Pakistani rock
Encyclopedia
Pakistani rock is a form of rock music that is largely produced in Pakistan
. It incorporates elements of both American rock
and Pakistani classical music
. It has its own distinctive elements, such as a homegrown class of sounds and melodies, spanning progressive rock, hard rock, or heavy metal. Pakistani rock is almost entirely sung in Urdu
, however many new bands have recently come out with songs in Punjabi, Pashto
, Sindhi
and English
.
satellite television
in the 1990s. The popular form of music quickly spread throughout the country and with that came the arrival of various rock bands. Bands Vital Signs
and Junoon were regarded as the pioneers of Pakistani rock. Other bands such as Strings
began in the mid 1990s and during the late 1990s underground bands were becoming a norm in cities across Pakistan. Karachi
, Lahore
and Islamabad
witnessed an explosion of rock bands and concerts in 2000 as Pakistan began to liberalize under President Musharraf's "enlightened moderation" campaign.In 2004 a major climax in the rock music of Pakistan occurred with the arrival of a band called"--182.177.239.139 (talk) 13:32, 22 November 2011 (UTC)JAL".This band totally changed the concept of rock in pakistan and after that many JAL influenced bands appeared.This band also played a lead role to inject rock music in Indian film industry.
Sufi Rock
The band Junoon is said to be the pioneers of Sufi Rock, a genre
of Pakistani rock which mixes Sufi poetry
with modern rock elements. They sing mostly in Urdu
, in a style blending Western hard rock with Sindhi
and Punjabi
folk
and Qawwali
. Junoon effectively created an audience for rock music in Pakistan. "The band's appeal reaches beyond the Westernised elite", said Newsweek
. Q magazine called them "One of the biggest bands in the world". The New York Times referred to Junoon as "the U2 of Pakistan". In a preview of Junoon's performance at the House of Blues
in Los Angeles
, the L.A. Times said that Junoon's "ability to captivate audiences" is "inspiring Beatles-like reactions". Junoon has been credited with beginning the "Junooni" generation in Pakistan, similar to that of the MTV generation
in the United States
.
with Pakistani classical
music. Several popular bands, including EP
, Call
, and Noori
, have been integral in revitalizing the rock culture in Pakistan.
, a band led by Faraz Anwar
that is considered to be Pakistan's first progressive metal band, have also played a significant role in promoting the growth of metal music in Pakistan. Furthermore, bands such as Takatak, Messiah ,Foreskin and Black Warrant are examples of significant metal bands that have surfaced in the past five years.
and Lahore
are teeming with college students eager to become famous.ICU is the 1st Pakistani punk band.
More recently Death Metal and Progressive Metal have experienced a rise in popularity in the underground Pakistani music scene. Newer bands composed mostly of university students have taken a huge step in taking the heavy metal scene of Pakistan forward. Bands like Berserker, Black Warrant, Cardinal Sin, Elegy, Communal Grave, Dementia, Odyssey, Takatak, Reckoning Storm, Ruin and Soul Vomit among others have already made their mark in Pakistan.
, Iran
, Sri Lanka
and India
and as far as Japan
and China
. Lately, Pakistani rock has been getting a large amount of media attention in the United States
and United Kingdom
. The scene is also quite popular amongst the Pakistani diaspora
. A landmark event occurred in 2003, when Strings
recorded a song called Najane Kyun
that featured as a single on the Urdu version of Spider-Man 2
.
Pakistani rock/metal music has also appeared in international compilations, with bands such as Jangli Jaggas being credited for topping metal charts for several months on popular websites such as mp3.com in the 1990s.
Seth
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. It incorporates elements of both American rock
American rock
American rock is rock music from the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and country music, and also drew on folk music, jazz and classical music. The creation of American rock music was highly influenced by the British Invasion of the American pop...
and Pakistani classical music
Hindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music is the Hindustani or North Indian style of Indian classical music found throughout the northern Indian subcontinent. The style is sometimes called North Indian Classical Music or Shāstriya Sangeet...
. It has its own distinctive elements, such as a homegrown class of sounds and melodies, spanning progressive rock, hard rock, or heavy metal. Pakistani rock is almost entirely sung in 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...
