The third live session will feature Noorzadeh Raja and Rakae Jamil as the opening act and Noori as headliner at Levi’s® Live.
Levi’s Live is a platform to play live music for acclaimed musicians, talented upcoming artists to reach their creative heights in the Pakistani music industry.
These live sessions have featured performances by Abdullah Qureshi, Maria Unera, Farhad Humayun, Bayaan and Bilal Khan so far.
Till then, enjoy some eye candy.
Published in Daily Pakistan, December 29th, 2016.
of Cornetto Pop Rock, Noori has teamed up with one of music’s most gifted names, Quratulain Balouch for the song ‘Pyar
Wyar’. Not surprisingly, the song has amassed over 2 million hits since its release.
Currently sizzling on Coke Studio 9 as music directors,
Noori give fans exactly what they promised with BIY Music.
You have to tip your hat to Noori, one of Pakistan’s most cherished music outfits, for not only making a strong comeback last year (with a new studio album) but for doing so in a way that it is slowly making up for all those years when we went without a Noori single.
It is a vigorous return that began in 2015 with ‘Aik Tha Badshah’ and the record, Begum Gul Bakaoli Sarfarosh, beautifully spilled into 2016 and will be remembered for years to come since Noori seem in no mood to slow down.
In the coming days ahead, Noori and Ali Azmat, as part of Cornetto Pop Rock, will release their collaborative single, ‘Dildara’. The great news here is that its going to be an original song.
A spanking music video (‘Pinjra’), a cross-border collaboration (‘Yaarian’ with Hari and Sukhmani) that doesn’t play up hate values - seen in supreme form during India-Pakistan cricket matches and on political talk shows - and instead speaks of friendship and tolerance is how Noori began the year but that’s not how they plan to end it.
Having picked up the Lux Style Award for Best Music Album just last month, which has simply strengthened their resolve, Noori’s wearing many hats and are shining in each role as brightly as the next. While Coke Studio 9 has brought their musical capabilities front and center (more on that later), it’s the birth of BIY Music and the band’s association with the first season of Cornetto Pop Rock that is just as important to discuss as their CS stint.
BIY Music – Believe in Yourself – a motto by which Noori brothers Ali Noor and Ali Hamza lead their lives and one they wish to pass on to the industry and their many, many fans, is an initiative that is meant to promote the cause of original music. It is meant to push artists to create their own records, write their own songs and push their own limitations.
On BIY Music’s official Facebook page, launched in 2016, Noori explained the ideology behind this initiative and wrote, “Based on the ideology of Believe in Yourself to Do it Yourself, we encourage serious artist across different genres to craft original music and learn the art and technique of live performances within a creative environment under the supervision and in collaboration with renowned and experienced musicians of the industry.”
Rock the Casbah: Ali Hamza doing his thing with the bass.
The good news is that its not just talk. Under the BIY Music banner and as part of the music initiative Cornetto Pop Rock, the group has teamed up with one of music’s most gifted names, Quratulain Balouch and has collaborated on the song ‘Pyar Wyar’, which has amassed over 2 million hits since its release. The funk-rock laden track, as well as the psychedelic music video will remind you of the lost glorious days of music when videos released with regularity.
The thing to remember here is that it’s a song QB wrote herself with encouragement/guidance by Noori. Despite initial trepidation, she took the plunge and emerged victorious because ‘Pyar Wyar’ a thumping rock ditty, aside from the not-so-subtle branding, is charming. Most importantly, it’s unlike any other QB song and is as different from her claim-to-fame effort, ‘Humsafar’ as possible. It showcases the singer in a never-before-seen light. And as Ali Noor joins QB past the halfway mark on the song, you have to applaud Noori for pushing so hard the cause of original music.
It’s a common story now that original music is coming from either film quarters, which can be good (Dekh Magar Pyar Se, Karachi Se Lahore), great (Moor, Manto) or bad (everything else really) or from breathtaking independent artists (Khumariyaan, Nawksh, SlowSpin, Adil Omar, Talal Qureshi, Shajie Hassan and many, many others).
But with Noori’s resurgence and success, others from mainstream could draw inspiration and just might follow suit. Should that happen, the mission of BIY Music will be accomplished.
In the meantime, the coming days ahead will see Noori team-up with the god of rock, Ali Azmat and the result of it, well, let’s just say we can hardly wait. If the images coming from the BIY studio in Lahore on Instagram and other digital formats are anything to go by, this collaboration could surpass all others in recent memory and maybe even the classic Noori single, ‘Ooncha Hoon Mein’ on which Azmat made a small but deeply memorable appearance many moons ago.
Published in The News, August 23rd, 2016.
This second album by noori was a follow up on where Suno Ke Main Hun Jawan left off. It talks about what happens when the ever so energetic and hopeful youth grows up and faces the realities of the world. The discontentment and suffering which arises in this growing up, creates an indifferent and self-centered individual, who finds escape routes in things like drugs and other short-lived pleasures.
