Jarar Malik brings pop back with new track

The singer talks about the making of Kehnay Do Na.

KARACHI:

The catchy tunes of the band Awaz and the melodies of Vital Signs which topped music charts in the ‘80s and ‘90s now seem to be long gone. More singers have entered the music scene and a handful of music channels have been launched, but the pop music culture of golden days gone by has slowly faded. While some Pakistani singers earn their livelihood from fizzy drink ads and some have struck fame in Bollywood, US-based Pakistani singer Jarar Malik has made way his way to revive the pop music culture.

Malik’s latest song Kehnay Do Na was released last month, bringing with it the feel of the ‘80s Pakistani pop rock in a contemporary fashion. The video features the beautiful model-painter Meera Ansari and Malik romancing in an eerie location.

“When composing and recording it [Kehnay Do Na], I was going for a retro/nostalgic feel,” Malik told The Express Tribune. “Sometimes you just pick up the acoustic guitar, start strumming and humming and come up with a tune that just sounds right.” He has gained fame among fellow musicians as well as listeners because of the finesse with which he retains the originality of Pakistani pop-music.

Although Malik has been making music for quite some time, his ticket to the mainstream music scene was through the second season of Ufone Uth Records. The platform brought him to the limelight and strengthened his career, giving him instant fame with his songs Bewafa and Jaag. “Uth Records was a huge bonus [for me],” said Malik. “It’s good that a big company gets behind an initiative to showcase new talent in Pakistan. They have the machinery, the budgets, the contacts and the resources to bring someone unknown in front of an audience.” With record label companies dying and sponsors being interested in gimmicks or formula music, Malik doesn’t see much hope for the music industry; however he still believes that persistence is the key to success.

Unlike his previous numbers, Kehnay Do Na has an old-school acoustic ballad feel to it, and it isn’t satirical. “I was drowning near the final stages of recording my album,” he said. “I was getting ear-fatigue from the loud guitars and drums; then out popped this melody.”

Malik feels that not all musicians need to make music related to social issues. “Some [singers] try so hard to come up with a master plan of making some kind of a political statement or a social wake-up call that starts to sound insincere,” said Malik. “People are not dumb; they can smell bull s**t from miles away.”

“I’ve been fortunate enough to travel all over the world and I’m super proud of my Pakistani heritage,” said Malik. “I’m a big fan of the golden age of Pakistani pop. I grew up listening to bands like Vital Signs, Junoon, Awaz and Strings.”

Malik believes that only a few artists last in the music industry because they prove themselves with their music. “Single-hit culture exists since the beginning of pop music, it will not go away,” shared Malik. “If you don’t like their music, just ignore them. But artists last because they prove they have substance.”

Malik’s album is underway and has an overall modern radio guitar based pop-rock feel to it. The album includes up-beat songs, a couple of ballads and an experimental desi-sounding track produced by the legendary Shahi Hasan of the former band Vital Signs. Malik, as an all-rounder, has played all the instruments, written, sang and produced all of the songs himself. He guarantees that the album will come out this spring “no matter what”.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2013.                   

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