N1: Breaking the mould

Musician Naimul Abd talks about his musical journey.

LAHORE:

By the time one reaches their 30s, they have usually decided on their career paths and are well on their way to realising their goals. But just last year, at the age of 37, Naimul Abd decided to swerve the direction of his successful career to a completely different road. Abd decided to pursue his teenage passion of music and formed a one-man band N1.

Within a span of six months, N1 had made headlines with his fresh beats and unique story. This week, he released the single “Ghoomay Ja”, a dance track that has taken over the airwaves. The Express Tribune spoke to the singer about his musical journey, his band N1 and his newfound fame.

“I was someone who was at the top of my profession, but I thought that if you believe in something, you should go for it,” says Abd about his career as a marketer. His band N1 takes its name after his own name which starts with the alphabet N combined with the numeral 1 which stands for his one and only passion in life — music.

Talking about his latest hit, he says, “Depending on your mood and personality, the song can have two meanings — one interpretation is that it is a happy-go-lucky dance track and the other is that one should just live for the moment because anything can happen in life.”

Regarding the reasons why he choose to be a marketer for so long, he says that although he started off as a musician in his youth, he was pushed into the ‘real world’ right after he finished high school. Abd studied business and eventually chose marketing in order to have a successful career. It was several years later that he decided to revisit his first passion.

On his influences and support system in the musical industry, Abd says, “Ali Noor really inspired me and made me believe that I can do this.” Abd met Noor through Entity Paradigm (EP)’s Hasaan Khalid. Noor worked with Abd on an older, yet unreleased track “College Life”, which later led to his first single “Inqilaab”.“I thought that I should do a song that will inspire the youth which is both powerful and thoughtful at the same time,” says Abd about the song.

The song “Inqilaab” not only launched the band, it received over 25,000 hits on YouTube in the first three weeks of December. But this is just the start for the musician who plans to further use this platform to express his thoughts and creativity.

His second single “Jalwa”, which features DJ Shahrukh and an appearance by model Sara Gillani, showcases a completely different side to Abd.

Regarding his two albums on which he is working on simultaneously, he says that one is entirely inspirational. It promotes activism and advocates positive change. The other has mellow tracks and love ballads. The upcoming albums are expected to be complete by fall and the two new videos will be released before the release of the album.

When asked if he was enjoying this change of direction, Abd says. “I like it as I know my blood, sweat and tears are going in the right direction. So I’m content with it.”

On the reasons behind his band gaining massive popularity in such a short while, he says, “I think the story behind this adventure really matters. There are hundreds of youngsters out there pursuing music but none are of my age.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 31^st, 2012.