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“I can guarantee that whoever comes to our concerts will leave dancing,” said Overload drummer and band leader, Farhad Humayun once. One doesn’t find that hard to believe. Even when the Lahore-based band is performing in a city like Karachi where audiences in comparison tend to be a tad more inhibited, one has seen people get up and shake their backsides to Overload’s performances.
The band created its big bang when it came on our screens a couple of years ago with a music video for the track Cursed which featured the likes of Pappu Saieen and co. Since then, the largely percussion-based band has been making waves doing the kind of music they do (a fusion of eastern and western percussions supported by almost tranquil piano work by Sheraz) and have managed to amass quite a fan following. Back then Farhad once stated, “The people of this country are more attuned to songs with lyrical content in them, they need to have the song’s meaning spelled out to them. We’re out to change that notion.” And they did precisely that.
In an environment in which the sheer structure of the music industry is undergoing a change because of rapid digital online distribution of media and the world wide web making media not only instantly accessible to users but also providing them with a direct link to the artiste, Overload chose to go the way paved by Radiohead: they released their second album online on their website www.overloadbeats.com for free. The album titled Pichal Pairee has been downloaded by thousands of users not only from Pakistan but also from abroad. They’re perhaps one of the few mainstream artistes who completely own their material as well since they chose the riskier path of not signing up with a record label, relying on them for promotion or release. “Make music and just put it out there,” commented Farhad, “what are you waiting for? We’re already working on new material.”
The band has an additional member in the form of Meesha Shafi, model/actress/artist who has been exercising her vocal talents with the band in their performances both in India and in Pakistan. Hasan Mohyuddin, who used to play the tumkinari in the band, is currently pursuing a degree in the UK and had to make an exit although he contributed creatively to the title track. Meesha adds a whole new dimension to the band and her unique vocal tone at times reminds one of Amy Winehouse (especially in the song Pichal Pairee) and at times of the eccentric, but incredibly talented Icelandic-singer Björk, case in point, the track titled Amjad Khan.
Although some of the tracks still feature the popular dhol, it is not the main focus in the album. The band has fused their signature use of percussions with electronica in a majority of the tracks, and in some, has played around this new element with traditional western instruments, thereby adding a whole new dimension to their music.
After listening to the album several times, one believes that it was meant to be heard in one go, all at once. The mood of the album changes as you progress through it, beginning from being uplifting (Dig Dag, Dhol Bajay Ga – a song that is getting a lot of airplay on local radio channels, Pichal Pairee – which doesn’t even sound ‘desi’ and Amjad Khan). It moves to a more mellow, almost intimately thoughtful tone in Vichar Gaye and a track titled A Thousand Miracles (although when downloaded it displays the title as 50 Years). Mela Kariyay is basically the track Cursed from Overload’s first self-titled album with Meesha’s vocals over it. Kaykra and Saat Mein which close the album bring the pace of the album up again.
How do you articulate an almost abstract sense (in this case sound) accurately into words? That was the dilemma faced when reviewing the album since a most of it is largely focused on the music element of it. The album Pichal Pairee is a reinvention of the band although it does not serve to completely redefine it: we see the band experimenting with their music and are introduced to new facets of their work and abilities. The introduction of Meesha adds a whole new feel to the band as her tone and manner of singing is not only uniquely different from the rest of the female pop vocalists dominating the local music scene but also embodies a certain independence from them. One is looking forward to seeing what facets of her abilities are uncovered as she journeys with the band, but having said that, the rest of the band members embody a strong presence in the album as well.
– Illustration by Osman Hyder
Take a chance on me
Mamma mia, here I go again
My my, how can I resist you?
Mamma mia, does it show again?
My my, just how much I’ve missed you….
After wowing us with Chicago, Nida Butt and Made for Stage is back with yet another musical, Mamma Mia. It comes under the genre of being a jukebox musical (one which uses previously released songs in its musical score) and was written by Catherine Johnson.
Both the play and the score of the musical are based on the songs of the hugely popular Swedish pop band Abba (active from 1972-1983), and although the story is fictional the title of the play has been borrowed from one of Abba’s 1975 hit songs. When it comes to the original Mamma Mia the musical, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Anderson (band members and main composers in Abba) were involved in its development. One of the female band members, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, had contributed financially. The last band member, Agnetha Fältskog, did not actively contribute to it but was present at its Swedish premiere and final show. According to statistics, Mamma Mia the musical (at least till 2007) had been seen by over 30 million people worldwide.
The story in itself is simple enough. Sophie Sheradon (played by Rachel Viccaji) is about to get married to Skye (Omar Bilal Akhtar) and wants her father to be present at her wedding. The only catch is that she doesn’t know who her father is since her mother, Donna Sheradon (Kiran Arshad Chaudhry), was intimately involved with three different men around the time Sophie was supposed to have been conceived. She chances upon her mom’s private diary and discovering the identity of the three men [Sam Carmichael (Aly Mustansir), Bill Anderson (Saad Rahim Zubair) and Harry Bright (Akbar Merchant)], she invites them to her wedding.
They arrive at the little Greek island where she lives simultaneously and promise Sophie that they won’t tell her mom that they’re here or why (cue song: Thank You for the Music). Donna discovers them anyway and is visibly shaken by their presence. Also attending the wedding are Donna’s old friends one of which is Tanya (Zoe Viccaji), a vivacious, high-maintenance, rich woman who has been married and divorced three times — and seems proud of it. The other is Rosie (Sanam Saeed), a carefree soul, unmarried and with a somewhat kooky sense of humour.
The play centres around Sophie — who has 24 hours before her wedding —trying to find out who her father is, dodging her mother, confessing what she did to her fiancé and getting ready for the wedding. It also focuses on Donna and the emotions she’s going through seeing her three old lovers back after 20 years all at once (cue song:
Mamma Mia), while trying to let go of Sophie as her only daughter is about to enter into the ‘second phase’ of her life (cue song Slipping through my Fingers). Tanya and Rosie are also focused on as the two friends who’re trying to be just that — good friends to Donna, provide her with support, cheer her up and try and adjust to the single bedroom that they’ve been given. They also have their own set of romantic interests, with one Skye’s friends actively making a move on Tanya (she brushes him off, singing Does your Mother Know?) and Rosie discovering that she’s attracted to Bill Anderson and tries to seduce him (Take a Chance on Me).
At the end of the story, Sophie decides it isn’t important for her to know who her father is after all. All three men are happy being one-third of her father for her. She also decides it isn’t important for her to get married to Skye at that time and Sam Carmichael seizes the opportunity to propose to Donna (cue song: I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do) since both of them are quite not over each other.
The local version of Mamma Mia has its moments. Other than the obvious play on nostalgia by featuring and being entirely focused on Abba’s music, the highlights of the musical are definitely the characters of Tanya and Rosie who invited laughter and applause from the audience for their cleverly delivered antics, and Sanam and Zoe’s chemistry as actors. Kiran Arshad Chaudhry, who has her own band Caramal, debuted in the musical as an actor, was natural in the delivery of her role and seemed to stand out as a vocalist during the singing sections.
Her rendition of the song, The Winner takes it All, was a testament to her powerhouse vocals that were heard loud and clear especially considering that there were numerous technical glitches in the sound on the opening day, with the music often seeming louder than the vocals. Rachel’s role as Sophie was completely different from the femme fatale Velma Kelly she plays in the second installment (and as the Hungarian inmate in the first installment) of Chicago. One can see she’s made a definite effort to try and embody the role of a sweet, innocent 20-year old who realises at times that she’s taken on more than she can handle.
