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Musafir,
a Sufi rock band of Punjab
by Ravi
Khandelwal
Barnala
(Punjab): Punjabi songs on a guitar! Two youngsters
from Punjab have formed a band called Mussafir, rendering
sufiana in western style. Their debut album has also
been a success. The formation of the band can also
be termed classic, considering the way the two met,
in a much similar way, great rock bands like The Eagles
and the Doors came into existence. The duo met in
a bus, became friends and formed the band Mussafir,
meaning travellers, an apt name considering the fact
that the two met as travellers. Coming from a backward
village in Barnala, Lajja and Amaan have left 12 years
of struggle behind them. They made the guitar their
best friend and now sing Sufiana in western style.
Obviously, the village people just couldn't accept
this new form and style of singing and thought they
were daft. Zipping around mainly on a mobike with
a guitar slung over the shoulders, the duo's songs
appeal mainly to the intellectual. The two are however,
convinced about their songs and the message they want
to spread to society through it. "We wanted to spread
literature through our songs. Few people read these
days. So with our intellect-based-songs we wanted
to reach out to the common man. We found the guitar
as the main instrument, through which we could reach
out to the audiences," said Lajja and Amaan in unison.
Ranjha', the duo debut album brought them resounding
success. The only band from Punjab, it sold nearly
100,000 cassettes and was ranked 17 on the top 40
charts on Channel V. And now the boys are on a three-year
contract with a Ludhiana based music company, for
exploring further options, and churning out more music.
But the search for the right kind of audience for
these boys is far from over. They are on the look
out for concerts and the right kind of audiences in
Punjab. "When we started off, we had no idea whatsoever
of what the title of the album would be. Would the
album be successful? The truth is that we made efforts
to present the truth to our audiences," said Lajja.
"We never thought of becoming stars," said Amaan.
How many from a tiny hamlet can dare to touch the
skies? Yes there are youngsters from Punjab who have
done it. The two have seen a ray of hope after a decade
of struggle. But it is the audience of their taste
is what they are searching for. Interestingly, both
Amaan and Lajja, graduates in Literature, got training
in guitar from the Patiala University.
-
July 29, 2005
Asha
Bhosle returns with ghazal album
New
Delhi: Singing legend Asha Bhosle has re- recorded
ghazals of the greats in her new album titled 'Asha'.
Friday witnessed the release of the self-titled ghazal
album, a tribute to the four ghazal maestros - Mehdi
Hasan, Ghulam Ali, Farida Khannum and Jagjit Singh.
This album has been released by Sa Re Ga Ma (HMV)
which contains eight classical ghazals. It took composer
Pandit Somesh Mathur four years to get Bhosle to sing
for a self-titled ghazal album based on the works
of greats such as Farida Khanum, Mehndi Hassan, Ghulam
Ali and Jagjit Singh. However, Bhosle worked on it
for about two months and recorded the entire album
in nine hours. "Music has been given by Mathur and
I have tried to sing in it. But I wish that all the
kids present here, if they would listen and like the
songs, I would feel successful in life. I want the
youngsters in the age group of 30-3 years, they should
listen to these songs because they always listen to
film songs, dance numbers, remix dance numbers. They
should also be aware of their music, from where it
has been originated, how sweet it is and how beautifully
it has been written," said Asha Bhosle, singer. The
admirers of Asha have lauded her album. They also
feel that with the passage of time, there is no change
in her voice and it is soothing as always. "What I
basically feel is that when I listen to this music,
I start grooving, may be dancing. So, it is not that
she mentioned that she will be very happy if the new
generation likes her music but I really love it. I
mean as much as my dad and my mom love it. I love
it too. So, I groove along with them as well," said
Rashi Katyal, an admirer. Asha Bhosle, a dexterous
Ghazal singer, has sung some of her choicest Ghazals
for Khayyam in Umrao Jaan and Ahista Ahista.
-
July 23, 2005
Shweta
Pandit's debut with Aplam Chaplam
Mumbai:
Another addition to the collection of Hindi remix
albums, upcoming singer Shweta Pandit recently released
Aplam Chaplam, an amalgamation of never remixed before
classic tracks at a glittering function. Shweta Pandit
claims Aplam Chaplam contains remixes of evergreen
songs that will get one rocking instantly. "Aplam
Chaplam" has totally groovy and desi and very fast
kind of music. If you listen while driving, there
are chances that you loose your concentration as you
will feel like dancing. It's rocking. There are some
of my favourite classic songs and I have lots of hope
from the album," said Shweta. Disagreeing with the
general perception that remix songs degrade the grace
of classic songs, Shweta said these songs are a great
way of carrying golden times forward. "Our next generation
will come to know about the golden era of Indian music
only from these remix songs, about the times when
such great music was created. So remix is a good way
of carrying the glorious past to the future generation,"
said Shweta. Whoever has heard her sing, lauded the
singer and said she had brought back the golden era
of the music industry through her melodius voice.
"She is a very young talented singer, who is singing
beautiful old melodies. She is a young child who is
bringing back the culture and traditions thorough
her songs. She is an amazing singer. I really love
old songs and in her voice they seem all the more
better," said Jackie Shroff. Apart from a melodius
voice and a relatively clean video, andother U.S.P.
of the video of the title track is that it features
Bollywood's hearthrob Salman Khan. After the super
hit video Honey Honey, Salman is back jigging in classic
number Aplam Chaplam - remixed style.
-
July 13, 2005
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