We’ve officially hit a tipping point in music. The sheer number of singles, music videos and EP releases along with corporate-fueled shows have promised to tip the scales in favour of original music. While covering everyone is almost impossible, one song that has caught the public’s attention is a collaborative single between Ali Zafar, Urooj Fatima and Abid Brohi.

The latter is the much-loved, multi-lingual rapper who originally hails from Balochistan and made his debut with ‘The Sibbi Song’ - a collaborative single with SomeWhatSuper - as part of Patari Tabeer series in 2017.

Since then, his celebrity is rising and the latest fits that bill. Apart from Zafar and Brohi, the single also features Urooj Fatima, who previously featured in Ali Zafar’s ‘Laila O’ Laila’.

Combined, the three have gotten together for ‘Allay (Munja Mar Wara)’, a production of Ali Zafar’s Lightingale Records, through which he hopes to unveil a slew of younger artists.

If numbers could tell a story, the song has crossed 2.25 million views since releasing on November 26. It is in fact trending on number #2 on YouTube as this piece is being written.

‘Allay (Munja Mar Wara)’ is an energetic song, one that people will enjoy even if it doesn’t live up to its efforts of saving a dying art-form, the Ajrak. And to be fair, not every song has to have a social cause attached to it. In fact, as a song it is more of a regional electro-pop song and there is certainly an effort to showcase Sindhi culture. While the effort is simply satisfactory and somewhat predictable, as a song it has natural appeal and will attract a larger audience as time flies.

Uzair Jaswal unveils new music video, ‘Yaadaan’

Uzair Jaswal will be featuring on Velo Sound Station in a highly anticipated collaborative single with Sara Haider, but prior to its release, the singer-songwriter has unveiled a new single called ‘Yaadaan’. The song is about heartbreak and while it may seem like Uzair’s signature sound, it’s visually quite different from his earlier, poppy-coloured videos.

Set against sunshine and twilight, the music video starring rising TV star Minal Khan, sung in Punjabi, is like its description: it’s a bittersweet song about a relationship gone wrong, that is embedded with memories of the beloved. There are moments of solitude as well. The song is one of the strongest releases from Uzair Jaswal. He’s charismatic but the musicianship, the mellow guitars that reflect in the collaborations with multiple industry names, has elevated what could’ve been an average song to a different, higher plane.

It’s a little different from Uzair’s previous works and that shows in the studio recording that accompanies the music video. Uzair sounds older, wiser and he has added all those learnings into the song. This is worth a watch and listening to.

‘Yaadaan’ credits artist and producer MRKLE for audio with the vocals and guitars recorded by the underrated Sarmad Ghafood. The music video is directed by Adnan Aslam and Umair Mushtaq.

Asad Ahmed to drop new EP on  December 10, 2020

One of Pakistan’s guitar heroes, Asad Ahmed, is releasing a new album this month.

Asad Ahmed, for the uninformed, is no small name. His experience includes the music trio Awaz and playing in the (now-defunct) group, Karavan as well as The Barbarians. He is known for playing guitars on Vital Signs’ fourth and final album, Hum Tum as well as playing with Junoon, Haroon and Ali Zafar. He has also shone on Coke Studio during its early years as a member of the house-band and returns to Coke Studio 2020 as guitarist. Apart from playing guitars for projects and session playing, Asad has regularly been releasing solo music.

After dropping Rebirth in 2017, he followed it up with Severe Cuts (EP) in 2020 and just as the year is coming to a close, Asad Ahmed has announced Ascension, set to release on December 10, 2020.

Speaking about the LP, noted Asad Ahmed, “Ascension is the next chapter in my journey as a producer and instrumentalist. I really believe that the fans are going to love this one. I could have waited longer to release this but with the success of Rebirth and Severe Cuts, I feel that releasing new material every 6 months is paramount to building a solid foundation.”

The 7-track LP includes guest appearances from Anas Alam, Omran Shafique, Russell D’Souza, and Alan Smith and will be available worldwide from December 10, 2020, onwards, announced DistroKid, set to release the album.