"I make music with an
intelligent attitude..."
By Fareeha Rafique
Khalaa may not have been an instant shot to stardom, but not many can lay
claim to fame with their second single released. Manwa re's instant appeal
made Ali Noor something of a household name. Tum Hans Diyay, the third
single recently released shows diversity is definitely part of Noor's style.
Having worked in the music industry for some years now, Noor with his band
noori is all set to release his first album. With Muhammad Ali Jafri on bass
and Gumby on drums, Noor says his band is now complete. Here, Noor together
with the rest of the band talks to TNS about his music and why it has taken
so long to put together their first album.
The News on Sunday: Which was the first song released by noori?
AN: Khalaa was the first song. It was released around three years ago. It
was the first serious step as noori, it was also our first serious try at
producing an Urdu song. My brother, Ali Hamza worked on it with me. He is
now studying in LUMS and is not working with noori at present.
TNS: And after that Manwa Re was the next...
AN: Manwa Re was released about two years back.
TNS: Your next release, Tum Hans Diyay has come after a long gap...
AN: There's no point taking out a single until you have an album coming out.
Over here we don't normally have singles released like they do abroad.
Actually Manwa Re was never really meant for TV. It was meant for a film
that never materialized, so I released it for TV. And it became a hit! It's
not my style of music, left to me I would rather not put it in my album.
TNS: What is 'your style of music' then?
AN: noori is a rock band -- our music is fairly intense.
TNS: How did you get into music?
AN: My mother is into classical music. My grandfather designed a musical
instrument, the saagar beena which my mother plays. My mother is more of an
academician in music, she's not into performing.
TNS: What was the concept behind releasing the Polo album - Horsin' around?
AN: It was an album made in four days! I didn't know a thing about Polo.
Condor sports asked me to make the album. For me it was like doing a legal
case, I had to come up with a completely customized job. It was not an
advertisement for Polo, it was proper music. I was doing a lot of commercial
work at that time, so I was asked to do that. Plus the fact that I can do
english music well and not sound as if I'm trying really hard like other
people.
TNS: How did noori come into being?
AN: noori came into being when my brother and I sat down and thought we can
do urdu music. After that we wrote a lot of urdu songs (this was around
'93/94), and we decided to do something about it. We decided to call the
band noori not because of my name but because of a concept. After my brother
got busy with LUMS I continued noori on my own. The songs on the upcoming
noori album are all written by me. Now that we've got our band together
we'll be writing songs together
TNS: So would you say that this is more of an Ali Noor album and not so much
a noori album?
AN: You could say it was until two days ago! Now that we have Gumby with us,
things are different. The song writing aspect has always been mine. The
album will now have more input from Gumby as well, compositionally, so you
can say it's a band album
TNS: Why has the first noori album taken so long to take shape? Musically,
you have received recognition ever since Manwa Re came along...
AN: I wanted to do my own work so it's taken two years. I knew that pop
music in this country is very short-term, so I did my homework and put
together songs that would be lasting. Plus I had to put together a core
group to work together. Prior to Gumby coming in I was playing separately
and telling the other guys what to do. Until now I had session artists.
Gumby was playing with Junoon before this, he's the most senior artist among
us.
TNS: What is the new album going to be like? What sort of music will it
feature?
AN: It's called Suno Ke Mein Hoon Jawan. It's fairly diverse, it has heavy
as well as soft music. I don't think there are any 'filler' songs on it,
unlike most other Pakistani albums. I've got the best musicians working with
me now. Gumby is the most experienced artist among us. He's done lots and
lots of tours. He's done about fifteen hundred shows the world over. He's
been performing professionally since he was thirteen when he started playing
for Aamir Zaki and Junaid Jamshed.
TNS: Gumby, how did you decide to switch from Junoon to noori?
Gumby: I was a session player with Junoon. There has to be more to music
than just getting paid. I have a lot of ideas, and Junoon has its own sound
of music. For example, the tune of the Junoon song Zamane Ke Andaaz came out
of a latin tune I play when I'm warming up on drums. The closest I ever got
to playing with Salman was on that song. I had also been working with Ali on
his solo project which never came into being. The new album they've released
has some of the tracks meant for Ali's solo project. I just thought I wasn't
working very creatively with Junoon. I thought Ali Noor's music which I
heard was very creative and versatile. Every song is different from the
other. With Ali and myself, besides the fact that we also get along very
well, what we have in common is that music is the priority with us. I want
to do every different kind of sound under the sun. I think an album should
be versatile the way Ali's is. When you have to stick together in a band you
have to have something to keep you together besides the money -- and that is
the music.
