The production value of every Poor Rich Boy (PRB) track is unmatchable. From their debut EP called Old Money to the follow up We Are Your Friends, they bring musical value which extends to their Urdu releases with songs like ‘Kaghazi’ and their last original release, ‘Khudi Kya Hai’.

It is therefore surprising to learn that the cherished music group from Lahore – spearheaded by music producer/guitarist Zain Ahsan and singer-songwriter Umer ‘Duck’ Khan – re-did a track they had previously released. The track, ‘Jatay Jatay’ was released in September 2021 along with an accompanying music video. However, the band has dropped a reworked version of the same called ‘Jatay Jatay (Perb mix)’.

Instep asked music producer Zain Ahsan why the band made the effort.

Zain notes, “I built a new machine recently and bought some new toys that I’ve been experimenting with this year,” adding, “Once we released ‘Yaqeen’, I was listening to ‘JJ’ after a year and out of all the songs we’ve put out so far, this one had some serious issues and [I] was left with no choice but to fix it. Little did I know I would fail once again.”

Enter Mekaal Hasan.

According to Zain, Mekaal got the job done. “Needless to say, he got the job done but in the process, I ended up playing around with my new gear and stumbled upon the ‘Perbmix’. It was an accident as I was just using the project file as a template to learn these new virtual instruments that I bought but once I sent it to Adil, the young man who made the music video for it, he showed interest in making the video for it and a week later we had this. This one I mixed myself in order to compensate for my failure with the previous mix.”

With ‘Jatay Jatay (Perbmix)’, Zain was finally satisfied the song. “Now I can finally be at peace and move on to the real songs we’ve building for a year.”

The songs PRB has been building probably include material for an Urdu pop album and an English record called No Honour Among Thieves. The band plans a hiatus after these releases, but till then look out for more new tunes from Pakistan’s iconic indie-art-folk music group.

Atif Aslam emerges as the most streamed Spotify artist across Pakistan

We’ve known for quite some time that when it comes to contemporary music artists, Atif Aslam is Pakistan’s single biggest name in music. The love for his music defies geography and political views, and his music is loved across the border too.

That said, some good news.

“Spotify has launched - for the first time in Pakistan - its annual 2021 Wrapped campaign and personalized user experience while unveiling top artists, songs and playlists from the creators,” noted a press statement. As Spotify evolves, so will users in Pakistan.

According to statistics made available by the streaming site, Atif Aslam was the most streamed Pakistani artist in in the country. His most streamed songs (so far) include ‘Kadi Te Has Bol’, ‘Tu Jaane Na’ and ‘Dil Diyan Gallan’. If Atif Aslam has been the local artist to top the charts, Arijit Singh from India was the most-streamed “artist list in Pakistan”, noted a press statement.

In emerging and young talent, artists such as Hasan Raheem, Young Stunners and Asim Azhar made it to the top 20 list of the most streamed tracks in Pakistan. Asim Azhar’s ‘Ghalat Fehmi’ from Superstar is still ruling hearts as the top song in this list. What is good to see is that artists like Hasan Raheem and Young Stunners are breaking barriers along with prominent names. King’s ‘Tu Aake Dekhle’ was the most streamed song.

Classics like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s ‘Kali Kali Zulfon Ke Phande Na Dalo’, ‘Aitebaar’ by Vital Signs also remained fresh in memory of listeners who streamed the song and/or added it to their respective playlists.

Noted a press statement from Spotify, “Eligible users can now access their personalized Wrapped experience exclusively in the Spotify mobile app (iOS and Android). New features to look out for: New data stories to express your year in audio in addition to your top artists, genres, songs, podcasts and minutes listened.”

The statement added, “Spotify has also rolled out its Wrapped creator experience for artists. With access to their own individualized Wrapped microsite experience, creators can dive into all the ways in which their fans listened this year.”

-This is a developing story