Update: An earlier draft of this posting incorrectly labelled the singer in the last two videos. His name is Sain Zahoor.
Years ago on this blog (which, if you can believe it, has been around in one form or another for over 5 years now), I’d link to things I’d discovered through the network of connected, culturally-savvy bloggers I read. Today, I bring you something my 72 year old father sent me from his iPhone. It’s a brave new world, people!
The Coke Studio is a Pakistani television show that features live performances from an array of musicians, usually in the form of some kind of ‘fusion’ that blends certain aspects of Pakistani and Indian music with what you might usually think of as Western instruments. Sometimes, that emphasis on (ugh) “old meets new” does result in some rather cheesy 70s electric guitar. But at other times, you find some really remarkable creations.
Some examples: Sanam Marvi going all trippy with the reverb, but also showing off her incredible voice. Wait until the break at around 3:40 and wait for the track to build again.
Here’s Aik Alif Sain Zahoor who initially seems like he might be a fish out of water, but just owns that shit:
And another with Alif, but this time with Saieen Zahoor and Pakistani rock band Noori.
It’s a pretty amazing resource.
It’s also hard not feel like there’s something to be said for reminding the world that, while Pakistan might have its troubles, its traditions in poetry and music (which overlap frequently) are pretty incredible.
Yes, clearly, it’s more important that Aaron is writing things like this about what is going on in the country. But, in the meantime, a little joy never hurt anyone. Enjoy.
Update: It now occurs to me that saying “Pakistan’s music is awesome, but yeah, that place is fucked up” was a dumb thing to do. I suppose what I’d like to say is that when the only version of Pakistan you get on the news is ‘crazy people in the desert’, you forget the complex history and culture that the news elides. The kind of music presented here is, if you will, an aesthetic connection to or reminder of that complexity.
