Uth Records: Musical exploration

‘Uth Records’ kicks off with Jarar Malik.

KARACHI:

The much-awaited season 2 of “Uth Records” — a show that has gained nationwide recognition for showcasing young talent from Pakistan — has finally kicked off with a US-based Pakistani musician Jarar Malik. Experimenting with a diverse range of musical genres from pop to rock to R&B, Malik manages to bring a lot to the table. His song, “Bewafa” also features season one’s golden discovery Natasha Ejaz on backing vocals and audio mixing and one of the most dynamic yet underrated bass players Russell D’Souza.

Malik’s “Bewafa” — a pop rock number with an 80s rock feel — was the first song to be performed on the programme and has all the ingredients of a well-produced, groovy number. Though the song received a mixed response and didn’t get a lot of hits on YouTube, the overall structure and the general flow of his music will definitely get Malik his own cult following.

Kudos to Gumby for getting the right people to do the right job as Ejaz’s music capabilities and D’Souza’s influences of funk music and ability to add oomph to any song with his bass playing contributed a lot to the overall sound of the track.

However, what impressed everyone is the new and refreshed look of the whole episode. The director of the show, musician Zeeshan Pervaiz, has experimented with a lot of visual elements and has given it a livelier feel.

During the making of the episode of “Uth Records”, Malik is shown travelling with Gumby throughout Karachi and recollecting memories of his homeland giving it a very similar feel to what reality show “The Dewarists” — which was aired on STAR World — did. Even if the Indian show was an inspiration, it has definitely helped “Uth Records” add another layer of creativity to its format.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 6^th, 2012.