Call (Pakistani band)
Encyclopedia
Call is a rock
band from Lahore, Pakistan, formed by Zulfiqar J. Khan, Danish J. Khan, Khurram J. Khan and Omer Pervaiz. In 1996, the band's guitarist, Omer Pervaiz left to concentrate on his solo project, Naqsh and the band bassist, Shahzad Hameed, left to pursuit his own solo project. Ahsan Fida Khan and Faisal Murtaza recruited their places.
On October 20, 2001, Danish J. Khan, the band’s vocalist and lyricist, performed for the last time and later on left the band. Khurram Jabbar Khan moved to the United States
, Zulfiqar J. Khan concentrated on his band Paradigm (which later became Entity Paradigm) while Ahsan and Faisal moved on to fulfill family obligations.
However, the band reformed in 2002 and after a few line-up changes, released their debut album, Jilawatan
in late 2005.
under the name Undrap Nexus. Undrap Nexus line-up was with Zulfiqar J. Khan on the keyboard, Omer Pervaiz on the guitar
and Danish J. Khan on vocals. Soon, Zulfiqar J. Khan and Danish J. Khan, Khurram J. Khan bought himself a drumkit and Call was officially formed. Call still needed a bassist and recruited Shahzad Hameed.
Call's musical inspirations included bands like Pink Floyd
, Led Zeppelin
and Iron Maiden
. Their musical style was experimental as Shahzad Hameed stated;
The band's first gig was in 1995. The site was decorated with flame torches and complimenting the band's music were live mime performances. Their setlist was composed of 10 original tracks, a rare thing for underground musicians to do back then. However, in 1996, the band's bassist, Shahzad Hameed left. After a while, the band's guitarist, Omer Pervaiz left as well in order to concentrate on his solo project, Naqsh. Zulfiqar J. Khan and Khurram J. Khan decided against disbanding the band and thus ended up recruiting Ahsan Fida Khan on guitars and Faisal Murtaza on bass.
, Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan concentrated on his band Paradigm (which later became Entity Paradigm) while Ahsan Fida Khan and Faisal Murtaza moved on to fulfill family obligations.
to revive Call. Khurram Jabbar Khan and Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan got together and auditioned for new band members and decided that this would be an urdu
project. They found Junaid Khan's voice to befitting for the band’s musical direction and recruited him as the band’s vocalist. Soon Sunny was chosen to be on lead guitar, Usman Nasir on rhythms and Sultan Raja on bass. Khurram J. Khan joined in on drums.
The band’s first single, "Nishaan" was released through various Pakistani music websites and gained widespread fame. It went on to top the charts and also won the band its first award; Best Rock Song at the Band Baja Awards 2003. Indus Music made a live video of the song which was to be exclusively aired on the channel itself. Call then came up with a second single titled "Pukaar", which came with a promotional video directed by Xulfi, eventually won the Indus Music Award for the Best Alternative Rock Song. The band then released an unplugged song titled "Kaash".
Soon Khurram J. Khan had to part roles with the band because he had to run Jilawatan Productions, the company which used to manage Entity Paradigm, Jal
, Call and Roxen
. Eventually Sunny and Usman Nasir left the band as well. Sunny, who was the real musical contributor, couldn’t contribute to the band due to his job and thus had to leave the band.
Khurram J. Khan was replaced by Waqar Khan of Entity Paradigm and Zulfiqar J. Khan took Sunny and Usman Nasir's place. A new single was released and was accompanied by a video directed by Xulfi. The song was titled "Shayad" and topped the charts.
. The album was finally released in November 2005 and immediately topped the Vibes charts and stayed there for a lengthy amount of time. The album release was accompanied by a single titled "Sab Bhula Kai". A video was released with the single and was directed by Sohail Javed. The single topped the charts and fared extremely well.
A while later two more singles were released, both of which were accompanied by videos. The singles, titled "Kuch Naheen" and "Bichar Kai Bhee", both topped the charts.
and was released on the 23rd of March (Pakistan Day). The video of the song shows the band performing with Warid Telecom t-shirts, which were later edited out. An acoustic version of Kal Hamara Hai was also released through their fansite. A second song, titled Rang Dau, was also recorded for Warid Telecom. The length of the song was 1:26 and was used in Warid Telecom ads.
