Top 10 Pakistani Songs of 2012

Top 10 Pakistani Songs of 2012: Einsjam's Review

No matter what fate throws at it, no matter how many times the political upheavals  and security crisis in the country puts a dampener on the music industry, the fact is that it is resilient and continues to churn out brilliant amazing and thought provoking music. My problem with last year's songs was the hollow lyrical quality that incorporated redundant lovey dovey themes and obtuse political messages. Not this year though. Love songs have had depth and the politics and social awareness oriented songs hit hard. Resilience and Brilliance was the theme of Pakistani music industry in the year of 2012, and from what I have seen and heard, expect more brilliance and creativity in 2013 as well. 

This year brought us  Farhan Saeed's mesmerizing Pi Jaoon, the insanely creative Waderay Ka Baita by Ali Gul Pir, hard hitting Awaam by Faris Shafi, footing tapping Deewana by Club Caramel and the supremely divine Charkha Naulakha by Atif Aslam and Qayaas courtesy Coke Studio. Talking about Coke Studio, it must be acknowledged that 2012 season of Coke Studio was the best one yet, apart from the 2009 Season 2 which is in a class of its own.

Therefore, without further ado here is my list of top 10 Pakistani songs of 2012:

10)  Jo Chaho:

This easygoing song has to be one of the best that has been released by the talented Zoe Viccaji till date. Zoe Viccaji has been doing quite well and apart from this particular song, Jis Nay Bhi Aana hay that was released around September 2012 was also quite brilliant. 

Now to the song. I love how it subtly changes from a slow and dreamy track to a rocking one towards the end and then suddenly ending dreamily. Lyrics, music and the vocals both make this a song a must have on your music player. The song features Sikandar Mufti (the resident percussionist of Coke Studio) and is produced by Shahi Hasan of the legendary Vital Signs Band.

9) Awaam:

Sung by the rapper Faris Shafi and featuring the interesting vocals of Mooroo, this song is a hard-hitting missile on the political situation of the country. Faris lays down the whole situation as it is and makes his point by hurling expletives at the right time. A song that every Pakistani can relate to and besides, the beats are catchy as well.

8) Sher Khan:

Not even the government blockade of You Tube could stop the rising popularity of this song Sher Khan, which is sung by Ahmed Siddiq and released solely on the social media  which the choice of most upcoming Pakistani musicians. The song starts with signature Pakistani frantic guitar riffs but the surprise comes when Ahmed Siddiq takes the mike and sings the song in a Pashto accent, he does a decent job in that the mock Pashto accent doesn't stray him from the song and instead of becoming a horrible Pashto mockery, the song becomes entertaining and unbelievably quite romantic in the middle parts where Ahmed Siddiq slows down the proceeding and sings in his normal voice. Needless to say, this song is a must have in your car's music player.

7) Deewana:

Club Caramel has been around for some time now and mostly functions on social media when it comes to releasing and marketing their songs. What’s more, they offer their songs free for download! But bad news is that the lead singer of the band, Kiran Chaudhry got married to an Indian millionaire Riyaaz Amlani, so the band's future is now doubtful ( poor Adnan Sarwar !) , I just hope she makes more songs as her voice is beautiful blend of Nazia Hasan and Shakila Khurasani ( hey ! that's just my opinion), 

Now this particular song has been on my playlist for a while and quite honestly, I am in love with the foot tapping simple music and the airy-fairy romanticism of the song. Adnan Sarwar's  guitaring is great as usual and the video direction is ok as well, but it is the vocals of Kiran that really steals the show. So the next time you are out on a drive with your partner, play that song !

6) Akhiyan: 

Another beautiful and melodious track by the man who's adored on both sides of the border, Ustad Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Soundtrack for the Indian Punjabi movie Mirza the Untold Story, this songs carries the trade mark  Fateh Ali vocals and the nice on ears music, cant get enough of it. A must for weddings !

And now for the TOP 5 !!

5)  Pi Jaaon:

While the disbanding of Jal would not have broken too many hearts given their recent performances , the fact is that Farhan Saeed with his amazing vocals will thrive whether he is in a band or not. And to prove my point is his hit song Pi Jaoon.

The vocals are heartfelt, the music doesn’t stray away from the vocals and the lyrics are deep too. The accompanying vocals of new comer Momina Mustehsan are enchanting. Farhan Saeed has produced a gem of a song that you can listen to every day and not get tired off.

4) Mahi:

Coke Studio’s influence on Pakistani music industry is indelible. It has added a fresh perspective to how Pakistani music is viewed abroad and better, it has introduced artistes to the masses that were otherwise known only to the young demographic.

Mahi is one such song that both me and my old school songs loving mom can agree that is heart touching, lyrically superior and musically masterfully produced. Much can be said about Farhad Humayun’s vocals, but honestly, I believe that this song required raw vocals, and Farhad  fit the bill perfectly. The passion with which he sang touched the listener. Besides the vocals, the drumming of Sikander Mufti was commendable. 5 Stars !

3) Koi Labda:

This song though is a coke studio collab of Symt and Sanam Marvi, but it is really all about Sanam Marvi in the end. My goodness, what vocals , Symt did a decent job in the song and added an interesting depth to the song, but Sanam just stole the show with the sheer power of her voice as she sang as if she really felt each and every word. Credit must be given to genius of Rohail Hyatt for song production. It is my opinion that this song should be an OST for some Pakistani drama.