Peeli Patti Aur Raja Jani Ki Gol Dunya is a call against such indifference. It depicts reality as it exists in our society today, and begs for a reconsideration of the direction people are carving out for themselves in these times of turmoil. Musically, the album brought out a darker and maturer side of the band – something they carried well with their new, don’t-give-a-damn image of long hair and beards. Apart from popularity, it brought a newfound respect for the band – not just as musicians but as individuals who cared for society and genuinely wanted to make a difference.
‘One day you wake up and realize that life is no longer the same! You look into the mirror and it takes you a while to recognize yourself. You walk out into the world and you’re overwhelmed by its commotion. You run around all day, with no peace of mind. Sometimes you’re not even sure what you’re running after. And when you are, you don’t think twice; you avoid reconsidering! You tell yourself, “I don’t have a choice… I have to survive!” You console yourself by thinking that you’re better off than all those who have absolutely nothing to hold on to, yet you are never satisfied! You know it’s a vicious cycle, yet you prefer the groove! Convenience is the order of the day!
Our times are not good times! We are in crisis! One could say that we are, most probably, going through one of the worst phases in human history. But what we have today is not a random or a sudden occurrence; it has been building up for years and years. Man’s apathy has existed for decades; for centuries have people fought against injustice, only to re-create a new, upgraded version of the same; since time immemorial we have been plundering in the pursuit of selfish gains, seeing the world through the blind spot in our eyes!’
Such is what we have inherited from our past, and we continue to preserve this legacy, calling it the innate animal-instinct!
The beauty of nature, however, lies in its inherent ability to discern the disorder that grows within and then to fight back to re-order – and so we have witnessed in history, the rise and fall of so many great nations and civilizations. We have seen how nature has taken us back to the most primitive levels of existence whenever we have tried to defy it consistently. The only question which matters is that how long will nature allow this defiance to last?
Today we see our people in a state of self-denial. We are victims of a very myopic view of life, where the center of attention is only our own self, and a future that does not go, at best, beyond the scope and span of our own lifetime. We seek short-lived pleasures while we turn our faces away from the unpleasantness and sickness that surrounds us. We love ourselves and ourselves alone, yet we are oblivious of the harm we are causing to our mind and body. We live for the moment, as we fear our mortality; but we kill ourselves every single day!
Peeli Patti aur Raja Jani ki Gol Dunya is the story of our society in this very context. It questions the very premise on which human beings are functioning in this day and age. It pinpoints at how we have been nurturing an indifferent stance towards life, and how, in doing so, we have harmed not only our external environment, but also our inner selves. It reflects on the growing frustration around us and sheds light on our discontentment with life in general. It urges for a collective introspection. It searches for a hope that one day we will rediscover ourselves. It begs our people to act before it’s too late; before nature decides to take its toll on us. Because then, we will have no choice!
noori’s debut album created whirlwinds across the Urdu speaking community all over the world! A first of its kind, it introduced the genre of pop-rock music to the Pakistani mainstream. In addition the album was also a departure from the beaten track of chummy love songs and focused instead on inspiring the youth of Pakistan to take up the responsibility of doing something worthwhile for themselves and others.
Suno Ke Mein Hun Jawan is an album dedicated to the youth of Pakistan. The music of the album is energetic and aims at attracting the vigor and vitality that drives the hearts and minds of these young people.The objective of this album is to urge the youth of this country to pursue their lives and their dreams with passion. The lyrical content of the album also revolves around this very theme of following one’s heart and mind with complete faith in one’s abilities and potential to pursue the greatest feats possible.
The focus of attention is specifically directed towards the youth because it is at a young age that one comes to terms with one’s independence and freedom; one’s mind tends to open up to new unexplored ideas, the discovery of which can turn into a pursuit of a lifetime. We have heard time and again the stories of the greatest thinkers and doers of all time; from scientists like Einstein and Darwin to philosophers and spiritual guides like Buddha and even musicians like Amadeus, who set out in the pursuit of their dreams at a very young age, the time when they had the ambition and enthusiasm to give themselves the initiative to realize their dreams.
One may contend that greatness is achieved, if achieved, after an entire lifetime, or sometimes even after that, and that with time one starts coming across the complexities and hardships that life has in store. Hence, it is a good idea to enjoy one’s youth to its fullest as this time won’t ever return!
We have no disagreement with this contention whatsoever. However, we strongly feel that our youth is a tilling ground for our future: when life starts getting complicated and creates obstacles for us. We have to accept responsibility of preparing ourselves for a happy and prosperous future where we can overcome these obstacles and solve complications without falling victim to them. Our youth provides us with the strength to channel our simple yet free and pure minds in the right direction; towards the pursuit of a future where we will look back and thank ourselves for making the decisions we made at the first turning point of our lives: Our Youth!
The theme for Suno Ke Mein Hun Jawan is therefore the pursuit of our dreams with honesty, making the most of the fervor that nature has gifted us with at a very young age.