In early 2007, Call released a song named Laree Chotee for the Bollywood flick titled Ek Chalis Ki Last Local
and a video followed the audio release. The song was Remixed & Arranged by DJ Suketu & Aks.
Prior to the 2007 Cricket World Cup
, Call recorded and made a video for a song entitled "Humse He Ye Zamaana". This was to be the official song for the Pakistan cricket team during the tournament. However due to the team's early World Cup exit, the song never was released and had instead, been held back for a future release. However on September 20, Call released the music video and put it up for download on their official website.
. It can also be seen as the band's attempt to go more mainstream as far as the South Asian region is concerned. "Dhadke Jiya" doesn’t offer the same high as Laree Chooti", soundtrack from Bollywood
film "Ek Chalis Ki Last Local
" or "Yeh Pal", snapped up by the movie "Aasmaan", though the arrangement holds its own with an orchestral feel in the chorus, as opposed to relying on strumming the chords throughout the song.
Call have also released a new single "Ho Jaane De" for their upcoming album Dhoom. The single was widely appreciated throughout the continent but was criticised by some as the pop oriented song didn't keep the image of the rock band as rock. However the song was awarded 'Tune Of The Month' by BBC Asia
and was also used in the Wall's ice cream
advertisement in which the band members have also modeled.
On January 26, 2011, Call released their second studio album along with a single, "Mein Aisa Hee Hoon", from the album.
On February 22, 2011, Call had a concert at University of South Asia, Lahore but due to complains by surrounding neighbors, they were forced to lower their sound level, which angered many students there.
Former
Sessional
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band from Lahore, Pakistan, formed by Zulfiqar J. Khan, Danish J. Khan, Khurram J. Khan and Omer Pervaiz. In 1996, the band's guitarist, Omer Pervaiz left to concentrate on his solo project, Naqsh and the band bassist, Shahzad Hameed, left to pursuit his own solo project. Ahsan Fida Khan and Faisal Murtaza recruited their places.
On October 20, 2001, Danish J. Khan, the band’s vocalist and lyricist, performed for the last time and later on left the band. Khurram Jabbar Khan moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Zulfiqar J. Khan concentrated on his band Paradigm (which later became Entity Paradigm) while Ahsan and Faisal moved on to fulfill family obligations.
However, the band reformed in 2002 and after a few line-up changes, released their debut album, Jilawatan
Jilawatan
-Personnel:Call*Junaid Khan - lead vocals*Zulfiqar J. Khan - lead guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals*Sultan Raja - bass guitars*Waqar Ahmed Khan - drumsProduction*Produced by Zulfiqar J. Khan*Recorded & Mixed at Xth Harmonic Studio in Lahore, Pakistan...
in late 2005.
Early days (1994-2000)
Call was formed in 1994 by Zulfiqar J. Khan, Omer Pervaiz, Khurram J. Khan and Danish J. Khan. They started out by providing background music for mime performances at NCA, LahoreLahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
under the name Undrap Nexus. Undrap Nexus line-up was with Zulfiqar J. Khan on the keyboard, Omer Pervaiz on the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and Danish J. Khan on vocals. Soon, Zulfiqar J. Khan and Danish J. Khan, Khurram J. Khan bought himself a drumkit and Call was officially formed. Call still needed a bassist and recruited Shahzad Hameed.
Call's musical inspirations included bands like Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
and Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
. Their musical style was experimental as Shahzad Hameed stated;
The band's first gig was in 1995. The site was decorated with flame torches and complimenting the band's music were live mime performances. Their setlist was composed of 10 original tracks, a rare thing for underground musicians to do back then. However, in 1996, the band's bassist, Shahzad Hameed left. After a while, the band's guitarist, Omer Pervaiz left as well in order to concentrate on his solo project, Naqsh. Zulfiqar J. Khan and Khurram J. Khan decided against disbanding the band and thus ended up recruiting Ahsan Fida Khan on guitars and Faisal Murtaza on bass.
