Khan talks band, beats and beyond with The Express Tribune.
Singer Jimmy Khan is a force to be reckoned with. Hailing from Lahore, Khan set foot in the mainstream music scene in July 2011, prior to which he performed as an underground artiste for nearly four years.
He has received appreciation from music heavyweights, such as Mekaal Hasan, Fariha Pervaiz and Ali Zafar. With songs such as Pehla Pyar, he has always had an appeal as crooner. Now, with the launch of his band Jimmy Khan & The Big Ears, he is embarking on a new chapter in his music career.
The band released its first single Nadiya on January 1, 2014. The band comprises of Jimmy Khan (vocals/guitar), Zain Hasan (ukulele), Sameer Ahmed (bass) and Raavail Sattar (percussions). In a tête-à-tête with The Express Tribune, Khan talks band, beats and beyond.
Khan shares the name of the band came about because Mekaal Hasan used to call him ‘Jimmy Big Ears’. “This project and our identity formed when we started to perform together as a live band. I had previously been thinking of adding a new sound,” says Khan. “I had been working on a collaborative title that would work, and I think it adds an interesting dimension [to the band].”
The young singer, believes in the power of joint projects and that is it important for musicians to stick together in the challenging local music scene. “Even when I started my career, I felt music is not defined by the studio; it’s more about feeling and connecting with other musicians, because it is when you collaborate that you create something good,” says Khan. With an independent singer scene prevalent in Lahore, artistes are often unwilling to compromise on their personal style of music and aren’t open to partnering up. However, for Khan, a singer can make magic with other artistes.
The single Nadiya, which is written by Khan, is a folk-blues track from the band’s untitled album. It draws inspiration from the 50s and the 60s, and focuses on the themes of love and loss. “The song is essentially about a lover who has left a vacuum; it could have come from personal experience, but I am not certain it did,” explains Khan.
The video for the song has been shot on the platforms of the Lahore Metro Bus by a young film-maker and friend of Khan’s, Fatima Shah. It shows the story of a young boy who is infatuated with an older woman, and follows her around Lahore.
“It was as if I had written the song before I even started penning it — it was in my mind; [it reverberated] the tone and melodies by maestros like RD Burman that I had grown up listening to, and that have gone missing due to the advent of post-modern music,” says Khan.
Zain Ahsan, of the Poor Rich Boys, who has also produced the song, says of his experience with the band: “It has been a lot of fun. Making music with a wide variety of artistes is quite enjoyable. The Big Ears project is unlike any of the other projects I’ve been working on.” He interprets Nadiya as a “happy sort of pop song.” “The fact that it hasn’t come out of a machine is what made the experience interesting for me. We sat down and made a happy song and it was good.”
The band has been performing in the local Coke Studio gigs. Khan has said he does not see any reason why he should sign with a record company at this point. Nadiya was recorded at Mekaal Hasan’s Digital Infidelity Studios. It was Hassan’s idea to record the band’s album; it includes eight songs that were performed live, so the band could maintain the live feel associated with Khan’s work.
The band, with its melodically strong tunes, shows great promise.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 3rd, 2014.
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