The Pakistani Peace Builders (PPB) Sufi Music Festival is an independent cultural diplomacy campaign to give voice to the true Pakistan through the universal language of music to reaffirm shared values of tolerance and peace. In light of attacks this July on tribal elders in Mohmand and Data Gunj’s Sufi shrine in Lahore and the Times Square bombing attempt in May, PPB stands in solidarity with New Yorkers and the world against violence perpetuated in the name of Muslims and Islam. The event took place at Union Square on July 20.
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The musician who has wowed people with his stellar compositions and beautiful videos speaks about ‘hit songs’ and how the Pakistani music industry can be helped out of its current slump.
By Amina Baig
1.6180339887. That is what Mekaal Hasan – the musician and producer is: the golden ratio. And if it seems too clinical to reduce a man to a bunch of numbers, allow me to elucidate.
Mekaal Hasan seems to have this whole perfection thing going on for him, which might not make him seem too exciting, and probably inspires thoughts of him sitting in his studio planning the next melody he will mix flawlessly, but that also is just reducing him to mere adjectives. When one comes across someone who commands instant awe or immediate wariness, both thanks to the abovementioned attributes, and seems to actually be quite … not what you expected, how do you describe him? {Read More…}
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Rock ‘em shock ‘em:
Maheen Sabeeh
Karachi
Deciphering the numbers
The music winners at Lux Style Awards ’09 indeed came as a surprise. Who would’ve thought that Najam Shiraz would walk away with Song of the Year over Ali Azmat, Shehzad Roy, Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan and Zeb and Haniya? But he did.
In reality, the toughest competition for Najam‘s ‘Khwabon Key Rishtey’ was neither Ali Azmat nor Strings. As it turns out, it was Shehzad Roy’s ‘Laga Reh’. The reason one can state this as fact, more than just an observation is because of the numbers that each category generated. In other words, thefinal result list (by the Lux Style Awards) given to the press validates these claims. Instep Today takes a closer look at the votes…
Best Music Album
As far as music awards go, this is the most prestigious and coveted trophy. And last year saw some incredibly tough albums go up against each other. Ali Azmat returned with Klashinfolk. Leaving behind the sonic effects that were the driving force behind his solo debut record Social Circus, Ali opted for a raw, fierce rock sound that was neither redundant nor monotonous. Klashinfolk really was the second coming of Ali Azmat. {Read More…}
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Earlier we reported about Shaan working on his upcoming film, soundtrack of which was being done by Mauj, Zeb and Haniya and Mekaal Hasan. With recent news, we have heard that Shafqat Amanat Ali will also be doing a soundtrack for the film. Soundtrack will be a collaboration song by Shafqat Amanat Ali and Zeb and Haniya. This will be the first time that Zeb and Haniya and Shafqat Amanat Ali will doing a song together.
Shafqat says
We did meet in the studio a few a times and structured the song a bit. But Shaan has, since then, been out of touch and we haven’t worked on the song any further.
It is indeed the time that we need to hear some more stuff by Zeb and Haniya. Since the time of their album launch, they haven’t released anything, not even a video. Moreover, all the fans have kept their fingers crossed and waiting impatiently for the movie to come out.
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As Overload and Mekaal Hasan Band release their records without the backing of a record label and pull it off without a glitch, Instep takes a look at the burgeoning music scene, record label battles and how the Internet just might be the way out
By Maheen Sabeeh
Throwing out the blame
Internet. The inescapable term that has become an intrinsic part of our lives. We tweet through our phones; share pictures and at times send pointed (albeit indirect) messages to people on Facebook… and that is just one small example. According to the CIA Fact Book, Pakistan had an estimated 17.5 million internet users in the year 2009. So if music sales are going down at stores, which they very much are, we can guess that fans are downloading and sharing albums online instead. {Read More…}
“I’m not doing that much production right now.
I’m tired of it. I want to concentrate on my albums.”