At the end of it, Mamma Mia the musical isn’t the best production that Made for Stage has come out with, especially considering that there isn’t much depth to the story line — not visually as ‘happening’ as their previous showings. The interchangeable set designed by Barry was almost genius but the costumes at times became downright gaudy, perhaps intentionally. Having said that, Mamma Mia still has its moments — though they are few and far between — and will appeal to those who have even a slight interest or knowledge of Abba songs.
Mamma mia, here I go again
My my, how can I resist you?
Mamma mia, does it show again?
My my, just how much I’ve missed you…
After wowing us with Chicago, Nida Butt and Made for Stage is back with yet another musical, Mamma Mia. It comes under the genre of being a jukebox musical (one which uses previously released songs in its musical score) and was written by Catherine Johnson.
Both the play and the score of the musical are based on the songs of the hugely popular Swedish pop band Abba (active from 1972-1983), and although the story is fictional the title of the play has been borrowed from one of Abba’s 1975 hit songs. When it comes to the original Mamma Mia the musical, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Anderson (band members and main composers in Abba) were involved in its development. One of the female band members, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, had contributed financially. The last band member, Agnetha Fältskog, did not actively contribute to it but was present at its Swedish premiere and final show. According to statistics, Mamma Mia the musical (at least till 2007) had been seen by over 30 million people worldwide.
The story in itself is simple enough. Sophie Sheradon (played by Rachel Viccaji) is about to get married to Skye (Omar Bilal Akhtar) and wants her father to be present at her wedding. The only catch is that she doesn’t know who her father is since her mother, Donna Sheradon (Kiran Arshad Chaudhry), was intimately involved with three different men around the time Sophie was supposed to have been conceived. She chances upon her mom’s private diary and discovering the identity of the three men [Sam Carmichael (Aly Mustansir), Bill Anderson (Saad Rahim Zubair) and Harry Bright (Akbar Merchant)], she invites them to her wedding.
They arrive at the little Greek island where she lives simultaneously and promise Sophie that they won’t tell her mom that they’re here or why (cue song: Thank You for the Music). Donna discovers them anyway and is visibly shaken by their presence. Also attending the wedding are Donna’s old friends one of which is Tanya (Zoe Viccaji), a vivacious, high-maintenance, rich woman who has been married and divorced three times — and seems proud of it. The other is Rosie (Sanam Saeed), a carefree soul, unmarried and with a somewhat kooky sense of humour.
The play centres around Sophie — who has 24 hours before her wedding —trying to find out who her father is, dodging her mother, confessing what she did to her fiancé and getting ready for the wedding. It also focuses on Donna and the emotions she’s going through seeing her three old lovers back after 20 years all at once (cue song: Mamma Mia), while trying to let go of Sophie as her only daughter is about to enter into the ‘second phase’ of her life (cue song Slipping through my Fingers). Tanya and Rosie are also focused on as the two friends who’re trying to be just that — good friends to Donna, provide her with support, cheer her up and try and adjust to the single bedroom that they’ve been given. They also have their own set of romantic interests, with one Skye’s friends actively making a move on Tanya (she brushes him off, singing Does your Mother Know?) and Rosie discovering that she’s attracted to Bill Anderson and tries to seduce him (Take a Chance on Me).
At the end of the story, Sophie decides it isn’t important for her to know who her father is after all. All three men are happy being one-third of her father for her. She also decides it isn’t important for her to get married to Skye at that time and Sam Carmichael seizes the opportunity to propose to Donna (cue song: I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do) since both of them are quite not over each other.
The local version of Mamma Mia has its moments. Other than the obvious play on nostalgia by featuring and being entirely focused on Abba’s music, the highlights of the musical are definitely the characters of Tanya and Rosie who invited laughter and applause from the audience for their cleverly delivered antics, and Sanam and Zoe’s chemistry as actors. Kiran Arshad Chaudhry, who has her own band Caramal, debuted in the musical as an actor, was natural in the delivery of her role and seemed to stand out as a vocalist during the singing sections.
Her rendition of the song, The Winner takes it All, was a testament to her powerhouse vocals that were heard loud and clear especially considering that there were numerous technical glitches in the sound on the opening day, with the music often seeming louder than the vocals. Rachel’s role as Sophie was completely different from the femme fatale Velma Kelly she plays in the second installment (and as the Hungarian inmate in the first installment) of Chicago. One can see she’s made a definite effort to try and embody the role of a sweet, innocent 20-year old who realises at times that she’s taken on more than she can handle.
At the end of it, Mamma Mia the musical isn’t the best production that Made for Stage has come out with, especially considering that there isn’t much depth to the story line — and it’s not visually as ‘happening’ as their previous showings. The interchangeable set designed by Barry was almost genius but the costumes at times became downright gaudy, perhaps intentionally. Having said that, Mamma Mia still has its moments — though they are few and far between — and will appeal to those who have even a slight interest or knowledge of Abba songs.
Abba songs featured in Mamma Mia, the musical:
I have a dream
Honey, Honey
Money, Money, Money
Thank You for the Music
Chiquitita
Dancing Queen
Lay All Your Love on Me
Super Trouper
Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
The Name of the Game
Voulez-Vous
Under Attack
One of Us
SOS
Does Your Mother Know?
Knowing Me, Knowing You
Our Last Summer
Slipping Through My Fingers
The Winner Takes It All
Take a Chance on Me
I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
— Photo by FurSid
The much-anticipated Karachi Fashion Week (KFW), which was supposed to have taken place last week, has been postponed till the first week of November, informed Ayesha Tammy Haq, the spokesperson, at a press conference held recently. Those present at the press conference included participating designers Adnan Pardesy, Deepak Perwani, Feeha Jamshed, Kash Hussain, Maheen Khan, Nomi Ansari, Rizwan Beyg, Rizwanullah, Samar Mehdi, Sanam Agha, Shamael Ansari, upcoming menswear designer Tayyab Bombal and stylist Saba Ansari of Sabs Salon. Arshad Siddiqui, responsible for organising the event, was also present.
Ayesha Tammy Haq explained that one of the main reasons for postponing the event was the socio-political conditions of the country, especially in light of the recent terrorist attacks. “There are 32 designers who are showing at the event with four international ones,” she said, adding that security concerns for the international media that had shown an interest in the event was also one of the reasons. “The good thing is that our sponsors have not backed out. We’re ready to go now, and we’re ready to go in November. The event will go ahead as scheduled,” she said. According to her, one of the most exciting things about KFW is going to be the debut of seven new designers who will be showing their collections on the catwalk for the very first time.
“One of the directors of Miami Fashion Week was coming to Karachi for the Fashion Week,” she announced, “but if for some reason we can’t have her present, we will be doing a video link with her in which she’ll be seeing all the collections once they show on the catwalk. She will announce a winner who will then show his/her collection in Miami for free in March (2010).”
Getting to show at an international fashion week without having to incur the added expenses of registration and what not (the cost can go into millions of rupees) should provide any designer with an incentive to show their best at the event.
Saba Ansari will do the hair and make-up for the event. Originally, KFW hired Depilex but Nighat Misbah had some other commitments because of which she couldn’t participate, according to Ayesha T. Haq. She also congratulated Deepak Perwani, Maheen Khan and Rizwan Beyg for showing at Milan Fashion Week.
One of the outcomes of that event, Maheen went on to explain, was that fashion publications such as Vogue Italia, Velvet Magazine and Elle magazine had expressed an interest in attending the fashion week and providing coverage to the event. “A lot of the foreign media have begun asking for visas to come to this country,” she added.
In terms of bringing their learning from having attended an international fashion week such as Milan, Rizwan Beyg said, “We tweaked everything with Tammy in terms of ramp, choreography, lighting, etc, after we came back.”
“But the focus will remain on the designer and his/her collection,” added Maheen.
“We have a 100-ft ramp for the event which is the international standard for all such shows,” said Ayesha Tammy Haq.
