There are some intriguing tunes in QB’s upcoming album, which she is hoping will do wonders for the listeners. PHOTO: FILE
LAHORE:
Quratalain Balouch (QB) came during a relatively dead period of Pakistani music and created not just a viral following, but also a dedicated group of fans. Her latest album has been in the pipeline for quite some time now and she says this album will have all her best originals. The title single off the album Mera Ishq is already available online, and she reveals that she has taken a lot of risk to create an intriguing array of music.
“There are some intriguing tunes in the album, which I am hoping will do wonders for the listeners, I would say the defined sound of the album is a mix of blues and alternative rock, and of course, folk is the soul of this anthology,” says QB.
She hasn’t really spoken to the media much in the last year and only recently started touring again. It took her almost a year to recover from a major accident she got into in Lahore last year.
“I have always kept it low-key, I am very camera shy. I don’t think things have changed since my accident, but I definitely took a year to recover because the injuries were pretty severe,” says QB. The recovery went on for several months and it has taken over a year to get her back in place.
“I suppose the most practical way of living is to know that accidents can happen with anyone, any minute, any second and they barely ever come with second chances,” says QB.
QB has performed with Shazia Manzoor and the BBC Philharmonic orchestra and has been known for giving electric live performances.
“I simply love performing live. Performing with an 80 piece orchestra was great. It was one of the best live set-ups I have worked with after Coke Studio. I had a lot of room to experiment with some famous numbers like Long Gawacha by Mussarat Nazir and Lambi Judai by Reshma Ji. It was an enthralling experience,” says QB.
Music gives QB a feeling of fulfillment that she is contributing towards making the world a better place. Since gaining popularity in 2009 through Coke Studio and releasing several hit singles, there is a sort of distinct aura around QB. Her music represents purity within the new generation of singers. She belongs to the same trajectory of singers as Reshma and Nazia Hassan.
QB admits that one of the reasons why she was widely appreciated was because there are very few female singers in the country. She speaks about how we have immense raw talent all over Pakistan and “the bitter reality is that our music industry has not been appreciated as it should have been. Instead, our neighbours (India) have an eye for them,” says QB.
She also acknowledges that if you are not lucky or if you don’t have any connections, then it’s impossible for the talented ones to make it to the stage. “Our people back us, but they would still prefer Sheila Ki Jawani over Yaar Daadi Aatish Ishq, it’s not just about voices but mostly material,” she says. It’s a fact that our general public prefers Indian music over Pakistani music and QB expresses her views on the matter saying: “Not that I have a problem, but why do you think India’s and America’s industries thrive? It’s because of viewership.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 13th, 2014.
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QB is my favourite after Adele and she does a fantastic job with any of Adele songs.
Where did my comment go ?....I'll try again. My daughter asked me to listen and guess who it was.......can only be Adele, I said......and I was so wrong. This girl QB is just phenomenal.