Jal (band)
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| Jal | |
|---|---|
| Origin |  Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Genre(s) | Pop/Rock |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Label(s) | Fire Records |
| Associated acts | Atif Aslam |
| Website | www.jaltheband.com |
| Members | |
| Goher Mumtaz Farhan Saeed Shazi | |
| Former members | |
| Atif Aslam | |
Jal (Urdu: جل) is a Pakistani pop band founded by Goher Mumtaz.
The original band members were Atif Aslam and Goher Mumtaz but later Atif was replaced by Farhan Saeed, and Shazi on bass guitar. The band is among the first of contemporary Pakistani bands that fuse Urdu vocals with modern Pop.
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[edit] History
[edit] Formation and first years (2002-2004)
Jal was formed in Lahore in 2002 when Gohar Mumtaz composed his first song by the name "Aadat". Soon after, began his search for like minded musicians to complete his band. He ran into Shazi (Aamir), a bass guitarist and after a few jamming sessions he invited Shazi to join Jal, and together they went about looking for a vocalist. Some time later Gohar heard Atif Aslam's singing in a local college music competiton. Impressed by his vocal range he offered Atif Aslam to join the band and to do vocals for the song "Aadat". Jal's first single "Aadat" was released in December, 2003. Before the release of its video "Aadat" was released of the internet through a local Pakistani web portal. The song enjoyed the status of the most downloaded Pakistani song on the internet for quite some time and was extensively popular by the time the video was released.
Directed by Umer Anwar the single burst into the Pakistani music scene and took it by storm. Receiving an amazing amount of air time by all the music channels and entering music charts. The video was rated 4th best video of the year 2003 by ARYThe Muzik within days of its release. The success of the "Aadat" can partly be gauged by the countless concert offeres the band recieived immediately after the release of the song and partly by its rating to date on music channels.
However, by the end of December, 2003 due to musical differences, Atif Aslam parted ways with the band while Gohar Mumtaz once again searched for a vocalist. It was then that Sultan Raja, Bassist of Call, introduced Farhan Saeed Butt to Gohar and thus Jal found a new voice. By the time Jal came up with their new line-up "Aadat's" video was already doing rounds on the local music channels with the former singer Atif Aslam's vocals. The song was thus re-done for the official release in their debut album Aadat.
[edit] Aadat (2004-2006)
Jal released their debut album, "Aadat", which did well at the charts. Their first single "Aadat" topped the charts and stayed at the top for two weeks.
In 2006, Jal had created waves as the latest Pakistani band on the block, even as their album Aadat continues to climb the charts locally, and their track "Woh Lamhe" was a hit, even a year after its release. “What makes us special is our music and the compositions. They are a unique blend of pop and rock, with a subtle sufi influence.
Speaking about the rising popularity of a host of Pakistan-based singers in India, including the likes of Strings and Adnan Sami, Shazi, who is the bass guitarist, says, “For us, both the countries are quite different in terms of performing. It’s only the border that is common, and that is why we are different...India has totally a different type of music"
Jal is fond of Junoon, and is influenced by singers like Hamid Ali Khan and Mehdi Hassan.
Apart from the trip what’s keeping the band busy right now is also their next album, which Mumtaz promises, “Will be much more mature, as we’ve learnt a lot over the years.”
[edit] Controversy (2006)
In 2006 the band manager was caught carrying cash, all in banned denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, at Kathmandu airport on Sunday.
Although the cash worth Rs 11 lakh collected by the band as proceeds of its concert, was found to be genuine, the Nepalese authorities were puzzled by the fact that the organisers had passed on the cash in banned denominations to Jal manager Hasnain Alam.
While the five artistes of the band were allowed to board the Kathmandu-New Delhi flight of Jet Airways, Alam was caught during a routine inspection of his hand baggage which had the cash.
After reaching New Delhi, the band, led by vocalist Farhan Saeed Butt, was reportedly scheduled to proceed to Islamabad by a Pakistan International Airlines flight.
Now, besides initiating their own investigation, the Nepali agencies have passed on the information to their Indian counterparts, who will probe into the source of the money. It is suspected that the organisers might have passed on their black money to the band.
Nepal had banned these two denominations of Indian currency few years ago when it found that the kingdom was being used as a big transit point to push fake Indian currency notes (FICNs). Pakistan’s ISI had been using Nepal to push FICNs into India.[1]
[edit] Boondh (2007-present)
In 2007 Jal released its second music album named "Boondh" and in 2008 released it in Mumbai, India.Goher Mumtaz, a guitarist, vocalist-composer and lyricist of the band, narrates how this band was formed.
"I always wanted to have a band of my own and a common friend introduced Farhan Saeed to me. Then we jammed together for five-ten minutes and thereafter we started our performances. We never looked back after 2003 album 'Aadat' was released. Thus, the band was formed, with the name 'JAL'."says Goher
The name suggests that the band is just a small droplet of water in the sea of music. "Boondh" which features Bollywood actress Amrita Rao in one of it's music videos has a total of 12 songs, including two unplugged versions and two remixes. Farhan Saeed, the lead vocalist of the band, explained in detail why the album was titled 'Boondh'.
"'Boondh' is not the name of any song in the album, but is basically the theme of the album and covers all the songs in it. The name suggests that we as a band are just like a small droplet of water in the sea of music, which covers Pakistan, Asia and the entire world where our music is heard. It is our small contribution to the sea of music," said Farhan.
This album focuses primarily on the pop and the soft rock genres. The album was followed by a live tour, mainly in South Asia, with concerts all over Pakistan, and a few places in India.
[edit] Music Style
Jal's sound pimarily falls in the Pop/Rock genre. Playing along the lines of Latin-Acoustic guitars, the main emphasis of their music is on the melodies and the lyrical content. Keeping their songs melodious and catchy at the same time the band believes that music is truly the world's universal language capable of bringing our hearts and souls together. A well composed song, personified with honest and heart felt lyrivcs and spirited rhythms, will eventually be heard by manifestation of emotions expressed in an energetic and harmonious manner. Fueled by the desire to freshen up the Pop/Rock genre in Pakistan these qualities give Jal's music a very high degree of accessibility both in terms of composition and lyrics.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
[edit] Band members
- Current
- Farhan Saeed- vocals, backing vocals
- Goher Mumtaz - lead guitars, vocals, backing vocals
- Aamir Sheraz - bass guitar, drums, backing vocals
- Former
- Sessional
- Salman Albert - rhythm guitar
- Saad Sultan - rhythm guitar
[edit] "Love With India
- Within days after release Aadat's video was declared the 4th best video. It remained on the top of the charts for over two weeks since its video release.
- Jal's single Woh Lamhey broke through to the charts instantly and stayed on the top for two continuous months.
- Jal's video Ik Din Aye Ga was declared the 2nd best video among the top 100 videos selected by The Musik channel.
- Jal's debut album Aadat was declared the best selling album of 2004 on Geo TV by Mr. Khalid Sadaf (Owner of Sadaf Stereo).
- Jal also received a special award by Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital in recognition of their support and efforts to raise funds for fighting cancer in Pakistan.
- In 2006, Jal won the award at MTV Asia Awards 2006, following an award Indus Music Awards for best rock band in Pakistan.
- In 2008 Jal won a best song Musik Award for the song Chalte Chalte.
- In 2008 Jal won a best song, The Best video and the best album of the year at the Lux Style Awards.
[edit] References
- ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/Pak_band_manager_caught_with_banned_Indian_notes/articleshow/888995.cms