“When we were going to Milan we had to show our Spring/Summer 2010 collection. Trends were predicted Trends were predicted in advance and they were followed in the collections that we showed. In Pakistan, the autumn/winter collection is shown right before the actual season. So it was a learning curve for us and we will implement this international standard from next year onwards,” said Deepak. “Trends, cut, style, fit… everything will be shown six months in advance. KFW is not just for the international media but also for new designers. This platform is for them. As senior designers, we already have had our platforms. Fashion is not just about designs, but serious business as well,” he added.
“And this business has to come and start from Pakistan,” said Maheen on a concluding note.
The much-anticipated Karachi Fashion Week (KFW), which was supposed to have taken place last week, has been postponed till the first week of November, informed Ayesha Tammy Haq, the spokesperson, at a press conference held recently. Those present at the press conference included participating designers Adnan Pardesy, Deepak Perwani, Feeha Jamshed, Kash Hussain, Maheen Khan, Nomi Ansari, Rizwan Beyg, Rizwanullah, Samar Mehdi, Sanam Agha, Shamael Ansari, upcoming menswear designer Tayyab Bombal and stylist Saba Ansari of Sabs Salon. Arshad Siddiqui, responsible for organising the event, was also present.
Ayesha Tammy Haq explained that one of the main reasons for postponing the event was the socio-political conditions of the country, especially in light of the recent terrorist attacks. “There are 32 designers who are showing at the event with four international ones,” she said, adding that security concerns for the international media that had shown an interest in the event was also one of the reasons. “The good thing is that our sponsors have not backed out. We’re ready to go now, and we’re ready to go in November. The event will go ahead as scheduled,” she said. According to her, one of the most exciting things about KFW is going to be the debut of seven new designers who will be showing their collections on the catwalk for the very first time.
“One of the directors of Miami Fashion Week was coming to Karachi for the Fashion Week,” she announced, “but if for some reason we can’t have her present, we will be doing a video link with her in which she’ll be seeing all the collections once they show on the catwalk. She will announce a winner who will then show his/her collection in Miami for free in March (2010).”
Getting to show at an international fashion week without having to incur the added expenses of registration and what not (the cost can go into millions of rupees) should provide any designer with an incentive to show their best at the event.
Saba Ansari will do the hair and make-up for the event. Originally, KFW hired Depilex but Nighat Misbah had some other commitments because of which she couldn’t participate, according to Ayesha T. Haq. She also congratulated Deepak Perwani, Maheen Khan and Rizwan Beyg for showing at Milan Fashion Week.
One of the outcomes of that event, Maheen went on to explain, was that fashion publications such as Vogue Italia, Velvet Magazine and Elle magazine had expressed an interest in attending the fashion week and providing coverage to the event. “A lot of the foreign media have begun asking for visas to come to this country,” she added.
In terms of bringing their learning from having attended an international fashion week such as Milan, Rizwan Beyg said, “We tweaked everything with Tammy in terms of ramp, choreography, lighting, etc, after we came back.”
“But the focus will remain on the designer and his/her collection,” added Maheen.
“We have a 100-ft ramp for the event which is the international standard for all such shows,” said Ayesha Tammy Haq.
“When we were going to Milan we had to show our Spring/Summer 2010 collection. Trends were predicted Trends were predicted in advance and they were followed in the collections that we showed. In Pakistan, the autumn/winter collection is shown right before the actual season. So it was a learning curve for us and we will implement this international standard from next year onwards,” said Deepak. “Trends, cut, style, fit… everything will be shown six months in advance. KFW is not just for the international media but also for new designers. This platform is for them. As senior designers, we already have had our platforms. Fashion is not just about designs, but serious business as well,” he added.
“And this business has to come and start from Pakistan,” said Maheen on a concluding note.
Beauty tricks and more
Stylist Nabila is always full of surprises. Recently, she was seen conducting a hair show at Park Towers, but before that there needs to be a little introduction to the event.
A fashion cosmetics giant introduced four of its Pakistani ambassadors to the local audience. These included hair and make-up artiste and entrepreneur Anoushey Asad, who has started the salon Studio 51. Model, TV actress, artist and lead singer for the band Overload, Meesha Shafi was another. Model and mom Sabina Pasha also walked down the ramp as an ambassador. The fourth spokesperson turned out to be actress, comedian, TV host, model Sanam Saeed. The idea was to select individuals who had multi-faceted careers, in an attempt to project their personality and not just their outward appearances. The spokespeople were dressed in black and gold Nida Azwer ensembles. The event began with model/film-maker Adnan Malik giving a small talk and showing a small presentation. Stylist Peng also came up on the podium and spoke about the essentials of skin care.
It was then that Nabila started the hair (read wig) show on two plainclothes models. She fitted them with wigs and attached coloured extensions to them. She then went on to style the wigs and gave them a razor cut. All the while she was helped by her assistants who in the end put very large necklaces on them.
Once the stylist was satisfied with the look, the spa gowns were taken off the models to reveal glittering black party wear outfits. The models had managed to change right in the middle of the mall and the stunt was akin to a well-practiced magic trick.
Other notable attendees at the L’Oreal Paris launch show included VJ Anoushey Ashraf, VJ/actress/singer Ayesha Omar, designer Feeha Jamshed, jewellery designer Kiran Aman, actress Mariam Azmi, designer Rizwanullah, model Rubya Chaudry and model/actress/entrepreneur Vaneeza Ahmed along with Musharraf Hai.
With innovations in the haircare and beauty industry, here’s hoping that launch events such as these will help cushion the blow caused by recession to the country’s economy and bringing it back on track in the soonest possible time. — MS
Stylist Nabila is always full of surprises. Recently, she was seen conducting a hair show at Park Towers, but before that there needs to be a little introduction to the event.
A fashion cosmetics giant introduced four of its Pakistani ambassadors to the local audience. These included hair and make-up artiste and entrepreneur Anoushey Asad, who has started the salon Studio 51. Model, TV actress, artist and lead singer for the band Overload, Meesha Shafi was another. Model and mom Sabina Pasha also walked down the ramp as an ambassador. The fourth spokesperson turned out to be actress, comedian, TV host, model Sanam Saeed. The idea was to select individuals who had multi-faceted careers, in an attempt to project their personality and not just their outward appearances. The spokespeople were dressed in black and gold Nida Azwer ensembles. The event began with model/film-maker Adnan Malik giving a small talk and showing a small presentation. Stylist Peng also came up on the podium and spoke about the essentials of skin care.
It was then that Nabila started the hair (read wig) show on two plainclothes models. She fitted them with wigs and attached coloured extensions to them. She then went on to style the wigs and gave them a razor cut. All the while she was helped by her assistants who in the end put very large necklaces on them.
Once the stylist was satisfied with the look, the spa gowns were taken off the models to reveal glittering black party wear outfits. The models had managed to change right in the middle of the mall and the stunt was akin to a well-practiced magic trick.
Other notable attendees at the L’Oreal Paris launch show included VJ Anoushey Ashraf, VJ/actress/singer Ayesha Omar, designer Feeha Jamshed, jewellery designer Kiran Aman, actress Mariam Azmi, designer Rizwanullah, model Rubya Chaudry and model/actress/entrepreneur Vaneeza Ahmed along with Musharraf Hai.
With innovations in the haircare and beauty industry, here’s hoping that launch events such as these will help cushion the blow caused by recession to the country’s economy and bringing it back on track in the soonest possible time. — MS
It was a proud moment for Pakistan’s fashion when the country was recently represented at one of the biggest fashion platforms in the world — Milan Fashion Week. Of the designers who participated, each showed a fabulous collection and they did so in the New Upcoming Designers (N-U-De) category.
