| Music of Pakistan | |
|---|---|
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| Genres | |
| Classical • Ghazal • Qawwali Pop • Filmi • Rock • Hip Hop |
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| Traditional Forms | |
| Religious music | Hamd • Nasheeds • Naat |
| Ethnic music | Balochi • Kashmiri • Pashto Punjabi • Sindhi |
| Media and Performance | |
| Music awards | Lux Style Awards MTV Awards |
| Music festivals | All Pakistan Music Conference Coke Studio |
| Music media | AAG • Bandbaja MTV Pakistan • PlayTV TM |
| National anthem | Qaumi Tarana |
| Regional Music | |
| Local forms | Brahui • Hindko • Khowar Shina • Siraiki |
| Related areas | Persian • Dari |
Pakistani rock is a form of rock music that is largely produced in Pakistan. It incorporates elements of both American rock and Pakistani Classical music. It has its own distinctive elements, such as a homegrown class of sounds and melodies, spanning progressive rock, hard rock, or heavy metal. Pakistani rock is almost entirely sung in Urdu, however many new bands have recently come out with songs in Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and English.
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History
Pakistani rock began with the arrival of American satellite television in the 1990s.[1] The popular form of music quickly spread throughout the country and with that came the arrival of various rock bands. Bands Vital Signs and Junoon were regarded as the pioneers of Pakistani rock. Other bands such as Strings began in the mid 1990s and during the late 1990s underground bands were becoming a norm in cities across Pakistan. Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad witnessed an explosion of rock bands and concerts in 2000 as Pakistan began to liberalize under President Musharraf's "enlightened moderation" campaign.
Sufi Rock
The band Junoon is said to be the pioneers of Sufi Rock, a genre of Pakistani rock which mixes Sufi poetry with modern rock elements. They sing mostly in Urdu, in a style blending Western hard rock with Sindhi and Punjabi folk and Qawwali. Junoon effectively created an audience for rock music in Pakistan. "The band's appeal reaches beyond the Westernised elite", said Newsweek. Q magazine called them "One of the biggest bands in the world". The New York Times referred to Junoon as "the U2 of Pakistan". In a preview of Junoon's performance at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, the L.A. Times said that Junoon's "ability to captivate audiences" is "inspiring Beatles-like reactions". Junoon has been credited with beginning the "Junooni" generation in Pakistan, similar to that of the MTV generation in the United States.
Contemporary Rock
The majority of all Pakistani rock bands are contemporary in nature, often mixing soft rock with Pakistani classical music. Several popular bands, including EP, Call, and Noori, have been integral in revitalizing the rock culture in Pakistan.
Heavy Metal
The roots of Pakistani hard rock and metal can be traced back to the first wave of bands from the late 1980s and early 1990s. The bands Final Cut and Barbarians are considered the earliest Pakistani heavy metal bands. Although they were short-lived, they influenced many other musicians. The second wave of heavy metal artists, including bands such as Dhun, which is Fawd Baloch's more conventional metal project. Later bands like Mizraab, a band led by Faraz Anwar that is considered to be Pakistan's first progressive metal band, have also played a significant role in promoting the growth of metal music in Pakistan. Furthermore, bands such as Messiah and Black Warrant are examples of significant metal bands that have surfaced in the past five years.
Underground
"Underground" is an umbrella term that covers bands that perform in small establishments throughout the country, most notably in the various universities and colleges in Pakistan. Bands like Kainath, Seth and symphonic metal band Jangli Jaggas were some of the earliest underground bands. Other bands such as Burzukh, Corpsepyre, Holy Black, Against All Odds, Hassan Sheraz, ICU and Sifr have recently emerged. There are a large number of bands from all across Pakistan at present including Black Warrant, Paranoid, Kain, Drain, Lithium, Drainage, Cultural Jukebox, The Rising, Genocide, and Hypnotix-2000. The underground scenes in both Karachi and Lahore are teeming with college students eager to become famous.
More recently Death Metal and Progressive Metal have experienced a rise in popularity in the underground Pakistani music scene. Newer bands comprising of mostly university students have taken a huge step in taking the heavy metal scene of Pakistan forward. Bands like Berserker, Cardinal Sin, Communal Grave, Dementia, Odyssey, Reckoning Storm, Ruin, Revolt, and Soul Vomit among others have already made their mark in Pakistan.
Popularity
Pakistani rock has become massively popular within Pakistan, especially among the newer generation, often regarded as the "Junooni" generation. This has now spread far beyond Pakistan to countries such as Bangladesh, Iran, Sri Lanka and India and as far as Japan and China. Lately, Pakistani rock has been getting a large amount of media attention in the United States and United Kingdom. The scene is also quite popular amongst the Pakistani diaspora. A landmark event occurred in 2003, when Strings recorded a song called Najane Kyun that featured as a single on the Urdu version of Spider-Man 2.
Pakistani rock/metal music has also appeared in international compilations, with bands such as Jangli Jaggas being credited for topping metal charts for several months on popular websites such as mp3.com in the 1990s.
Famous bands
- Aaroh
- Call
- EP
- Fuzon
- Irtaash
- Jal
- Josh The Band
- Junoon
- Jangli Jaggas
- Karavan
- The Kominas
- Laal
- Lahu
- Mauj
- Mekaal Hasan Band
- Mizraab
- Mirage]
- Noori
- Roxen
- Strings
- Sajid & Zeeshan
- Vital Signs
- Against All Odds
- ICU
Notes
See also
- Music of Pakistan
- Pakistani hip hop
- Culture of Pakistan
- Rock and Roll
- List of Pakistani musical groups
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