Last week, Peshawar’s very own electro-rock duo Sajid and Zeeshan announced that they are making a comeback after roughly a decade of being inactive. Their statement came out of the blue on the band’s page which itself had been a ghost town of sorts for all these years. Wasting no time, a teaser for a new song called Lighten Up was floated in a matter of days with the full track scheduled to be released on Thursday.
“The response has been great and we’re both happy people do still, remember us and are actually waiting for our first song to be released after years of absence,” the duo told The Express Tribune.
“The last few days have been very emotional for us as we saw how many people are welcoming us back through such kind messages and comments.”
While the band itself was on a hiatus, the two members were anything but. Both Sajid Ghafoor and Zeeshan Parvez have been active in their individual capacity when it comes to art.
“We were away for about 5 years in Canada. Both of us had our lives chalked out according to our plans. Zeeshan was in the pursuit of getting filmmaking education, take time off to be with the family,” they said.
“Sajid gave free guitar lessons to help the community, performed at live sessions at the open mic nights and basically all in all a break for a few years. Now that we’re back, we’re focusing on our music again and trying to resume from where we left off.”
During his time away from the band, Zeeshan has done countless projects both locally and internationally. The most recent being corona awareness animated short originally in Pashto that has since been translated in multiple regional languages.
Despite being involved in multiple projects individually, the two had been aching to return as a band for some time. “Music was always our top priority and sooner or later we had to get back to it. The timing was an issue though since we both had enough on our plates to deal with. Fortunately, we both got free around the same time and so consequently we decided to get back to what we love so dearly, music.”
For any band or collective, returning back to the drawing board after significant time apart could be cumbersome. Rustiness along with the added pressure of a comeback often becomes a huge obstacle for any song-writing partnership resuming after a hiatus. The case was different for Sajid and Zeeshan though.
“We both always enjoyed the process of making music together and this time is no different either. It’s like we started off again from where we took a pause. As if time never did affect this part of our lives. Which works for us just fine,” the two said about the experience of working with one another after a long break.
As for the new song, the band noted that it follows the same overarching theme as most of its catalogue. “The song follows the same theme as we’ve been at since our first album,” they asserted.
Self-exploration, the need to find balance on the inside in order to make sense of the imbalances outside and to find your own axis are some themes that the band will be tackling in the album.
“To fine-tune the inner world, so the outer world can become more beautiful. Polishing the perception that way, as reality is fluid and consciously interactive, to manifest more positivity and with freedom,” they said.
Speaking about the changes in their soundscape that the audience can expect, Sajid and Zeeshan assured that they will “try not to deviate too much from our sound or how we approached it previously.”
Adding on they pointed out that the priority like always would be given to that which comes off naturally. “Maybe little by little we will, as it will all come out naturally. It has to be a natural process that way. The first track we’re releasing has more for those who once knew us, heard us, and appreciated what we did. Having said that, this is our first step towards a comeback but our music as always will try to cater to as many different listeners out there.”
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