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Everything else aside, Pakistan has finally made it to one of the major fashion weeks in the world — a fact that we should applaud and be proud of.
Fashion gurus Maheen Khan, Rizwan Beyg and Deepak Perwani showcased their collections at the Milano Moda Donna (women’s) Spring/Summer 2010 season, organised by Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana. The buzz surrounding them showing at MFW had been going on for the past year, and to see it finally happen was indeed heartwarming. According to All Eyes on Asia by Francesca Fearon (published earlier in the Abu Dhabi-based daily, The National), Maheen Khan told her, “A year ago, I was approached by our ambassador in Rome to send her as many portfolios of designers as I could within a week. I did and here we are, unbelievably, heading for Milan!”
The collections were well-put together, were uniquely different and strongly reminiscent of each designer’s signature style. Maheen’s prêt collection was an amalgamation of solid colours ranging from white, orange, grey, red and yellow and contained her love for sleek, pleated shalwars. “I had been advised many years ago, ‘Look, we have a Dolce & Gabanna, Valentino and Armani. We don’t want one more. Give us something new’. We must represent Pakistan because that’s what it’s all about,” said Maheen. “I call my collection The Khyber Mail, based on the Khyber. I just thought I’d take all the embroidery from that area, the little kotis and shalwars that run through Pakistan. My focus was on the mountainous areas.
“Shu is the wool from the mountain goat which is spun on the yarn and they make woolen fabric from it. That’s what these traditional hats (pukhkol) are made of. I went to Bohri Bazaar and I was told that it couldn’t be done, and then I found one guy who could make it for me in khaddar, satin, etc. I used these hats throughout the show. I personally think that all of us got an amazing response from Milan.”
Beyg’s collection carried his signature use of white and was perhaps the most ‘western’ in sensibility as the outfits, in essence, left the torso of the models bare with most of the skirts sporting a large bow in the front.
“Deepak, myself and Maheen met and we talked about it,” said Rizwan Beyg about coming up with the collection. “I think we kind of wanted to show the different faces of Pakistan. We all have our strengths—my strength is couture, so I decided to do a demi-couture line. Deepak did a very young, colourful hip line and Maheen did very understated-elegance.
“I decided that since Deepak and Maheen were going to do colour, I was going to do monochromatic because it’s very much my style. After my last Ensemble show which was in ivory, I decided I was going to do something in white because it was for Spring/Summer 2010, if not then I would have done it in black because I’m a very black-and-white kind of a person.
“My entire collection was done out of a bedding material called niwar, and I used that to create texture. I worked with the women of Haripur Hazara to do the crochet because the whole collection was based on these two things, and then we embellished it with pearls. The concept was ‘from the rural to the runway’.”
Perwani’s collection stemmed from his D Philosophy line and featured the designer’s use of local dastarkhwan and ajrak prints over white fabric, tastefully put together over western-styled outfits. The almost mid-thigh, voluminous pleated dress and the heavily embroidered black jacket over a pair of red shorts stood out in the collection. Deepak seemed to have made an impact with his collection being repeatedly mentioned in international fashion blogs.
“There were design guidelines that you had to follow in terms of trends for Spring/Summer 2010,” he said. “You had to be practical as well in what you were making as Milan is all about serious business. So the outfits had to be according to trends predicted for 2010, such as colours, etc. There was brilliant work and a lot of cutting-edge design, and at the same time there were lot of shows that were all about making a splash on the ramp.”
However, the thing that struck as odd to many in the local fashion circles was that these well-established designers chose to show their collections in the New Upcoming Designers (N-U-De) category at Milan Fashion Week. It was suggested that the ‘new’ in the category referred to those who are new to the international market. Even if that was the case, all three designers had shown at various international fashion weeks ranging from Bosnia, Colombo, Dubai, etc.
Francesca Fearon stated in her article (All Eyes on Asia) the reason for establishing the category as: “Mario Boselli, the chairman of Camera della Moda Italiana, explaining the reasons for establishing N-U-De, said that the body was looking for creative designers who are not widely known in the outside world but who have a lot to express. The initiative was launched in 2005 to help new Italian and international designers and young fashion brands: ‘The initiative reflects the search for renewal of the whole fashion system helping the new generation in their professional path. The designers who will be participating are leading ones who we think are worthy of being supported in their jobs — in particular now that Italy and the international market are ready to welcome the innovations coming from apparently far-away cultures’.”
If one investigates the entrants in this category, including those who participated from India — namely Atsu Sekhose and Azara (Alpana & Meeraj Chauhan) — one finds that each designer brand was not older than three to five years. Rizwan Beyg and Maheen Khan are pioneers in the Pakistan fashion industry, having launched themselves in the late ’80s, with Deepak Perwani breaking into the local fashion scene in the mid-90s. With all three also the board members of the Karachi-based fashion council, Fashion Pakistan (FP), some in the industry feel that they should have used this opportunity to nurture and promote the many new designers who are also FP members and eligible for the N-U-De category at MFW.
“It (N-U-De) was initially for a lot of young graduates that they promoted,” explained Rizwan. “This year they decided they were going to initiate this whole thing with Southeast Asia, and they had a lot of entries but they short-listed four nations which was Columbia, Russia, India and Pakistan.”
Deepak added, “The N-U-De category has been established for designers who are showing in Milan for the first time. You are only in this category for the first two years. If you look at it, you’re showing along with the likes of Giorgio Armani and they want designers who can do some serious business, and not just some bachchas.”
“The Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana is a trade body registered with the government, and they’re not going to break their rules to accommodate Pakistan,” added Rizwan Beyg. “Actually, from India Tarun Tahiliani was showing. I met Sumeet (Verma) at MFW who was representing the Indian council, and he told me that Tarun feels that the Indian market is a better market than going international because their sales are so high. So, in that respect, there is no controversy because Camera Moda is not going to break their laws to accommodate Pakistan.”
One Karachi-based fashion designer Nomi Ansari who qualifies for N-U-De had this to say when approached by Images on Sunday, “Maheen (Khan) had approached me and she was very much interested in having me show at Milan but at that time I was caught up with Eid orders. I wanted to go, but I couldn’t. I think that now that these people have gone, others will get the opportunity… I think they’ve opened the doors for others to show as well.
“MFW is a serious platform. It’s not for people who want to become famous, it’s for those who want to do serious business. I think the people who went not only have great design sensibility — you can see that in their collections at MFW — but they also have operations to back orders up. A major problem with completely new designers would be that they might not be able to do that.”
“We had sent around 11-13 portfolios to Milan and apart from that, we never chose ourselves, the Camera Moda selected us. They had our entire profile and the year we started,” said Maheen.
“We submitted our portfolios and got selected,” said Deepak about going to Milan. “The response has been fantastic, Pakistan was very popular there, and we got a standing ovation. If you see international press and media and the kind of feedback we’ve been getting, it’s phenomenal.”
“Well, I think the hysteria was only when we found out that we were going. That was the time of jubilation. The portfolios were sent a year in advance and it’s a long, hard process,” said Rizwan, “I think we were all worried about Pakistan’s credibility in an international, important event such as MFW. We were very fortunate that the four of us got chosen. The fourth designer who didn’t go was Nilofer Shahid.”
Why didn’t she participate? “She’s preparing for Paris because she’s taking part in one of the events there. They have a major accessory show there and she was preparing for that. She had to prioritise,” explained Rizwan.
Veteran fashion designer Faiza Samee, a prominent name in the industry and one of the directors of the Karachi-based fashion council, when approached, said, “I received an email about this from India almost a week ago, because they also had designers participating in the N-U-De category for new, upcoming designers. I have to admit I was a little surprised.”
However, careful not to take credit away from the collections that were shown at the MFW by the Pakistani designers, she added, “I believe they did very well at Milan and put forth a marvelous collection on the ramp, which makes us all proud of them as Pakistanis. Rizwan Beyg told me his collection was very well received over there.”
