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MUSICBOX
Learning to fly
Pakistani music has been sounding rather dull over the past couple of months. The same old bhangra and shaadi tunes with their hackneyed videos and done-to-death love-hate/boy-girl themes are being recycled ad nauseam. Danish Rahi is a Pakistani-American artist who is all set to catalyze the reaction that hopefully promises to instill a change in the local music backdrop.
His music sounds fresh and singular. He employs quite an array of computer generated effects. Having an entirely American production team (namely the Churchills — Ron Haney and Bart Schoudel), the singer fuses rock, pop, techno, trance and eastern elements done mainly in Urdu and English on Fiza – The Evolution. The name is undeniably befitting for the record because it is an evolution of styles from the East and West. A graphic designer by profession, with this album, Danish Rahi steps into the same territory that Ali Haider did in 2001 with his techno/trance experiment Jadoo.
The album kicks off with Chalo Mere Saath, which is a dance number with a melody primarily based on digital effects. On this one, the singer sounds quite vivid on the vocals. The video is well done with its visual creativity, glittering colours and textured images. Another notable song on the album is Downtown Exit, which is a bizarre title and after listening to it, comes across as an eerie tune because such street-slick stuff hasn’t been composed on the Pakistani music scene up till now. Masoom, which features singer Shauna Berry mouthing French vocals, has Rahi going on about “innocent young girls.” Farishta refers to the disturbing angel of death and was also the first video released by the singer.
Being released worldwide, Fiza – The Evolution may just prove to be the kick-in-the-behind the local music industry needs at the moment. Rahi’s album is a pioneering attempt by an overseas musician. However, the album’s digitally enhanced music has proved a tad too much to handle for his label in Pakistan as there are complaints of bad sound quality. One feels he should have opted for a better label to promote his music in the local market. —Taimur Saleem
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Let’s get physical
Exercising and getting in shape have been around for as long as one can remember. But what would any exercise be worth without music? That’s why albums have always been around to make those hours of non-stop fat-burning manoeuvres a little easier to bear. One set that is available locally is the Aerobics Workout series.
This writer got hold of Volume Two and found that fitness music isn’t just for health freaks. It’s something that can be enjoyed in the car, at a party and even at home when not doing any exercise and lounging around. The CD isn’t one huge non-stop track that we’ve heard on those fitness beach re-runs. Rather, it’s a selected collection of some of the best party anthems that we’ve heard through the decades.
Names that once ruled the charts and names that remind us of our younger days litter the inlay card. There’s Madonna who’s in Vogue with the exercise buffs. There’s also Kylie Minogue who’s In Your Eyes and C+C Music Factory (anyone remember Gonna Make You Sweat?) who are in search of A Deeper Love.
Eighteen tracks spread over an hour and 15 minutes of hyper-kinetic music by the original artists (no remixes, thank you very much) are in store for you. As soon as one track finishes, the next starts playing. So, no chance of waiting to catch hold of a breath. But don’t worry. It isn’t about slave-driving anybody into having the perfect body. The album is divided into three segments; Lo-Workout, Cool Down and Hi-Workout. So, you are able to breath a bit whenever you feel you’re running out of air by pressing pause on your CD player.
Other memorable numbers from the bygone years include Another Night by Real McCoy, Whigfield’s Thinking of You, La Bouche’s Be My Lover and Eurogroove’s Move Your Body. The album winds up with Stardust’s Music Sounds Better With You. If you are in the mood to trim those love handles, if you’re in the mood to groove or if you’re simply in a nostalgic mood, check this album out. —Atif Khan
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