On a different wavelength

Are covers, mashups enough to keep Mirage relevant as a band that boasts originality?

LAHORE:

The band which put out what is considered to be Pakistan’s first ever mashup video is back. They have now released Pakistan’s first 360 degrees, live performance music video, performed on a cover of Arijit Singh’s acclaimed number, Ilahi. Fans of the movie Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani will recall the song, which showed Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor prancing around Paris. Mirage’s version is, of course, worlds apart.

But while the video is being pushed across social media platforms, this one, like Mirage’s previous video, failed to generate the hype that was expected of them. And it seems like the band is trying way too hard to stay relevant while not being able to give anything substantial to the music industry. Perhaps this is because the new video is yet another cover; much like the myriads that comprised Mirage’s last mashup. However Saad Hayat, front man of the band, begs to differ.





“Whatever we do now, whether it is live jam sessions or not, we share it with our fans. Earlier, we used to hold them back but now, we feel we need to interact with our fans more,” explained Hayat. He relayed the story of how the idea for a 360 degrees video came about. “Our friends wanted to experiment with 360 degrees camera technology and see what happens. We agreed to let them shoot one of our live jam sessions.” Admitting that this was a last minute, spur of the moment decision, Hayat said “Both the videos were impulse decisions and if we had thought about them, we would have certainly done something better. But it wasn’t a conscious decision to get publicity.”

In an earlier interview, Hayat claimed that the band’s music luckily was not their bread and butter as they have their own recording studio named Chota Setup, Bara Sound. But does that prevent Mirage from making original music? In response, Hayat mentioned that their album is ready but they are taking time to perfect the videos. “Besides, since money is not the matter, we can easily get together and make music,” he explained. “When I put out an original, I would want it to be proper but we shouldn’t be missing in the meantime,” added Hayat. For him, originals are the true representations of his band — covers are merely fillers. The band will apparently release music videos for original numbers — Pyar Hua, Pagli and Bhoolay from their second album — sometime during this year.



Mirage has been working as a band since 2003, even though Hayat took a four-year hiatus in between to complete his studies in the UK. Confident that his band mates and he will stick it out, Hayat said, “I think we survived the test of time when the music scene was down, bands were breaking up and the underground scene has nearly finished. Right now is the time for revival and Mirage is riding the new wave.” Here’s hoping that all of the band’s promises culminate into something brilliant.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 17^th,  2016.

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