Considering that the designers who showed had gone through a ‘selection process’, Faiza sounded somewhat perturbed, “I was shifting though channels the other day and I chanced upon Maheen Khan’s interview to Ayeshah Alam. I was surprised when she mentioned that 12-13 designer portfolios were submitted for MFW and only Maheen, Rizwan and Deepak’s were selected. To be absolutely honest, I am also one of the directors of Fashion Pakistan and I certainly was not made aware of any such submission, or about participation in any category for MFW.”
“Well, I think it’s great,” said Andleeb Rana Farhan, fashion editor and a regular at fashion weeks abroad while commenting on the participation. “Whenever Pakistan is represented in a positive way, in whichever field, it’s obviously something we should be proud of.”
Regarding the participation of these established designers in the N-U-De category, she added, “An Indian fashion journalist friend of mine called me from Milan and asked me about it. In order to put a stop to this controversy, I obviously had to side with our designers, saying ‘Oh, but they are new to Milan’.
Fashion journalist and critic Zurain Imam commented, “For the last several months I’d been hearing that four of our senior designers, Maheen Khan, Rizwan Beyg, Nilofer Shahid and Deepak Perwani were trying to get a large media group to sponsor their participation at Milan Fashion Week 2009. Later, the name of Nilofer Shahid, who had already shown a collection alongside Balenciaga during the week of Haute Couture in 2005, was not linked to this earnest group. Then I also came across Tapu Javeri’s Facebook updates of the countdown to Milan Fashion Week. I saw a photograph of the category in which Maheen, Rizwan and Deepak showed: New Upcoming Designers (N-U-De) as part of the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana initiative at Milan Fashion Week.
“On Ayeshah Alam’s show, Maheen said that 13 or so portfolios including those of ‘new talent’ and those of herself, Deepak and Rizwan’s were sent, and only these three of this group had been chosen. Tapu’s defence of the trio was that they were new to MFW. Federico Sangalli, Chicca Lualdi (Bee Queen) Andres Caballero and others who have recently shown under the N-U-De initiative at MFW are all relatively new designers in their own countries and internationally, having worked three to six years or less in fashion.”
Pakistani designers showing at MFW is again a big deal. There are enough controversies in the local fashion industry and having yet another one in the middle of such an accomplishment dampens its impact. But it serves everyone well to clarify such misconceptions. It should also serve as a wake-up call to new, upcoming designers who have to get their act and operations together because if they want to show abroad, they better be able to back it up not only in terms of design but also the business side of production.
“There is something I strongly believe in,” said Rizwan finally, “I think that at the end of the day we’ve opened the door for others to come in. Because we were articulate, we went and we put such a strong case for Pakistan. Mr Boselli came to us after the show and said ‘complimente! complimente! complimente!’ I think this is something that we, as founder members of Fashion Pakistan, would love to see all over and promote our younger members.”
“This has been a ground-breaking event in the Pakistan fashion world. I feel now doors will open for all of the designers. And next year, I’ve already spoken to Tasneem Aslam (Pakistan’s ambassador to Italy) who said ‘You guys have to come again’,” added Maheen. “But Mario Bocelli was very clear that whoever comes has to prove him or herself in the fashion world.
“MFW, in turn, has created an interest in Karachi Fashion Week. Beth Sobol emailed to tell us that she wants to come… and I also got a call from French National TV asking about it. I personally don’t know if I am going to go next year, this is about building your place in fashion and I think I’ve done my bit by opening the door. I would like to see somebody else go in my place. I would love to assist any designer who’s going, because this is going to be a collective effort for anyone who’s participating. Either we do it for our country or we don’t,” she said.
Photos:
1. Deepak Perwani’s collection
2. Maheen Khan’s “Khyber Mail” collection.
3. Rizwan Beyg’s “Rural to runway” collection.
From Sampooran (a set of five notes) to Saptak (a set of seven notes), we preview Mekaal Hasan Band’s latest album.
I’ll confess: the Mekaal Hasan Band (MHB) for me (and for quite a few people) has been an acquired taste; mostly brought upon by attending some of its live performances. The first album, Sampooran, featured artistes that are the best in their field, but has often been described as too ‘hard to digest’. It definitely wasn’t listener-friendly, and the worst critique that one can give it is that the sheer perfection sought in the technique employed in the musical and vocal arrangements had robbed it of its soul. Getting off to a slow start, the album picked up a couple of years later, once the style of music (an attempt at a type of eastern jazz, if you may) managed to penetrate the minds of local audiences. Sampooran is now one of the stronger music albums to come out from the local pop arena.
After a hiatus of five years, the band is now set to release the much-awaited second album, Saptak. The album is being released independently, without the support or affiliation of a record label, making the band some of the very few musicians in the pop industry that are free to promote their music on whatever medium that suits them.
The album launch song, Chall Bulleya, begins the album on a softer note. The lyrical content which is its prime focus, is a mixture of Bulleh Shah’s poetry (predominantly in the main chorus) fused with verses by Bhagat Kabir, focusing on bringing society up on a more positive note by eliminating the evils that exist in it.
The new additions in the musicians who contributed to the album include Aamir Azhar on bass, whose presence can be felt on tracks such as Bhageshwari which starts off with a funky bass-line. The song which has been written by vocalist Javed Bashir himself features a similar flute solo by Mohammad Ahsan Pappu. An upbeat energetic number, it’s one of the more listener-friendly tracks on the album and has the potential to be one of the album’s more popular numbers.
The multi-percussionist from the UK, Pete Lockett (with whom Mekaal collaborated and toured with in 2001) is also featured on the album on a track titled Albaella. Listeners unaccustomed to the nuances of classical or heritage music might relate it to the version (officially titled: Albela Sajan Ayo Re) from the Hindi film, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, as classical raags are often used in Bollywood productions. Based on Raag Ahir Bhairav, the composition in the album has been presented in its original form; in the Indian version, the structure of the composition had been changed from teen taal (common in the North Indian classical tradition) to a Kaherava (an eight-beat taal common in the North Indian non-classical tradition). Pete Lockett fuses in Arabic and Turkish beats into the composition, giving it a softer feel and bringing the deeply-rooted composition into the modern era. As with Late Moon Jam in the first album, Albella embodies the most ‘western’ feel with the music sounding very much spontaneous.
Bandeya is a track with embodies the most old-school MHB signature sound without sounding out-of-place in the overall composition of the album. It has Javed Bashir’s characteristic recitation of paltain interspersed with his consistent rendition of the main chorus lines, the guitar solos, etc. Perhaps the best way to describe the old MHB sound of the song would be to say that the numerous guitar solos exist, but only in moderation.
Perhaps the only song that really doesn’t belong in the album is Mohi. It starts off with Ahsan Pappu’s flute solo and the song progresses to sound like an attempt to shift from pop to a more film/soundtrack-oriented music, although the shift can only be felt slightly.
Almost half the album is already familiar to the band’s listeners. Sanwal and Waris Shah are tracks that have been picked up from the last album, although Sanwal is featured in a more reggae light. This version of Sanwal made one smile inadvertently, its light, its fun and a nice alternative to the original. But having grown accustomed to the original, I personally prefer that version in place of this one. Waris Shah, while retaining most of it in original form, has been ‘cleaned’ up of the additional instruments that seemed to dominate it in the first album. The song definitely belongs entirely to Javed Bashir’s vocal skills and Ahsan Pappu’s haunting virtuosity on the flute.