Muhammad Ali Jafri: We keep an open mind, one thing leads to another.
AN: noori is actually a concept, an ideology that I believe in. We're not
just entertainers.
TNS: So what is the ideology?
AN: noori means 'full of light'. I try to take this light as a new way of
looking at things in terms of ideas, lyrics, shows, everything. I don't want
to get too philosophical about this. I think with the passage of time people
will be able to understand the concept.
TNS: Which is your personal favourite song on the forthcoming album?
AN: Every song is like a baby. I like every song, how can I have favourites.
I can say with guarantee that none of the songs have any flaws. We do not
compromise on quality and aesthetics. In terms of variety as well it has a
lot to offer, there is a Punjabi song as well.
MAJ: I feel the same, no favourites.
Gumby: I have some favourites as melodies, I'm very excited at the prospect
of adding my input.
TNS: Do you feel every album being released nowadays has to have a Punjabi
song on it, is that why a Punjabi song is there?
AN: No, no, not at all. There's just one Punjabi song. And that is one of a
kind. We haven't heard a Punjabi song like it. It's punk-rock. I write music
for the masses. It's inspiring music. This album will definitely make some
waves. It's simple, lyrically naive with simple ideas. The next one will be
very complicated. We'll take the listeners with us, we'll make them evolve
with us.
TNS: Do you create fusion music as well?
AN: No, I'm not into fusion at all. I'm a song writer, I'm not into fusion.
We write songs to ensure ideas get communicated. Let's put it this way, ours
is music with an intelligent attitude, but with appeal to a wide variety of
listeners.
TNS: What do you mean when you say wide variety of listeners?
AN: Not as in listeners of different genres of music. We try to come up with
some ideas that at least try to resonate with the idea of music that people
have. Generally speaking Pakistani music revolves around two or three
emotions, if not just around one - and that is love. It's very restricted,
by and large. We're about ideas. We're trying to find better and more
effective ways of exploring the scope of music, involving the listeners
along the way.
TNS: What do you feel about the current Pakistani rock and pop music
scenario?
AN: I think I've said enough about that already!
Gumby: First of all, you can't justify good or bad music. I personally do
not find much substance in a lot of music being created here. It's all
formulated, it's about a certain kind of trend; you either go with it or you
create your own. As a musician I feel this is an issue. I think a really
balanced musician in the modern age is Sting. He is accepted by all
categories -- musicians as well as masses.
TNS: Is Sting your inspiration?
Gumby: He's definitely my inspiration.
AN: Mine too!
TNS: How many live performances have you had this far?
AN: Haven't had that many. The initial songs we wrote were not very
performable. The recent Food Street show we had was an experience, it was
just a bad day for us. Live performance is something you learn along the
way. We have seven shows lined up for Lahore, and some for Karachi as well.
People are asking for shows now. It's a great feeling to know people like us
for our music, it's an affirmation for us. We're not desperate any more,
like we were when we started out, thank God. Now if we get fame we'll feel
like we earned it. We have been the most jinxed band in the history of
Pakistan.
TNS: How do you rate the importance of good videos and live performances to
the success of a band, besides albums?
AN: Both are very important. The type of videos that come out now are very
stereotyped. We might make one such video, for sponsors, but not more.
Live performances are the way to make money as well as interact with people.
Videos are used for getting people to come to concerts. We are very clear
that our videos are what we feel is interesting, an extension of the song.
Album sales are very important to familiarize people with your music - you
don't make money from album sales. The Internet has been the most powerful
factor as far as contributing to our popularity is concerned. I think we're
going to be very popular abroad, initially at least. We are already working
on the videos for the upcoming album.
TNS: Do you work under sponsorship deals?
AN: Yes, we do. We are doing our work with sponsorship even now. But nobody
is allowed to interfere in our music. We will continue to work on our terms,
nobody will be allowed to put up banners at any concert of ours
TNS: What do you think are the ingredients that go into making a good album?
AN: First of all a good idea, an objectively worked out idea. Secondly, an
immense amount of intelligent hard work. And third, a good aesthetic sense.
TNS: What's next after the album?
AN: Next album! Concerts, tours, videos...fame, girls ...the whole scene!
(laughs).
MAJ: We will try to make good music, not just make money.
Gumby: I just want to be famous. I take my music very seriously.
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Courtesy Intep, The
NEWS International
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