Understanding the mind of Redhouse

An underground band that produces distinct original electronic music.

LAHORE:

The underground indie/house recording artists Redhouse are planning to release their fourth album online sometime this summer. The untitled album will look to provide a positive and engaging sound, while also staying true to their non-commercial attitude.

Despite their low profile and reluctance to pursue music professionally, when one first hears of Redhouse it’s like opening up a box of chocolates: There is a beat for everyone and each track has a distinct originality and quality. The band explains its sound as “lounge, electro symphonic, chill out, ambient, progressive alternative jazz, and rock and roll music”. In short, Redhouse are diverse and experimental with their sound.

“We are looking to make a more dance oriented album, with music that is a little happier and brighter than Mujnoon,” said composer Hussain Malik. “We are experimenting with a bit more of a funk sound.”

The group consists of two brothers, 33 year-old Hassan and 29-year-old Hussain Malik, who compose and direct the music with Soloman, a 36-year-old is known for his versatile range of vocals in variety of languages. The group started up in 2002.

“I don’t know how to really describe it. We are not really genre specific, which we think is a good thing - we make what sounds good for us,” the band’s composer and lyricist, Hassan. “We like beats that sound good and are bit funky, because it has to be something that makes people want to move a little.”

The band records at their home studio located at Hussain’s family home outside Lahore. The group has released three CD’s including Mujnoon in 2008, Mixed Method Sestion in 2007, and The Monkey’s We Killed in 2004 which are available online on websites such as Facebook, Myspace, PureVolume and an array of other music websites.

“Since we are doing this as a hobby and not trying to sell it, we have a lot of room for versatility,” said Hassan. “It’s like any art form - it just comes to you, and we all have different tastes of music which sort of helps make different beats.”

For instance, in Mujnoon in 2008, the song ‘Three Days of Mourning’ was created on the day Benazir Bhutto was assassinated and is an English language track with a unique 80s progressive feel, reminiscent of Depeche Mode or Joy Division.

Their talent also led a small German recording label to add one of their instrumental songs to a compilation CD sampled in collaboration with the German Artist Valeska Jakobowicz. The two have collaborated on several songs, including one single from their last album.

Hussain explained that the last album had bit more of Sufi a approach, but the band was not looking to repeat that sound. He said that the band had been in contact with several local radio stations but realised many of their tracks lack commercial viability since instrumental sets can last up to ten minutes.

“If we did this professionally, it would be a little more difficult. Music is an escape from the dullness of life — this is our outlet,” said Hussain. “There is a growing interest in electronic music, but it’s still hard to get it on the radio because some of our tracks are long and go with the whatever sounds good to us.”



Published in The Express Tribune, May 24^th, 2011.