Three songs from the album have been making rounds on the airwaves for some time now. They are Jhok Ranjhan (the song single-handedly responsible for proving that the band can still do a lighter, more ‘pop’ sound and still sound good), Huns Dhun and Andholan (which goes back to the band’s more intense, ‘darker’ roots. Very much like the old MHB, it’s a little out of place in this album) and are therefore familiar to the local listener.
For listeners who were expecting more of the band’s signature listener-unfriendly, hard, intense music, they’re in for a disappointment, but only for that reason alone. The band may have shed some if its ‘darker’ sound, but they’ve retained their musical virtuosity. The songs have a very strong MHB touch to them, and as a whole, the album also plays largely on nostalgia since half of it has already been released in the form of music videos. The best from the album definitely include Chall Bulleya, Albaella, Jhok Ranjhan, Huns Dhun, Bandeya, Waris Shah, Bhageshwari.
Definitely one of the more ‘complete’ body of work to come out in the past two-three years in the music industry, the release of this album has been long overdue.
Chall Bulleya, Mekaal Hasan Band’s latest video, introduces Saligia, otherwise known as the seven deadly sins: superbia, avaritia, luxuria, invidia, gula, ira, acedia…
The opening sequence of the video shows a ‘do not disturb’ sign that is duly checked by the hotel maid who moves on. Inside we encounter visuals of a clock over which time is passing quickly, a pair of aged feet with crumbling toe-nails worse than that of the fabled hobbits’ which belong to a man that seems to have remained in bed for a very, very long time. The remote drops and he gets up and we see his haggard face and the reflection of the television screen on it. Enter: the music of Chall Bulleya, Mekaal Hasan Band’s (MHB) latest video currently doing rounds on the airwaves, marking the launch of its second album (after a hiatus of five years), Saptak. In this exclusive scoop to Images on Sunday we take a look into the video and speak to Mekaal Hasan.
The band has previously released several videos from this album on the airwaves which include Jhok Ranjhan and Huns Dhun, both directed by Zeeshan Parwez. After launching the album-launch video, Chall Bulleya (directed by Bilal Lashari), it intends to release their semi-animated video of Waris Shah, also directed by Zeeshan Parwez, soon.
MHB has a history of releasing videos that have also attempted at conducting its share of social commentary. The first video Rabba (directed by Maryam Rehman) spoke about the alienation of an individual in an increasingly globalised world. Huns Dhun on the other hand, shed light on the repatriation of the Afghan refugees in Pakistan back in 2007.
MHB’s current video is perhaps its most glamourised video to date. The cast includes quite a handful of names from the local industry, namely model Aaminah Haq, musician/television actor/director Ahmed Ali Butt, film actress Meera, film actor Moammar Rana, film actor and musician Fawad Khan, designer Kamiar Rokni, television actor and talk show host Juggan Kazim and models Feeha and Rabia Butt among others.
The video is based on the early Christian concept of the seven deadly sins, otherwise known as Saligia. The word Saligia has been named from the first letter of each sin in Latin, namely superbia (pride/vanity) avaritia (avarice/insatiable appetite for wealth), luxuria (lust), invidia (envy), gula (gluttony), ira (wrath) and acedia (sloth/apathy or extreme inactivity). The list of the sins was coined by the fourth-century monk Evagrius Ponticus, which was further relisted by Pope Gregory I in 590AD. They then made their appearance in Dante Alighieri’s literary masterpiece, The Divine Comedy, immortalising the concept of Saligia in modern culture.
Although the concept of each room in a seedy hotel housing guests — each of which have their own story to tell and all connected via the hotel maid (Juggan) whose job it is to interact and serve them — has been done to death, the 
manner in which it was executed by Bilal Lashari breathes new life into it. The guest in the opening sequence of the video, who doesn’t get out of bed (“that man was actually sleeping. It was 3am when we shot this,” added Mekaal), represents the first sin: sloth. The visual comes in at a time when the vocalist (Jawaid Bashir) is singing the verse Chall Bulleya, chall othey challiye jithay sarey anney (Bulleh Shah, let’s go to a place where everyone is blind). “In the sense that no one is better or worse than anyone else, where everybody’s equal,” explained Mekaal.
Vanity as a sin comes in when the maid is shooed away by the narcissistic Aaminah Haq, coming in on the verse Na koi sadi zaat pehchaney, na koi sanu manney (No one recognises your lineage or gives you extra respect for your material position in life). The mirror she is looking into shatters, she hears a gunshot and screams and we see her make a phone call.
In the next room, Fawad Khan and Kamir Rokni are engaged in the third sin, Wrath. They are embroiled in a bloody fight in which Fawad ends up murdering Kamiar. This comes with the verse Tu to kaway tay, tumya javein, te main main kawan to churriyaan (Where one person is adamant about getting his own way but the moment another suggests otherwise, there is a conflict).
Moammar Rana along with Feeha and Rabia Butt display lust. This is pretty straightforward as we see the threesome engaged in acts of intimacy, with nothing shown outright. This segment is not signified by a verse from the song, instead there is a flute solo by Pappu Saheb. According to Mekaal, “there are no lyrics for the Lust part but the flute in Greek mythology has always been associated with it.”
A four-armed Ahmed Ali Butt embodies the next sin, Gluttony. He is seen gorging on food as if there is no tomorrow. 
The added arms almost seem real while the song goes, Ek karakar tukkar wajey, tata howay chulla.“Tukkar used to be the horn used in olden times to call an assembly. Blow the horn and call everyone, tata is for the chullla, heat it up so everybody can get together and eat. Avey javey, har koi khavey, razi ho gaye Bullah. Bulleh Shah’s happiness lies in the thought that no one is going to go hungry,” elucidated Mekaal on the lyrics for the segment.
The next one is quite interesting. In the manner of the life of the late Anna Nicole Smith, Meera is shown leaving her aged and dying husband to show off her jewels and to bath in a tub full of money. She depicts the sixth sin, Greed. Shown over the lyrics Bulleh ashiq goya Rab da, hoi malamat lakh, Mekaal said that “what we’ve shown here is that for Meera, as the character she is playing, money is her god.”
In the ending sequence Juggan is seen going into her room which houses screens showing all of the guests she has just tried serving. She is the voyeur and representative of the last sin, Envy. Throughout the video, we observe her moving from one room to another, trying to pick up on what her guests are doing and as the video progresses, she seems to be tempted to indulge in the sins herself. She tries to listen to what was happening in the room where lust was at work, she steals an orange from the glutton, etc. Back in her room, she looks at the camera and for the briefest second gives a small smile, at the end of which she displays the darkness in her. Shot and put together like a film, Chall Bulleya is a video with many layers to it, which can be discovered each time it is watched.
Although the lyrical content of the song preaches against these sins, the video ironically shows the exact opposite. “Because we’ve shown how people are not like that. How they’re so self-obsessed, so into what they are doing that that is the only state of happiness that they can find,” responded Mekaal.
For Chall Bulleya, MHB’s made the switch from Zeeshan to Bilal… “we haven’t shifted,” interjected Mekaal, “Zeeshan’s already done Waris Shah. He’s done a wonderful animated video. He’s very good at capturing intimacy and quiet moments. Bilal has an extremely fine eye for detail and for capturing things on a larger-than-life level but still making them very detailed. In this video there is no personal interaction of the viewer. Everything is very removed and yet the song is about not being that.”
Has the band ever been tempted to act in its own videos as do other musicians? Mekaal responds with: “F*** that s***. Get people who can act!”
Photo captions:
1. Sloth
2. Vanity; portrayed by Aminah Haq
3. Wrath; portrayed by Fawad Khan
4. Lust; portrayed by Moammar Rana, Feeha & Rabia Butt
5. Gluttony; portrayed by Ahmed Ali Butt
6. Greed; portrayed by Meera
7. Envy; portrayed by Juggan Kazim.
Despite the current times of recession, fashion seems to have found a strong foothold. Budding and fast-growing designers (especially new ones) have hosted several solo shows in the past couple of months, each in their own individual capacity showing their flair and style for design not only in their work, but in also how they chose to show it.
