Atif Aslam: Music for my ears
Singer Atif Aslam’s fourth album will be all about him and his journey to find himself.
LAHORE: The young boy of yesterday, who pranced into the Pakistani music scene with “Aadat” showed the world that he has evolved into a mature artist with “Charkha Naulakha”.
In a world where pretty much everything has been tried before and
making it big means selling yourself short to commercial agents, Atif
Aslam chose to step back and embrace the cultural poetry of the
subcontinent. His crisp vocals, seasoned with a tinge of folksy dialect
have given subcontinental poetry a new avatar. However, amidst all the
hype and fanfare, Aslam feels that his music should undergo
metamorphosis and be more about self-discovery.
Time for some soul searching
The singer is distancing himself from commercial endeavors,
that urged him to feature consistently in Bollywood ventures, and is
focusing on challenging himself musically now. Talking about his fourth
album, which is currently untitled, Aslam says he wants his latest project to have more weightage and depth than previous album Meri Kahani.
“I’m getting away from the commercial approach. I feel it’s necessary
to come clean as an artist, so this album will hopefully be very pure
and close to me and my life,” says Aslam.
The
singer says that to him, making music is a personal process in which he
first likes to strum a few chords, lay down some scratch vocals and get
the melody for the song. The lyrics come in later depending on the
mood. “When I work or approach any song, I try to keep my three greatest
inspirations, that is Chris Cornell, Jeff Buckley and Nusrat Fateh Ali
Khan, in mind,” adds Aslam.
Rock the boat
The singer complains about the tenacious attitude of the
people of Pakistan and says that even though he is following his typical
music making pattern, he will show a different side of him no matter
what. “People
have always been reluctant to accept change. The change Junoon
introduced penetrated the Pakistani mindset after a long time. This time
I’m going to do it deliberately to explore myself,” quips Aslam,
who is currently in Lahore recording his latest album. Currently, he is
set to release four songs as part of “Coke Studio” and has also worked
on the Race 2 soundtrack.
For the greater glory of music
Aslam has also been working to promote Pakistan musicians and artists. He
says that encouraging new talent is important to him because he knows
there are no regimented platforms to polish and promote raw talent.
However, he praises the efforts of “Coke Studio” that gave younger
bands such as Qayaas a chance to prove their mettle to the masses. “To be very honest, if initiatives like ‘Coke Studio’ don’t come up, I may have to come out with my own label,” says Aslam,
who is extremely happy with his rendition of “Charkha Naulakha” with
Qayaas due to its progressive rock sound which included sections of
inspiration from Led Zepplin’s song “Kashmir”. For the time being, the singer is elated to get the opportunity to perform with fresh bands on the show.“I
feel excited whenever I’m jamming with fresh musicians for ‘Coke
Studio’. I feel like I’m contributing to their brand new musical
careers.”
You walk alone
The artist’s own career growth can be seen in the fact that
he performed with the legendary Slash, Shaun Lenon, Matt Sorum, Gilby
Clarke and Lanny Cordola in both English and Urdu in 2011. The ability
to adapt has become an inherent part of Aslam’s music and this quality
is taking him to places. Recalling the experience, Aslam says that such
collaboration is positive for the music scene. “I
was introduced to these musicians very late when I was around 24 or 25
but they were very kind to let me share the stage with them,” says
Aslam. “We developed a very good working relationship so we may bring
them into ‘Coke Studio’ in the future.” The singer is confident
about the possibilities and sees the opportunities snowballing into
bigger collaborations in the future. However, he says that just like his
acting career, he hasn’t really given much thought to an English album.
Going back in time
2002
Atif Aslam started his professional career as the lead vocalist of the band Jal in 2002.
2003
In 2003, due to differences with lead guitarist Goher Mumtaz,
Aslam parted ways with the band to pursue a career as a solo artist.
2004
On 19 July, 2004 he released his first solo album, Jal Pari.
The album featured various smash hit tracks such as “Bheegi Yaadein”,
“Ehsaas”, “Mahi Ve”, “Ankhon Sey” along with the title track “Jalpari”.
2005
In 2005, three tracks from Aslam’s first album (“Yakeen”,
“Ehsaas” and “Aadat”) were included in the soundtrack of an independent
Hollywood venture titled Man Push Cart.The year also marked his venture into Bollywood as his super hit song “Woh Lamhe” featured in Indian suspense thriller Zeher. The song even earned him a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer.
2006
Atif Aslam released his second solo album, Doorie,
on 22 December 2006. The album was his way of experimenting with
different musical genres and exploring his musical abilities. The tracks
“Doorie”, “Ehsaas” and “Hum Kis Gali” were announced as chartbusters as
they were extremely well-received in both Pakistan and India.
2008
Aslam’s third solo musical venture, Meri Kahani, was
released worldwide on January 18, 2008. The artist went back to his
roots in this album and created tracks similar to his original sound of
2004. The album had a total of 12 tracks.He was also awarded the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Medal of Excellence) by the Government of Pakistan the same year.
2009
In 2009, Aslam made his presence felt in the show “Coke
Studio”, produced by Rohail Hyatt. He was widely appreciated in the show
as he gave fiveperformances experimenting with different musical avenues.
2011
Aslam made his acting debut in acclaimed film-maker Shoaib Mansoor’s film Bol which was released in June 2011. He even sang two songs for the movie — “Kaho” and “Hona Tha Pyaar”.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 3rd, 2012.
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