, however many new bands have recently come out with songs in Punjabi, Pashto
Pashto music
Pashto music is commonly found in Pakistan, Afghanistan and among the Pashtun diaspora around the world. It is mainly listened to in the Pashtun regions, which includes Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and Balochistan in Pakistan...
, Sindhi
Sindhi music
Music from Sindh province is sung in Sindhi, and is generally performed in either the "Baits" or "Waee" styles. The Baits style is vocal music in Sanhoon or Graham . Waee instrumental music is performed in a variety of ways using a string instrument...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
History
Pakistani rock began with the arrival of AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
in the 1990s. The popular form of music quickly spread throughout the country and with that came the arrival of various rock bands. Bands Vital Signs
Vital Signs (band)
Vital Signs were a Pakistani Pop rock band that formed in Rawalpindi in 1986. The group was formed by Rohail Hyatt and Shahzad Hasan , who were soon joined by Nusrat Hussain and Junaid Jamshed...
and Junoon were regarded as the pioneers of Pakistani rock. Other bands such as Strings
Strings (band)
Strings are an internationally acclaimed pop rock band comprising two members from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. The band was initially formed by four college students, Bilal Maqsood , Faisal Kapadia , Rafiq Wazir Ali and Kareem Bashir Bhoy in 1988...
began in the mid 1990s and during the late 1990s underground bands were becoming a norm in cities across Pakistan. Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, Lahore
Lahore
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...
and Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
witnessed an explosion of rock bands and concerts in 2000 as Pakistan began to liberalize under President Musharraf's "enlightened moderation" campaign.In 2004 a major climax in the rock music of Pakistan occurred with the arrival of a band called"--182.177.239.139 (talk) 13:32, 22 November 2011 (UTC)JAL".This band totally changed the concept of rock in pakistan and after that many JAL influenced bands appeared.This band also played a lead role to inject rock music in Indian film industry.
Sufi RockSufi rockSufi rock is a subgenre of rock music that combines rock with classical sufi music traditions. It emerged in the early 1990s and became widely popular in the late 1990s in Pakistan. The term "sufi rock" was coined in 1993 by writer Nadeem F...
The band Junoon is said to be the pioneers of Sufi Rock, a genreGenre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
of Pakistani rock which mixes Sufi poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
with modern rock elements. They sing mostly in 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...
, in a style blending Western hard rock with Sindhi
Sindhi language
Sindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan that is spoken by the Sindhi people. In India, it is among 22 constitutionally recognized languages, where Sindhis are a sizeable minority. It is spoken by 53,410,910 people in Pakistan, according to the national government's Statistics Division...
and Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and Qawwali
Qawwali
Qawwali is a form of Sufi devotional music popular in South Asia, particularly in the Punjab and Sindh regions of Pakistan, Hyderabad, Delhi, and other parts of northern India...
. Junoon effectively created an audience for rock music in Pakistan. "The band's appeal reaches beyond the Westernised elite", said Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
. Q magazine called them "One of the biggest bands in the world". The New York Times referred to Junoon as "the U2 of Pakistan". In a preview of Junoon's performance at the House of Blues
House of Blues
House of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, the L.A. Times said that Junoon's "ability to captivate audiences" is "inspiring Beatles-like reactions". Junoon has been credited with beginning the "Junooni" generation in Pakistan, similar to that of the MTV generation
MTV Generation
The MTV Generation is a term sometimes used to refer to youth of the late 20th century. The term can mean different things to different people, and is sometimes used synonymously with the terms Generation X or Generation Y.- History :...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Contemporary Rock
The majority of all Pakistani rock bands are contemporary in nature, often mixing soft rockSoft rock
Soft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes...
with Pakistani classical
Hindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music is the Hindustani or North Indian style of Indian classical music found throughout the northern Indian subcontinent. The style is sometimes called North Indian Classical Music or Shāstriya Sangeet...
music. Several popular bands, including EP
Entity Paradigm (eP)
Entity Paradigm is a Pakistani rock band, formed by vocalist,Fawad Afzal Khan and keyboardist, Ahmed Ali Butt in Lahore, Punjab in 2000. Their music is categorized as being associated with both progressive metal and progressive rock, yet having been influenced by nu metal, symphonic rock and...
, Call
Call (Pakistani band)
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...
