Zoe Viccaji has quietly but surely built a reputation for herself as a person with a formidable singing voice. She’s the stereotypical triple-treat entertainer—she sings, dances and acts. She has done backing vocals in several seasons of Coke Studio and has been featured as one of the main acts as well, and she has had a leading role in two Made For Stage productions—as Mama Morten in Chicago and Tanya in Mamma Mia.

She had previously begun working on her solo album with Shahzad ‘Shahi’ Hasan and had released an original single, Thinking About You, around that time as well. Zoe soon decided she needed to take some time off. “The reason I left in the beginning was because I wasn’t sure what kind of sound I wanted. To sit in production and go through the treatment your songs get is very different from composing them on your own. I took some time off and learned the basics of production and how to use the software which I now use very regularly on my own as well.”

“She’s half a music producer now,” says Shahi, “which is good because it makes it easier for me to communicate with her. She is pretty prepared and she knows what she needs to do when she walks into the studio. Her abilities as a musician and a singer have tremendously improved.”

Talking about her album, Zoe mentioned that she’s recorded the full version of the song, Jo Chaho, that was previously featured as a jingle in a telecom advertisement. “We’ve shot the video and it should be out soon,” she said, “it’s been shot on film and is definitely bigger than some of the other videos that I’ve shot.”

Zoe is also working on two songs for an upcoming Pakistani film, Seedlings. She’s collaborating with Usman Riaz on one of those songs.

Talking about the album she mentioned that “We’ve gotten William Harvey coming in from Afghanistan and he’ll be playing the violin on some of my songs.” Her sister, Rachael Viccaji, will also be featured in the album on backing vocals. “But right now, most of the album is in its skeleton phase,” she added.

Zoe plans to release the album gradually in singles and via music videos. She feels it is better to release music when it is still fresh. She doesn’t have a definite time line for when she will be finished working on her album, but she did mention that she plans to release at least two or three songs this year along with their music videos.

Club Caramel and the lighter side of love

They’ve been active in the music industry for some time now and are well-known for their brilliant live act. Club Caramel is composed of Kiran Chaudhry on vocals and Adnan Sarwar on lyrics, composition and guitars.

Kiran showed off her acting skills when she was cast as one of the lead characters (Donna) in Made For Stage’s version of the musical, Mamma Mia. Adnan Sarwar, on the other hand, was previously known as one of the rhythm guitarists for the rock-classical fusion act, Mekaal Hasan Band.

As Club Caramel, Kiran and Adnan, had previously released a video titled Teray Bin in October 2011 that talked about the darker side of love. They’re back with a new video, titled Deewana, which, quite frankly, is the complete opposite of Teray Bin. Both of the songs have been written and composed by Adnan Sarwar.

The song is light, almost whimsical in nature, as it talks about the lighter side of love—it fondly remembers the initial bittersweet feeling that accompanies falling in love all over again. Deewana talks about how the world comes alive when one is intoxicated in that feeling and when everything in life feels beautiful.

Taaron Se Agay: Noori’s first single since its reunion

Many hoped that it would happen, few believed it ever would: in May 2011 one of Pakistan’s most popular acts, Noori, announced that they had gotten back together seven years after the first member left the band.

Last week Noori released the first single from their upcoming third album, Taaron Se Agay. The song retains much of the positive energy that the band’s music is known for—the lyrics are catchy, hummable and for those interested, the song is one they can dance along to.

Taaron Se Agay talks about how harsh life can be, of being human, making mistakes, moving beyond them and taking the road less travelled. The song is about living your life to the fullest while, in the face of adversity, keeping your hopes, dreams and aspirations alive.

The band is currently working on their third album, and Taaron Se Agay provides a glimpse into the sound the band will produce this time.