Review: Patang battles the winds

SomeWhatSuper’s viral track hints on exciting turn for desi electronic music

KARACHI: What a time to be alive, really. Amidst the oft-repeated display of the victim card by many of our musicians, the phoenix of Pakistani music is once again rising from the ashes. The underground scene has broken into the mainstream, reminding us of the confluence that back in the day gave birth to a wave of bands and artistes that reshaped our music of the 90s. Platforms like Patari, Soundcloud and Taazi have enforced a parity that has brought both upcoming and established acts on the same level and there is only one key to survival: if you’re good enough, make the internet audience sway to your tunes.

EDM band SomeWhatSuper is a classic example of this theory. Riding the wave of change with only three tracks on offer so far, the group has announced its arrival to an audience that is slowly beginning to consume Pakistani electronic music. More so, the band’s latest offering, Patang (After Hour Remix) ft Umer Farooq, is the icing on the cake. Released on Patari exactly a month ago and uploaded on Soundcloud 11 days back, the track has gathered 10,000 and 367,000 plays on the two platforms respectively. Competing with the latest work of some of the best in the business, it has consistently remained in the Patari top charts.



Patang is a dangerously addictive reworking of a single originally done by UAE-based singer-songwriter Umer Farooq. While the original is a ballad that seeps slowly into your liking, the SomeWhatSuper version gives the listener no time to ease in. Maintaining the tempo of the original, the remix laces the chorus with an electronic treatment. The jump in the switch from the initial verse to the chorus is slightly abrupt but soon the track transforms into a house anthem and falls back to the vocals in a rather Avicii fashion; it does hint at a variety of influences the Talha Dar-Feroze Faisal duo may have.

The lyrics express a sense of longing for the beloved whose memories wake the lover up in the middle of the night. Farooq’s vocal prowess is impressive and there’s no gainsaying that the singer has a long way to go.

With the band’s current station looking extremely promising, we have every reason to believe SomeWhatSuper has an exciting time ahead of it.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th,  2016.

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