2) Nindiya Kay Par: ( yes another Coke Studio song)

Ladies, hold your hearts, the heart throb Uzair Jaswal has presented us a diamond of a song. Soulful and mesmerizing, it is one of those songs in which you feel that every instrument is being played just about rightly. The insertion of Nusrat Fateh Ali’s Tere Bin Nai Lagda lyrics creates a powerful effect and you are carried away in a world of eternal moonshine and wilting flowers and soft breeze. I make a point of listening to it at least thrice a week. Good song to listen to when you are resting or reflecting on life itself. Hats off to Uzair for brilliant and emotional vocals.

1)Charkha Naulakha:

Now this coke studio song is a class apart from all other songs that have been produced before it , before coke studio even came into being. Soaring magnificence and supreme love for the divine. This song has duality etched all across it, whether it’s the double meaning  lyrics or the two different musical styles blended into one. In a fusion  of which fusion physicists should be proud of, Rohail Hyatt fused legendary  Led Zeppelin’s Kahsmir’s  riffs with classical music demi god Nusrat Fateh Ali’s Charkha Naulkha lyrics. Mother Nature !! it was already doing good with Atif just slamming the vocals but Qayaas just lifted the song to celestial levels with Umair Jaswal’s ( yes ! the brother of Uzair Jaswal) rock vocals screeching the bejesus out of Izrael’s trumpet of doom.  This song is every music lover’s dream come true. Rock, classical mixed to form a supernatural number.

 May Pakistani music prosper in 2013 as well. Amen....

The Great Circle of Life

When I was in class one, there was a boy in my class by the name of Mir Ali Mir. Quite an exceptional kid, had great brains and always got the first position in the class. At that time, I had recently shifted from Jennings School to DHA SKBZ School and Muma had made it clear that the only thing that she wanted to see on my report card was “1st”, otherwise, no Count Duckula, no Denver the last Dinosaur, no Thundercats or Camp Candy or Pound Puppies. So actually coming first in the class by beating Mir Ali Mir, Sadiq (gosh I still remember the names: D) and Waqar, was obviously a tough ask. But despite all my efforts I still got the third position in the finals and it was only dad’s intervention that stopped muma restricting my TV access (I guess he remembered his own childhood). So the next year I resolved to work a bit harder and finally beat Mir Ali Mir and got the first position. Man, it felt so good at that time. Got a cup at school, was chosen to speak “ Today’s Proverb” at the morning assembly and the icing on the cake was Muma’s gift, a toy jumbo jet that moved around with blinking red lights on its wings and tires which you could fold up if you wanted to hold it in the rear and fly it around the house. On the other hand, Mir Ali Mir looked a kind of forlorn and a sad figure. I have to admit; I never went to him and congratulated him on his second position. And so the reign started, class two, then three, then four and then five. Never there was a test, exam or quiz in which I didn’t come first. And then I grew complacent and over confident and in class 6 I came second. As much it was a shock to me, it was a shock to my classmates as well because everybody had now come to accept that I was the default “first position kid” so actually the only positions that they fought over for were the second and third ones. But this kid called Afaq, had other ideas. Ideas, which were fully demonstrated in the final examinations. When I looked at him, he reminded me of myself in class two, when I had beat Mir Ali Mir. Now, finally I was out of the academic lime light, and I didn’t take it well ( i would like to in the details of tantrums). Well, here I was back in the position of class one and now another struggle awaited me. And I said to myself ok, let’s get on with the life and wait for the opportunity- that opportunity finally came after six years when I was in Uni.

So the point that I want to make here is not that I am a scheming genius or that irritable know-it-all, but that everyone has their highs and lows in this life and that same thing applies to nations as well. Egyptians, Macedonians, Greeks, Romans, Assyrians, Persians, Guptas, all enjoyed domination, power and prestige and all in the end they were conquered by an adventurous band of warriors, intent upon seizing their treasures and carving out a place for themselves in the history. Look at how the Romans were sacked by Alaric; how the gigantic Byzantine and Persian forces were annihilated by the Muslim armies and how a conglomeration of Arab nations couldn’t capture a tiny strip of land, which we now call Israel. Let’s see who sacks New York. These are the times when heroes are born. Everybody loves the story David and Goliath story dont they? That is why we love it when somebody manages to attack USA in one way or another. I wonder how history will treat the Taliban and AlQaeda in the future? A hint can be taken from the treatment of Vikings by history, as now those bloodthirsty and ferocious freaks are hailed as brave warriors and glorified by the history buffs when they actually were filthy and terrifying raiders ( geez i like the concept ), their cruelty was legendary and accounts of that time tell us how they looted and destroyed chruches, villages and cities. And now…… ( chuckles)

So keeping these facts in mind let us now look at our (i.e. the Muslim) situation. Once we were a global super power and now we are struggling and humbled apologists, turncoats and religious zealots. You see, every bomb that explodes in the Green zone in Baghdad, every suicide attack on the US embassy in Kabul, every sniper shot at the Marines, every explosion in Islamabad, Madrid, Bali and London is a graphic illustration of the fact that a dethroned nation doesn’t like to be in the back seat. I mean, what USA is doing right now, is probably something similar we did when we were a superpower, Muhammad Bin Qasim conquering Sindh, Mahmud Ghaznavi attacking the Somnath temple on the pretext of destroying statues a thousand miles away when there were giant statues of Buddha (Bamiyan) in the neighborhood. Tariq Bin Ziyad conquering Spain, Ottomans capturing Byzantine Empire and the Balkans, Mughals capturing India. Yeah, we had our share of world domination, then it was United Kingdom’s turn and now its USA’s. So let it enjoy this time, after all it has gained this status after so much war and bloodshed. And on the other hand other smaller groups will always be fighting against it and finally one of them will succeed and the cycle will go on. But in each of these cases we find that how religion and national interests are exploited. This leads us to the fundamental question. Should religion, national interests, ideologies be exploited for the future progress of a nation? Are propaganda and censorship necessary evils? What do you think?