, and Noori
Noori
Noori is a rock band from Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, formed in 1996. The band is directed by founder, lead guitarist and songwriter, Ali Noor, and his brother, Ali Hamza, who were soon joined by bassist Muhammad Ali Jafri and drummer Salman Albert...
, have been integral in revitalizing the rock culture in Pakistan.
Heavy Metal
The roots of Pakistani hard rock and metal can be traced back to the first wave of bands from the late 1980s and early 1990s. The bands Final Cut and Barbarians are considered the earliest Pakistani heavy metal bands. Although they were short-lived, they influenced many other musicians. The second wave of heavy metal artists, including bands such as Dhun, which is Fawd Baloch's more conventional metal project. Later bands like MizraabMizraab
Mizraab is a progressive rock band from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, formed in 1997...
, a band led by Faraz Anwar
Faraz Anwar
Faraz Anwar is a Pakistani guitarist, known for his solo instrumental work and his band Mizraab. He has been called "Pakistan's master of progressive rock."- Biography :...
that is considered to be Pakistan's first progressive metal band, have also played a significant role in promoting the growth of metal music in Pakistan. Furthermore, bands such as Takatak, Messiah ,Foreskin and Black Warrant are examples of significant metal bands that have surfaced in the past five years.
Underground
"Underground" is an umbrella term that covers bands that perform in small establishments throughout the country, most notably in the various universities and colleges in Pakistan. Bands like Kainath, Seth, Incision, Black Warrant and symphonic metal band Jangli Jaggas were some of the earliest underground bands. Other bands such as Burzukh, Corpsepyre, Holy Black, Against All Odds, Hassan Sheraz, Ecstasy, ICU and Sifr have recently emerged. There are a large number of bands from all across Pakistan at present including The world famous Kamode Band, Black Warranthttp://blackwarrant.com, Paranoid, Mercury, Kain, Ahsan the band, Drain, Lithium, Drainage, Cultural Jukebox, The Rising, Genocide, and Hypnotix-2000. The underground scenes in both KarachiKarachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
and Lahore
Lahore
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...
are teeming with college students eager to become famous.ICU is the 1st Pakistani punk band.
More recently Death Metal and Progressive Metal have experienced a rise in popularity in the underground Pakistani music scene. Newer bands composed mostly of university students have taken a huge step in taking the heavy metal scene of Pakistan forward. Bands like Berserker, Black Warrant, Cardinal Sin, Elegy, Communal Grave, Dementia, Odyssey, Takatak, Reckoning Storm, Ruin and Soul Vomit among others have already made their mark in Pakistan.
Popularity
Pakistani rock has become massively popular within Pakistan, especially among the newer generation, often regarded as the "Junooni" generation. This has now spread far beyond Pakistan to countries such as BangladeshBangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and as far as Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Lately, Pakistani rock has been getting a large amount of media attention in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The scene is also quite popular amongst the Pakistani diaspora
Pakistani diaspora
The Pakistani diaspora, or an overseas Pakistani is a Pakistani citizen who has migrated to another country or a person of Pakistani origin who is born outside Pakistan. There are approximately 7 million Pakistanis living abroad...
. A landmark event occurred in 2003, when Strings
Strings (band)
Strings are an internationally acclaimed pop rock band comprising two members from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. The band was initially formed by four college students, Bilal Maqsood , Faisal Kapadia , Rafiq Wazir Ali and Kareem Bashir Bhoy in 1988...
recorded a song called Najane Kyun
Najane Kyun
"Najane Kyun" is a song by Strings released on the 2004 soundtrack for the film Spider-Man 2. This track is on the Pakistani version of the soundtrack...
that featured as a single on the Urdu version of Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2 is a 2004 American superhero film directed by Sam Raimi, written by Alvin Sargent and developed by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Michael Chabon. It is the second film in the Spider-Man film franchise based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man...
.
Pakistani rock/metal music has also appeared in international compilations, with bands such as Jangli Jaggas being credited for topping metal charts for several months on popular websites such as mp3.com in the 1990s.
Famous bands
- AarohAarohAaroh was an alternative rock band from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, formed in 1998...
- Arsh The Band
- Black Warrant
- CallCall (Pakistani band)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...