Where the younger generation has now taken this step to showcase their collection — presumably every season — perhaps it is time that the seniors consider following in their footsteps by hosting their own solo shows. How else is one to judge the evolution and growth in a designer’s work if not exposed to it periodically? And when it comes to a budding designer, how else to introduce yourself effectively than by hosting your own solo show?
This is precisely what Sanam Agha did. As a person she was known in the more intimate fashion circles, but not to the greater fashion patrons. She has been spotted
here and there sporting an outfit that was strongly reminiscent of the elements that she chooses to make up her own personal style. This was also strongly evident in the solo fashion show she held recently to showcase her first collection, titled “cut, fit, finish”. Some of the designs were extremely reminiscent of how Sanam dresses herself. Especially the drop-crotch (hunter’s) shorts she showed, the harem pants and the frilled lining on several of the outfits. The waist on the harem pants that her models sported had gone higher and some of the ankle-length white dresses had simple, bold embroidery on them.
What Sanam has done is that she has taken popular trends and styles currently in vogue around the world and added her own touch to them. Harem pants are fast becoming a popular feature in the streets of New York and the frilled lining on several of the outfits has made their mark in party circles abroad as well. The colour palette she worked on was a simple combination of white, black, beige, pale pink and cookie brown.
Her menswear collection was somewhat funky to say the least. Keeping some of the suits simple, in some branding was at its finest and sported a large embroidered dragonfly on them (the logo of her label). The colour palette for the menswear section was limited to white, baby blue and black. Along with grid patterns on the collar as one of the features, the menswear collection seemed to aim at providing men a fun and funky look and yet maintaining their understated masculinity.
The show which s
tarted late was refreshing to say the least; both in its content and style of execution. The models would walk down the ramp, come in from the audience and walk back into them. Instead of the regular models, Sanam chose a selection of individuals from within the entertainment industry whom she seems to hold close to her heart. Some of them included designer Nomi Ansari, actor Sajid Hasan (who walked with an incredible grace and his appearance on the ramp was met with a thunderous applause) and his wife Shakeela, TV host and model Ayesha Toor, models Fayezah Ansari and Nadya Hussein, MTV VJ Faizan Haqquee (who did a little dance move at the end of the ramp), model and actor Tooba Siddiqui, model and stage-actor Sanam Saeed, model and fashion channel head Vaneeza Ahmad, and hair & make-up artist Tariq Amin (who did the model’s look for the show as well as the choreography) among others.
What was interesting to note was that the female models seemed to be done up in the manner of Sanam’s personal look. Those with naturally curly hair were left with it, those who weren’t had their hair crimped or seemingly permed with a very natural simple look. Some had their eyes frosted in shades of baby blue or silver but that was that.
When one mentioned this to VJ Faizan Haqquee, he responded, “Well, yes. This is essentially about showing different sides of Sanam and therefore the look of the models themselves.”
– Photos by Kohi Marri
I walked into a recording studio in Karachi recently to find Dawud Wharnsby Ali (formerly known as David Howard Wharnsby), one of the pioneers in the genre of English nausheed on a global level (along with the likes of Yousuf Islam, Zain Bhikha and the more recently popular, Sami Yousuf) in the vocal booth recording his vocals for a local project in which he was actually singing in Urdu. Repeatedly tutored by the music producer there on the nuances of pronunciation, Dawud would eventually get the song right.
A bit of history here: Dawud initially began pursuing music in 1991 in Canada where he began as a solo artiste and eventually collaborating with the band members of the folk band, Crackenthorpe’s Teapot. He ended up releasing two independent albums with the band. An ardent observer of world religions and the concept of spirituality, he was exposed to the Quran in 1993 and decided to study it.
In 1995, he released his first inspirational album, Blue Walls and the Big Sky, through his own independent label and has since then released over 10 English nausheed albums. Not only is he gifted vocally, but he’s also an instrumentalist and has produced music and collaborated with the likes of Yousuf Islam, South African songwriter and nausheed Zain Bhikha, Mumbai-based sitar player Ustad Irshad Khan among others.
He’s also an avid advocate of education for children and has done several television programmes (predominantly for Canada’s Vision TV and the BBC) targeted at educating children worldwide. A prominent feature in the nausheed circles abroad, Dawud, whose wife is Pakistani has now also established his base at Abbottabad which he calls home. As an educator, his wife moved back to Pakistan to help run the school her grandmother established 20 years ago. Dawud himself has established a private trust fund supporting educational programmes in the northern areas of Pakistan.
Here, Images on Sunday talks to this incredibly polite artiste about his perception of music in religion, peace, life in Pakistan, his collaborations and what he has planned in store for the future.
Q. When you embraced the Islamic way of life, did you have any doubts about music?
A. No. I mean, the music that I was involved in up until that point was very personal to me anyway. It was very much a part of my journey into life, my spiritual journey. So I started to see, as I was performing at different venues that music, as faith and knowledge, can be often misused.
When I embraced the Quran and when I read things about humility, integrity and about poets not preaching what they didn’t practise, I felt that this was a sign to me. It wasn’t music that I needed to stop doing but it was something I needed to utilise even more for my spiritual growth. And that’s why I think my shift in the approach of my music changed at that time as well.
I was never doubtful about music being a powerful method for expression or it having a powerful effect on people. I was never doubtful of it as a medium. The only thing I was doubtful of was the environment; where was I going to begin to share my music? How was I going to use it? In an environment which would enliven people, empower people, as opposed to an environment which would let you escape from life.
In terms of the ideological contradictions, or the ideological opinions, I didn’t buy into that from the beginning. I knew that the Muslim community was very sensitive to it. But I attributed that more to cultural approaches to music. For example, people would come to me and would say western music sounds very aggressive. And yet I would listen to music from Uganda and it sounded very aggressive to me. Culturally, some of the rhythms and the loud chanting, it was very aggressive. So it was all very much peoples’ cultural educations and that didn’t scare me.
Q. For seven years you did music in the traditional capella nausheed style (singing without any musical instrument). Why the change now?
A. I started that way because the recordings I was doing at that time, I was aiming specifically at children. So I wanted to keep them very simple, rhythmic and very lyric-based. They were educational songs and I was also aiming directly at the diverse, multicultural community of Muslims specifically in Canada. And I knew that culturally speaking, people had very different opinions about the permissiveness of musical instruments.
So I thought if I were to use a very traditional approach, just lyrics and percussions, people will… they won’t focus on the debate, they’ll just focus on the words. And that’s sort of why I began that way.
Ironically I recorded all those songs with the guitar, but I just took it out of the mix when I released it.
Q. What about the general reaction to you picking up your guitar again? Did anyone object?
A. Oh yeah, but nothing heavy duty. People have been very kind. They would send me letters, messages or emails and say ‘brother I don’t know if you know or not, but you’re going to hell because you play guitar!’ and I’d say thank you a lot for the advice. But they were only saying it out of love. When people are certain of their own ideological opinions I think they mean it out of love and sometimes they mean it out of a need for their own validation. And there is a fear that now they’re challenged and suddenly out of that fear they feel the need to instruct or correct you. So I’ve tried to be patient with that.
The people who are genuinely confused, I try to give them a very clear answer. People who are genuinely upset, I try to remind them that they need to be tolerant of different ideologies. For people who want to condescend or judge, I try to remind them that I only believe that there is one being that has the right to judge me and that is my Creator and so their fear tactics don’t work with me.