– Mekaal Hasan shifts gears from producing music to making music
Maheen Sabeeh
Karachi
Mekaal Hasan is one of the most sought-after music producers in Pakistan. In between gigs, recording, mixing and mastering countless records, Mekaal Hasan has also been busy for the last few years, working on his own band’s highly-anticipated second record, Saptak. With the release of the their spanking new video ‘Chal Bulleya‘ with a fully-loaded star cast and an equally gripping song, Mekaal Hasan Band are back. If Sampooran was the first step for MHB, Saptak will further increase their success and strength as a band. Instep Today catches up with Mekaal to find out more… {Read More…}
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It’s amazing that our celebrities have such a diverse taste in music. From chartbusters to fresh music, their playlist depicts their mood. Instep takes you on a trip through their world of music
“I love Pearl Jam. Their new album is great, and I watched The Boat That Rocked. The soundtrack is good.”
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that has been around since the mid nineties. Fronted by Eddie Vedder, the band has a distinct grunge tone, distinct mainly because of Eddie Vedder’s vocals. They recently released their new album Backspacer, which debuted at the top of the Billboard charts. {Read More…}
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Music can ring in the changes for Pakistan. But will its leaders stand up for performing artists? Pakistani columnist Masood Hasan makes the case
Pakistan makes the news almost all the time for almost always the wrong reasons. When the Russians in their infinite wisdom chose to attack a country where countless others had failed on Pakistan’s border, our country has unwillingly been thrust center stage. {Read More…}
Saptak is the new offering from Pakistan’s premier music group, the Mekaal Hasan Band. Coming as it does after their highly successful debut album Sampooran, the new body of work is ample testimony to MHB’s high quality and commitment to this difficult path of taking the best of two disparate elements and fusing them into one memorable musical outpouring. {Read More…}
Posted by Guitar_freaKCategorized Under: Articles, Films, News4 Comments
Earlier in march, we reported about Zeb and Haniya doing music for lollywood. Recently, in an interview with Instep Magazine, Shaan talked about his upcoming project in which we will see him as a producer, directer, actor and writer. Shaan says
I’ve a vision for our film industry, which is that it should break free of its shackles. My films will be an hour-and-half long which has never been tried in Pakistan. I believe three hours is a limitation we’ve unnecessarily imposed on our cinema. We don’t have the finances to do justice to 10 minutes of film footage, let alone three hours.
Shaan has a vision to bring revolution in the film industry. He will be casting Pakistani mainstream models like Juggun Kazim, Natasha, vinnie and the music will be done by the mainstream musicians like Zeb and Haniya, Omran Shafique of Mauj & Gumby & Mekaal Hasan
Directed by Bilal Lashari, the video features an all star cast and the concept is based on the Seven Deadly Sins. The video stars Meera, Moammar Rana, Juggan Kazim, Kamiar Rokni, Fawad Khan, Fia, Rabya Butt, Ahmed Ali Butt, and Aamina Haq. It has been directed by Bilal Lashari, the wardrobe by Ammar Belal and styling done by the award winning duo Maram and Aabroo.
Mekaal Hasan said this about the video and album release date:
Hi everyone..
I am just writing to inform you all that the video for Chal Bulleya and the record are slated for an Eid release. While this delay is frustrating for us all it will allow the record and video to be promoted properly around Eid since any promotion right now will have to be ceased during Ramazan. I am very hopeful all of you will find the wait worth it and I do share your frustration at not having the video and record out right now. I’d like to thank you all for your patience and hope you will bear with the band on these delays.
1.6180339887. That is what 
Best Music Album
Internet. The inescapable term that has become an intrinsic part of our lives. We tweet through our phones; share pictures and at times send pointed (albeit indirect) messages to people on Facebook… and that is just one small example. According to the CIA Fact Book, Pakistan had an estimated 17.5 million internet users in the year 2009. So if music sales are going down at stores, which they very much are, we can guess that fans are downloading and sharing albums online instead. 