Disbanding (2001)
On October 20, 2001, Danish J. Khan, the band’s vocalist and lyricist, performed for the last time with the band at a rock festival on his birthday. Once the band’s primary lyricist and vocalist was gone, the members of the band got busy with other things. Khurram Jabbar Khan moved to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan concentrated on his band Paradigm (which later became Entity Paradigm) while Ahsan Fida Khan and Faisal Murtaza moved on to fulfill family obligations.
Revival (2002-2004)
In September 2002, Khurram Jabbar Khan, being a core member, returned from the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to revive Call. Khurram Jabbar Khan and Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan got together and auditioned for new band members and decided that this would be an urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
project. They found Junaid Khan's voice to befitting for the band’s musical direction and recruited him as the band’s vocalist. Soon Sunny was chosen to be on lead guitar, Usman Nasir on rhythms and Sultan Raja on bass. Khurram J. Khan joined in on drums.
The band’s first single, "Nishaan" was released through various Pakistani music websites and gained widespread fame. It went on to top the charts and also won the band its first award; Best Rock Song at the Band Baja Awards 2003. Indus Music made a live video of the song which was to be exclusively aired on the channel itself. Call then came up with a second single titled "Pukaar", which came with a promotional video directed by Xulfi, eventually won the Indus Music Award for the Best Alternative Rock Song. The band then released an unplugged song titled "Kaash".
Soon Khurram J. Khan had to part roles with the band because he had to run Jilawatan Productions, the company which used to manage Entity Paradigm, Jal
Jal (band)
Jal is a pop rock band from Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The band originally consisted of song writer, vocalist and lead guitarist, Goher Mumtaz and vocalist, Atif Aslam...
, Call and Roxen
Roxen (band)
Roxen is a Pakistani rock band from Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Formed in 2004, the band's original lineup included Mustafa Zahid on vocals, Haider Halim on lead guitar, Omar Halim and Jawad, more commonly known as Jodi.The band achieved mainstream success with their debut studio album...
. Eventually Sunny and Usman Nasir left the band as well. Sunny, who was the real musical contributor, couldn’t contribute to the band due to his job and thus had to leave the band.
Khurram J. Khan was replaced by Waqar Khan of Entity Paradigm and Zulfiqar J. Khan took Sunny and Usman Nasir's place. A new single was released and was accompanied by a video directed by Xulfi. The song was titled "Shayad" and topped the charts.
Jilawatan (2005)
Now that the band’s line-up was stable, Call started recording their debut album, JilawatanJilawatan
-Personnel:Call*Junaid Khan - lead vocals*Zulfiqar J. Khan - lead guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals*Sultan Raja - bass guitars*Waqar Ahmed Khan - drumsProduction*Produced by Zulfiqar J. Khan*Recorded & Mixed at Xth Harmonic Studio in Lahore, Pakistan...
. The album was finally released in November 2005 and immediately topped the Vibes charts and stayed there for a lengthy amount of time. The album release was accompanied by a single titled "Sab Bhula Kai". A video was released with the single and was directed by Sohail Javed. The single topped the charts and fared extremely well.
A while later two more singles were released, both of which were accompanied by videos. The singles, titled "Kuch Naheen" and "Bichar Kai Bhee", both topped the charts.
Success (2006-2007)
Although they haven’t year announced the release of a new album, the band has released several songs on their fansite. The first of was a national/patriotic song, "Kal Hamara Hai" made for Warid TelecomWarid Telecom
Warid Telecom International is an Abu Dhabi based mobile telecommunication firm providing telephony services in Congo, Pakistan and Uganda. Warid is expected to launch in the Ivory Coast and Georgia soon.-Pakistan:...
and was released on the 23rd of March (Pakistan Day). The video of the song shows the band performing with Warid Telecom t-shirts, which were later edited out. An acoustic version of Kal Hamara Hai was also released through their fansite. A second song, titled Rang Dau, was also recorded for Warid Telecom. The length of the song was 1:26 and was used in Warid Telecom ads.
In early 2007, Call released a song named Laree Chotee for the Bollywood flick titled Ek Chalis Ki Last Local
Ek Chalis Ki Last Local
Ek Chalis Ki Last Local is a Hindi language movie that was released 18 May 2007. It stars Abhay Deol and Neha Dhupia and is written and directed by debutant director Sanjay Khanduri.-Summary:...
and a video followed the audio release. The song was Remixed & Arranged by DJ Suketu & Aks.
