SUUFI SONG.ARE YOU GUYS COMING AGAIN IN NEXT EPISODE OF COKE STUDIO.REALLY WANT TO SEE NOORI AGAIN
06/24/2009
Amazing work fellas. I have now enlisted this masterpiece in my Top 3 tracks of ALL TIME. Yes, it is that brilliant and no I don’t just easily enlist songs into my hit list
I’ve listened to Aik Alif roughly 200 times over the course of a week and I’m still enthralled.
Keep it up! I have even shown my co-workers this stuff here in NYC and it feels great that this type of work is coming out of Pakistan.
06/29/2009
Very nice songs. One of the best you ever sang.
07/01/2009
mind blowing
guys you’ve done truly a magnificent job really good,
I was listening to this with my friends and we were like out of this planet while listening to this piece…. and since then I m obssessed with this song,
all three of you have performed brilliantly, and while watching the video it was clear that each and every one of you was enjoying those moments, like i could see on gumby and ali noor’s face the time ali hamza bit came in that its gonna be wonderful…
I was a big fan of noori in the past aswell and now you guys have proved that noori has some real talent and great sense of music,
keep it up guys and all the very best
cheers
07/14/2009
A MASTER PIECE !! i was blown away after listening this..yaar saieen zahoor was totally inspiring and at the same time Noor bhai and Hamza bhai hitted thier own potentials..everything was just as perfect as it can be..erm and yeah..Hamza bhai never heard you sing this way you know..ZABERDAST !!! hee hee..i had goose bumps after listening this
07/15/2009
Beautiful verse put to beautiful music. It’s brought me back not only to the desi music scene, but to a dormant sense of spirituality. I was missing out - thank you.
Just one teensy query though. Ali Hamza’s bit seems slightly Urduised (uss ‘ko’ himmat instead of uss nu, eg). Was that part of the urban-folk fusion concept, or am i just being annoying?
07/17/2009
Dear brother Noor, Ali and Saeen Zahoor Ji. what a song wow. BUS KAREEN O YAR… the whole music concept is amaizing..poetry of bulley shah and voices of all of you including Saeen Zahoor… straight went into my heart. God Bless you all..
07/25/2009
Can’t stop my self listening this number atleast twice a day.
07/25/2009
Its always gr8 2 listn 2 noori songs,songs dat hav a meaning n a theme difrnt frm the typicl music.ths song is also A realy realy beautiful song thou smwat difrnt frm the actual noori style.Its nce 2 see noori bcmn more vrstile
movn 2wrd sufizm
07/28/2009
hi,
noooori band creat a great chemistry in this song.
u creat a master piece of song.
08/04/2009
Excellent song heard after a long time. It really made my eyes brimful of tears. Congratulations on this extraordinary production.
08/23/2009
Hi Noori,
Boy oh boy! What an outstanding rendition indeed. Cant get enough of it ya know.. hope you guys produce such awesome stuf.
Raheel Qazi
Chicago, Il
ps: please visit Chicago too.
08/27/2009
The best song of Coke studio