Mizmaar joins hands with Shubha Mudgal for upcoming single

Pakistani rock band collaborates with Indian musician ‘Jogi’

KARACHI:

After a seven-year hiatus from the music scene, local rock band Mizmaar is all set to make a comeback with a variety of projects that are currently in the pipeline. While the troupe has become more active on the live music front, it has also channeled its energy towards releasing new music. Aiming to continue on this new-found momentum, the group is gearing up to release their new single, Jogi, in collaboration with Indian musician Shubha Mudgal.

Having spoken of his preference for a more flexible line-up earlier, band front man Kashan Admani is now focusing on collaborations with different vocalists. “There are so many styles of music and we are looking to explore all of them with different singers,” he added. Expected to release in the first week of March, Admani revealed the song falls under the genre of Sufi rock. Describing the track as a fusion of eastern classical music with hardcore rock n’ roll elements, he said, “Shubha is a classically trained singer whereas Mizmaar’s music is leaning more towards rock. Apart from that, we’ve also played around with our musical arrangement for this track.”



With the Sufi genre becoming increasingly popular ever since the advent of Coke Studio and songs like Aik Alif, Admani reiterated that this was not an attempt to jump onto the bandwagon and become a part of the trend. “Lyrically the song is very direct. Jogi is basically about the injustices that are happening in the world, such, as wars and terrorism. It only has a slight Sufi undertone to it,” he explained.

Thematically, Mizmaar’s latest endeavor is not far off from their previous release Ae Dil, which was another collaboration featuring Indian band Euphoria’s vocalist Palash Sen. Released last year on Independence Day, the message-oriented song celebrated the spirit of independence and peace for both India and Pakistan. With two of their last three releases Dur and Ae Dil being released on World Music Day and Independence Day respectively, Admani mentioned the band may keep up the trend of speaking for some time.

As is the case with most cross-border collaborations, the recording stage is the most challenging but Admani has managed to find a solution in the form of video calling.  “When I worked with Palash, I flew to India and recorded with him. But the recording sessions with Shubha took place over Skype. With video-calling now in place, it is not so much of a hindrance and even when I was working with Palash, we had Alfred working from the studio here in Karachi,” said the composer-turned-guitarist.

While a collaboration of this stature usually merits a video, Admani shared he has opted against the concept of filming a fancy one. “Jogi is going to have a simple performance-based video. We’re not looking too much into videos nowadays.” Lamenting on the lack of support given by music channels, he finds it insignificant to invest in music videos if local channels are not going to air it. “Why not spend the same money on making new music?” he questioned.

Shubha Mudgal

On whether Mizmaar intends to compose music for films or not, Admani seemed happy to help local musicians flourish. “In 2003, there was a boom in the music industry but now there is not much work happening on the independent front,” he added. “So, more than making film music, I want to do work on this side.” 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 23^rd,  2016.

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