- EPEntity Paradigm (eP)Entity Paradigm is a Pakistani rock band, formed by vocalist,Fawad Afzal Khan and keyboardist, Ahmed Ali Butt in Lahore, Punjab in 2000. Their music is categorized as being associated with both progressive metal and progressive rock, yet having been influenced by nu metal, symphonic rock and...
- FuzonFuzön (band)Fuzön is an alternative rock band from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan formed in 2001. The name has been derived from fusion as the former vocalist Shafqat Amanat Ali describes the band as a fusion of Indian classical music and modern rock music.The Fuzon art insists on setting feelings above mere...
- JalJal (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...
- JoshJoSH (band)Josh is a Montreal-based Indian/Pakistani fusion band. Present members are "Rup" and "q" . Their songs showcase both modern and traditional bhangra beats and music, but are strongly influenced by hip hop and pop music.JIn 2009 Josh Performed in coke studio along with Pakistani Leading artist...
- Junoon
- KaravanKaravanKaravan is a rock band from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, formed in 1997. The band is founded by former Awaz lead guitarist Asad Ahmed with the help of his friend bassist Sameer Ahmed, who were soon joined by drummer Allan Smith and lead vocalist Najam Sheraz. Karavan are regarded as one of the most...
- The KominasThe KominasThe Kominas are a Pakistani-American Desi punk rock band from New York City. The band currently includes Basim Usmani , Imran Ali Malik , Hassan Ali Malik and Abdullah Saeed .- History :...
- LaalLaal (band)Laal is a musical band from Pakistan known for singing socialist political songs, especially on the poetry written by leftist Urdu poets such as Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Habib Jalib...
- LahuLahuThe Lahu are an ethnic group of Southeast Asia and China.They are one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, where about 450,000 live in Yunnan province. An estimated 150,000 live in Burma. In Thailand, Lahu are one of the six main hill tribes; their...
- Mauj
- Mekaal Hasan BandMekaal HasanMekaal Hasan is a leading Pakistani musician and record producer from Lahore. He has worked in the capacity of a guest artist and/or record producer in the music industry of Pakistan with many Pakistani bands and solo artists at home and abroad. He is also the leader and composer for Mekaal Hasan...
- MizraabMizraabMizraab is a progressive rock band from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, formed in 1997...
- NooriNooriNoori is a rock band from Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, formed in 1996. The band is directed by founder, lead guitarist and songwriter, Ali Noor, and his brother, Ali Hamza, who were soon joined by bassist Muhammad Ali Jafri and drummer Salman Albert...
- RoxenMustafa ZahidMustafa Zahid is a Pakistani Rock artist who has enjoyed a lot of success since bursting into the public eye in 2006 with his hit single "Tera Mera Rishta". Mustafa is also the band leader and the lead vocalist of Roxen, an all out rock band which he formed with some of his friends in 2004...
- raeth band
Seth
Seth
Seth , in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, is the third listed son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, who are the only other of their children mentioned by name...
- StringsStrings (band)Strings are an internationally acclaimed pop rock band comprising two members from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. The band was initially formed by four college students, Bilal Maqsood , Faisal Kapadia , Rafiq Wazir Ali and Kareem Bashir Bhoy in 1988...
- Sajid & ZeeshanSajid & ZeeshanSajid & Zeeshan are a Pakistani electronic music duo from Peshawar, composed of Sajid Ghafoor and Zeeshan Parwez . Their songs are written by Sajid and arranged by Zeehsan, that vary from each other in terms of feel and expression...
- Vital Signs
- Takatak
See also
- Music of PakistanMusic of PakistanThe music of Pakistan includes diverse elements ranging from music from various parts of South Asia as well as Central Asian, Persian, Turkish, Arabic and modern day Western popular music influences...
- Pakistani hip hopPakistani hip hopPakistani hip hop is a new genre of Pakistani music. In recent years, local Pakistani hip hop artists have begun to emerge in underground scenes in large cities such as Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore. The lyrical expression of cultural identity and addressing Pakistan's political and social problems...
- Culture of PakistanCulture of PakistanThe society and culture of Pakistan comprises numerous diverse cultures and ethnic groups: the Punjabis, Kashmiris, Sindhis in east, Muhajirs, Makrani in the south; Baloch and Pashtun in the west; and the ancient Dardic, Wakhi and Burusho communities in the north...
- Rock and RollRock and rollRock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
- List of Pakistani musical groups