Much has been said about Pakistan’s problem with original music; the last couple of years have seen a rise in cover music culture and branded music. Even though the trend is slowly changing now, with artists like Sounds of Kolachi and Mooroo who have released entire albums, the same cannot be said for a lot of our big mainstream pop icons.
InstepReview
The singer is back in the game with the first song of his upcoming album.
Much has been said about Pakistan’s problem with original music; the last couple of years have seen a rise in cover music culture and branded music. Even though the trend is slowly changing now, with artists like Sounds of Kolachi and Mooroo who have released entire albums, the same cannot be said for a lot of our big mainstream pop icons. It’s been a long time since we saw the likes of Ali Zafar or Shehzad Roy produce music that wasn’t sponsored. Therefore when Atif Aslam released the first song from his new album on Sunday, we couldn’t help but be overjoyed.
Not only does Aslam have beautifully unique vocals, he also manages to produce catchy, memorable melodies that stay around for ages. For instance, his earlier hits like ‘Bheegi Yaadein’, ‘Meri Kahani’ and ‘Jal Pari’ are still being heard today. Even his corporate jingles are addictive (case in point: the new Pepsi anthem ‘Jee Lay Har Pal.’)
‘Younhi,’ on the other hand, is a tad bit disappointing as it doesn’t create the impact Atif Aslam songs usually do. The song has been written and sung by Aslam himself while the music has been produced by Mekaal Hasan.
Also, the video of the song looks like something Aslam would have made back in the day as the concept and cinematography don’t look very fresh. The video, directed by Ahmed Khan, shows Aslam in a troubled relationship. In the opening sequence, the couple is fighting about how the girlfriend spends too much time with her friends, which makes Aslam feel lonely and left out. Aslam then sets off on a road trip, meeting lots of new people on the way and making new friends himself.
The one positive thing that can be taken from the video is that Aslam doesn’t show himself as a forlorn lover who’s drowning in tears, a cliché that is so done to death that we don’t have the stomach for it anymore.
While we didn’t love ‘Younhi’, we’re still glad to see Aslam producing new material for his fans. We’re still optimistic about the rest of the album and hope to see it released soon.