Prior to the 2007 Cricket World Cup
2007 Cricket World Cup
The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sport's One Day International format...
, Call recorded and made a video for a song entitled "Humse He Ye Zamaana". This was to be the official song for the Pakistan cricket team during the tournament. However due to the team's early World Cup exit, the song never was released and had instead, been held back for a future release. However on September 20, Call released the music video and put it up for download on their official website.
2009-present
On September 9, Call released the music video of their song "Aasmaan" through their forums. Call released three smash hit singles; "Ho Jaane De", "Yeh Pal" and "Dhadke Jiya", the latter two being tapped in to by Bollywood as soundtracks for two different movies, which topped the charts and received positive reviews. Xulfi graces the album with the romantic number, "Dhadke Jiya", that may take some getting used to since it is much different from the band's popular genre, alternative rockAlternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
. It can also be seen as the band's attempt to go more mainstream as far as the South Asian region is concerned. "Dhadke Jiya" doesn’t offer the same high as Laree Chooti", soundtrack from Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
film "Ek Chalis Ki Last Local
Ek Chalis Ki Last Local
Ek Chalis Ki Last Local is a Hindi language movie that was released 18 May 2007. It stars Abhay Deol and Neha Dhupia and is written and directed by debutant director Sanjay Khanduri.-Summary:...
" or "Yeh Pal", snapped up by the movie "Aasmaan", though the arrangement holds its own with an orchestral feel in the chorus, as opposed to relying on strumming the chords throughout the song.
Call have also released a new single "Ho Jaane De" for their upcoming album Dhoom. The single was widely appreciated throughout the continent but was criticised by some as the pop oriented song didn't keep the image of the rock band as rock. However the song was awarded 'Tune Of The Month' by BBC Asia
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and was also used in the Wall's ice cream
Wall's ice cream
Wall's is a United Kingdom-originated food brand, covering both meat products and ice cream, owned by Unilever. Founded in London in 1786 by butcher Richard Wall, it was acquired in 1922 by Lever Brothers, which became a part of Unilever in 1930. To avoid summer lay-offs due to the down turn in its...
advertisement in which the band members have also modeled.
On January 26, 2011, Call released their second studio album along with a single, "Mein Aisa Hee Hoon", from the album.
On February 22, 2011, Call had a concert at University of South Asia, Lahore but due to complains by surrounding neighbors, they were forced to lower their sound level, which angered many students there.
Band members
Current- Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan - lead vocals, backing vocals, lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Junaid Khan - lead vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Sultan Raja - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
Former
- Waqar Khan - drums
- Shahzad Hameed - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Omer Pervaiz - lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
- Ahsan Fida Khan - lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
- Faisal Murtaza - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Danish Jabbar Khan - vocals
- Khurram Jabbar Khan - drums
- Sunny - lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
- Usman Nasir - rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
Sessional
- Farhan - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Kenny - drums
Music videos
- "Nishaan" (2003) from JilawatanJilawatan-Personnel:Call*Junaid Khan - lead vocals*Zulfiqar J. Khan - lead guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals*Sultan Raja - bass guitars*Waqar Ahmed Khan - drumsProduction*Produced by Zulfiqar J. Khan*Recorded & Mixed at Xth Harmonic Studio in Lahore, Pakistan...
- "Pukaar" (2003) from Jilawatan
- "Shayad" (2004) from Jilawatan
- "Sab Bhula Kai" (2005) from Jilawatan
- "Bichar Kai Bhee" (2006) from Jilawatan
- "Kuch Naheen" (2006) from Jilawatan
- "Kal Hamara Hai" (2006)
- "Hum Se Hai Yeh Zamaana" (2007)
- "Laree Chotee" (2007)
- "Aasmaan" (2007)
- "Dhadke Jiya"(Aloo Chaat)(2009)
- "Dhadke Jiya-Remix"(Aloo Chaat)(2009)
- "Ho Jaane De" (2009)
- "Kuch Aisa"(Aao Wish Karein)(2009)
- "Kuch Aisa-Sad Version"(Aao Wish Karein)(2009)
- "Reh Jaane De"(Aao Wish Karein)(2009)
- "Badal Do Zamanay Ko"(2010)