Nescafe Basement has been around for the last five years but its importance is being realized in 2019, that too at a time when nothing good is happening on the Pepsi Battle of the Bands and Coke Studio front.
The musicians might not be as senior as the ones in the bigger brands, but Nescafe Basement has Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan (Xulfi) at the helm which is in itself a huge deal.
The Call band member has been producing songs for Nescafe since their inaugural season and knows exactly what the listeners want, and that’s why his music has been consistently on the rise, while others have been on their way down.
Let’s talk about two of their songs here, the first one that went for a six and the other one, out of the park. They stage a massive musical coup with Mehbooba that was first aired in 2002 and was one of the bigger hits of Haroon’s solo career, post-Awaz.
It was also one of the first music videos to have been shot in Egypt, and the credit goes to Ahsan Rahim and Amena Khan who brought the Pyramids to Pakistan.
With the decline in music production and Haroon’s inclination towards animation, Mehbooba got lost in transition, until it was picked up by Xulfi and the Nescafe people. And the rest is history!
Helmed by Xulfi, the song starts with the Arabic rendition by Ali Asghar followed by Hamza Tanveer and Ali Tariq who combine to remind the audience of Haroon’s powerful vocals.
Unlike other songs where the onus lies on the vocalist, here the spotlight is on the music especially Adesh Kumar and Joshua Gill on the Saxophones, Sharoon Leo (one-half of the famed Leo Twins) and team on Violins.
Not making it sound like a Coke Studio reincarnation, the producers did a wonderful job as their effort reminded the listeners of the original number without any ill-feeling that is usually created by additional lyrics, unrequired rap, useless backing vocals etc.
Add Waleed Attique on Bass, Sherry Khattak on Electric and Melvin Arthur on Acoustic Guitars and you have a song that you can enjoy anywhere, considering people now have mobile phones attached to their headphones, making listening to songs easier than ever.
It was lovely to see the teenaged Sinaan Salman on Drums who stole the show not by being young but by being confident of his craft. Then there was Haroon Leo on Rubab & Djembe, Amal Nadeem as Backing Vocalist and Amoos Javed Bhatti and Veeru Shan on Darbuka & Riq that gave support to Hasan Zafar on Ukulele and Omair Farooq at Dalya.
In fact, you might get goosebumps when you listen to the last two instruments in the latter half of the video as they perfectly sync with the saxophones and drums, managed intelligently by the producer.
While we were still in the Mehbooba trance, out came the All Kids Band’s rendition of Pyar Diyan Gallan, also under Xulfi. The track was an exclusive Music Channel Charts collaboration between Fakhre Alam, Yasir Akhtar and Mohammad Ali – Shehryar Kureshi’s Fringe Benefits and topped the charts of the program for a month. Released in the mid-90s at a time when pop music was on the rise and newcomers were carrying the torch forward, it won the hearts and was even a Mehndi favorite at that time.
When Atif Aslam’s Dil Diyaan Gallan from Tiger Zinda Hai became popular a couple of years back, music lovers from the 90s were reminded of their Pyar Diyan Gallan which was something the current generation wasn’t aware of. The myth was broken by Nescafe Basement that made the very generation many thought didn’t know about the number, sing the song so well that the audience would be left surprised in a good way.
First of all, one must congratulate the Sur Taal Music Academy, the N K Music Academy and National Music Academy for polishing the young music talent in Pakistan so much so that they were confidently able to stand and deliver at a platform where even seniors don’t feel comfortable at times.
The girls and boys at the vocals were aptly selected as per their job descriptions and that’s why when Ali Mahoon starts the rap, in the Yatagaan style, everyone gets ready for a song that was buried in their hearts.
As soon as the other youngsters begin their rendition, the interest gets more serious and by the time you are into the music video, you are mesmerized by the talent of all youngsters combined, be it on the Guitars, Sitars, Drums or Piano.
Yes, the pace isn’t equal to the original number and neither is the length but the treatment doesn’t let you be reminded of the time duration. The intent to make the song popular among youngsters and reincarnate in older listeners was there and that’s what makes this number a must listen to song.
The girls delivering the Choro Sab Nafratein line as well as the kid doing the bhangra part, they all did a fantastic job, the credit of it all must go to Xulfi for making the right decisions at the right time. This song makes our belief stronger in the fact that the future of music in Pakistan is in strong hands and there are still some people who know how to pay tribute to a song than prefer to ruin in in the name of doing a cover.
You don’t need big names to make a platform popular, sometimes the intent is enough to get the job done.
from HUM TV – Watch Dramas Online http://bit.ly/2TZyoM4
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