Written by: Nahal Sheikh
Posted on: September 17, 2021 | 
| 中文
Meesha Shafi in her song 'Hot Mango Chutney Sauce'
This year, music has played an important role in a lot of people’s daily lives. It has served as an escape from lockdown and a strategy to work better from home. The Pakistani independent music scene never seems to surprise me, with new singles and albums releasing, by both emerging and established artists. Some encompass totally contemporary sounds, whereas others mash with traditional tunes and beats. Here is a roundup of Summer 2021’s best music releases that need to be immediately added to your playlist.
Title photo of Natasha Noorani's song Choro
In her latest number, released somewhere early summer, Natasha Noorani ups her game. With a retro sound and even more retro-styled video, Choro urges you to slowly begin dancing and ultimately jumping about, especially if you are having a bad day. She cleverly composes an Indie vibe with Urdu lyrics, that is usually hard to pull off, but a much-needed musical experiment in the Pakistani music industry. Her method began with creating the melody first and then the lyrics; and finally, together with Abdullah Siddiqui, this single was produced through a bright and colourful lens.
Arooj Aftab in her song 'Mohabbat'
From her album, Vulture Prince, New York-based musician Arooj Aftab brings forth a mix of tradition and smooth music. She beautifully blends elements of Pakistani classical music, trance, and jazz. She adapts this song from its original version written by Hafeez Hoshiarpuri, which has historically been sung by many famous Pakistani singers like Mehdi Hassan. However, her take with a mellow background against a deep and husky voice in the forefront, focuses on the pure emotion of Sufi poetry. She does justice to the beautiful Urdu language, which has acquired more significance in art and media in today’s metropolitan culture than ever before.
Mehdi Maloof
This single brings together all the ‘pareshaaniyan’ or anxieties that younger generations in Pakistan may be feeling lately. The hopeful bit is that this song expresses all the worries in a playful and fun way. You see Mehdi sitting in a lush garden singing away as an ode to his friends. The song perhaps nudges us to step out of our room into the greenery of the world. With its gradual build up towards the song’s end, it will allow you to finally let go.
Zahra Paracha
An entirely female-production, Bekhudi combines contrasting music elements from indie sound to hip hop beats. Zahra Paracha sings with an underlying theme, that of dealing with childhood trauma. She sees this song as a journey of breaking detrimental patterns of constantly revisiting hurtful memories. The video does justice to this ground-breaking theme with a black and white comic-like animation, while lyrics dance around on the screen. The animation blends well with the simple yet powerful message of this song, trying not to overwhelm the heart-gripping lyrics.
An animation from Ali Suhail's Bubbleboi
This Karachi-based musician, Ali Suhail’s first single of his LP ‘White Flag’, has classic guitar-playing that will leave you reminiscent of classic soft rock. He sings, “I suppose, anyway”, against a background of muted yet funky beats. The music seamlessly flows through vocals, guitar, bass, and clever drumming by Yusuf Ramay. Ultimately, this single wows us with an experimental and anything-but-simple composition, with a guitar rhythm that will remain stuck in your head until you listen to it again.
While this track came out a minute or two ago, and is leaning more towards autumn than summer, it is unavoidable! Fiery and feisty, Meesha Shafi yet again comes out with something contemporary and refreshing – quite literally, chutney. Together with one of Pakistan’s top social media accounts, Swineryy, Meesha challenges local Pakistani life and gender norms with a hint of comedy. With gorgeous young women having a great time on the streets of Pakistan, while unapologetically devouring summer mangoes, which represent the open and free space that is owed to all women in the country. And the backdrop to this release does complete justice: traditional trucks, art, colours, and of course, chai.
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