For the most part I don’t run into too much hassle. The only trouble I run into is when I am invited to an event and where people will say to me ‘Oh yes brother, whatever you want to share is great’ and then 10 minutes before the performance they’d say, ‘by the way we’ve had some complaints and you can’t play the guitar, you can’t play the drum.’ And I find that frustrating only because it’s a form of censorship. They know my website, they know what I do, they should know better than to try and monopolise my art.
Q. You’ve collaborated with quite a few artistes including Zain Bikha from South Africa. How did that happen?
A. Beautiful. We both had a mutual friend in England, Yousuf Islam. I was invited to his studio, I was aware of Zain’s music, Zain was aware of my music but neither of us had met. We all have a soft spot for children and education for children. Coming together it wasn’t just as artistes but as people who had a love for children and trying to see songs come alive more than we had any interest to market them, create a new music industry or seek any sort of support or validation from the community, we really just wanted to create songs that young people could identify with.
Zain and I really clicked and since that time we’ve been working together.
Q. All three of you are considered pioneers in what you do.
A. Yeah, so we all started around the same time. There were plenty of spiritual songs drawn from the Quran before that time but most of them were in Arabic or in Urdu and there wasn’t really much in English. And the three of us did sort of, apart from each other, begin distributing songs.
Q. Considering that you don’t speak Urdu or any of the local languages, has language been a barrier for you?
A. Just where I live. I don’t do much artistic work. That just seems to be the way it is. When I’m home I’m primarily writing/ recording. The language isn’t a barrier for me. When I’m in the bazaar or with the neighbours, they’re very patient with my broken Urdu. And if I just keep my mouth shut and wear shalwar kameez everyone thinks I’m Pathan and they’ll ask me where I’m from in Pashto and I’ll say ‘Canada’ and they’ll say ‘Kandahar?’
Q. You also started your own record label Enter into Peace. Tell us about that?
A. Well it started out as a publishing entity because I’ve always felt very strongly about artistes holding on to their work, not allowing other people to monopolise it or use it to make money off them in commercial ways.
So when I started my first publishing entity back in the early ’90s to really secure the rights to my work. It makes distribution a lot harder because it means I have to actively be on top of who’s distributing. It’s a lot easier now with digital distribution. When you run your own independent label, the networks don’t really take you seriously, because it’s a very who-you-know sort of business.
Q. What inspired the name Enter into Peace?
A. Yousuf Islam, who had explained to me many years ago that ‘Islam’ means ‘enter into peace’ and I thought ‘what a beautiful concept’. So that’s why when people ask me if I’ve converted, so I tell them it’s not about conversion it’s about the meaning, to embrace the concept of peace into your life.
Q. Are you planning to collaborate with any of the artistes you’ve worked with professionally?
A. I am working on a collaborative project with a few other artistes. One of them is Idrees Phillips. He’s produced and composed most of the music. I’m doing most of the lyrics and the vocals. Zain Bikha from South Africa, he’s written some incredible songs, very unlike what he’s done in the past. So that’s what we’re working on over the next few months as well. It’s kind of like three-way collaboration.
Q. What about your own independent solo projects?
A. I’m working on a new recording now. The actual process will be starting in September. It’ll be my first album recorded in Abbottabad. I’ve been nomadic for the past 3-4 years which is very hard considering my job entails that I travel already. So being at home is very important to me, to finally have a place to land. I really want to utilise that environment. And it seems so ironic because when you hear what happening in the northern areas of Pakistan and we’re so close to it.
Just up the road in Mansehra, a couple of weeks ago, a store that sold CDs and music items was destroyed and so a lot of people overseas are like ‘are you nuts?’ It’s going to be very exciting to record it in Pakistan.
– Photography: Shahzad ‘Shahi’ Hasan
Munib Nawaz has come a long, long way from the time he started out as an intern to Amir Adnan, branched out and launched his own label with a unique twist to marketing it: through music videos. And why not? In an industry dominated by men, which still remained untapped and unaffected by the fashion industry back then (and to a large extent even now), it only made sense for a menswear designer to take the initiative of dressing up the musicians.
Pretty soon he became known for it and most musicians to this day are comfortable with having him design for them. “He understands how to design for you without converting you into weird fashion rooster type,” said a musician once. “He doesn’t make you look like a fashion experiment. You’re still cool.”
Disarmingly friendly and easily accessible, perhaps the highlight of Munib’s success to date is showing at the Miami Fashion Week (MFW) earlier this year and to top it off, bagging the Men’s Style Award at the event. Breaking out into the foreign industry is no mean feat and the designer has been taking it in his stride and yet seems to have a “plan” for everything he does now. He maintained a low social profile prior to the event and only announced it once it actually happened.
After returning and doing a few media interviews, he went back into hiding so to say. He surfaced a couple of weeks ago only to announce his plans for doing the first ever solo men’s fashion show in Pakistan which happened on August 12, precisely on the designer’s birthday. Most of the male models had been flown in from Lahore, with their styling done by none other than Lahore-based stylist Khawar Riaz and the choreography by Imran Kureishi. If a fashion show full of men wasn’t enough, adding a twist to it were four female models who would open and close the show as well as the segments in between — Fayezah Ansari, Sofia Khan, Sunita Marshal and Iraj Manzoor.
When it came to the female models, one had to admit they looked stunning. They had been done up by Khawar Riaz himself and although the concept of leaving their hair straight and open seemed simple enough, it added a touch of elegance to the overall look. Fayezah Ansari opened the show in a little black sequenced dress with a cape.
Although little black dresses have been done quite a bit, the cape added a definite Munib touch to it since it is also a characteristic feature of some of his designs. Unfortunately, Sofia Khan failed to impress — on the ramp and in her wardrobe — the gold dress she wore was all wrong and the model does not seem to understand the importance of keeping a straight posture while walking down the ramp. Sunita wore an elegant black, strapless A-line dress.
However while walking up the ramp, she tripped. Iraj, who closed the show, wore a camouflage cape with skinny jeans. She walked down the ramp with her characteristic energy and playfulness and was the perfect model to end the show with.
Munib’s Inspired Life Collection was extensive to say the least. It contained both his bridal and formal wear as well as sections of the ensemble he showed at the MFW. There were several outfits in which the designer displayed his interest in animal prints. The lining of some of his jackets had a cheetah print to them, as well as one particular outfit where the tie and the waistcoat was in zebra print. Both looked visually appealing.
When it came to men’s western wear, the pants were simple, slim and straight-cut. Most of the outfits saw a return of the waistcoat, which was a welcome addition as it added an old-school gentleman feel to their clothes. The colours Munib played with were brown, blue, blue-grey, black and tan. The prints he used predominantly circled around the traditional striped, animal prints and there was a shirt with a cape with white chikan embroidery on it as well.
Perhaps a welcome look in his groomwear was the wearing of a sherwani as a coat, with the model sporting a waistcoat underneath it and paired with a pair of straight-cut pants. Playing around black, white, bronze with medium to heavy embroidery, his groomwear was intriguing to say at best with certain pieces standing out clearly.
A whole section of the collection, which one remembers as a part of the MFW, carried the designer’s characteristic love for dark colours — mostly black and dark grey which had an old-fashioned Russian military-styled jacket collar cut to them. The same collar was also used on several sherwanis as well.
Perhaps the only critique I can offer about the collection was the avid use of velvet (in this hot and humid weather too) in several of the ensembles. Velvet was used in black as well as bronze and seemed completely out of place and season in the collection.
In addition to Iraj’s camouflage outfit, the show closed with Munib’s Pakistan sherwani which had an outline of the Pakistan map on the back, a crescent on one shoulder and a star on the other — strongly reminiscent of Munib’s triumph at the MFW as he wore the sherwani then — and ending it on a heartwarming note. Once over, I for one could understand why it was called the Inspired Life Collection.
– Photography by Fayyaz Ahmed
