Music of Pakistan

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Pakistani music
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The Music of Pakistan (

Urdu: پاکستانی موسیقی, lit.'pákistáni mosíqi') includes diverse elements ranging from music from various parts of South Asia as well as Central Asian, Middle Eastern, and modern-day Western popular music influences. With these multiple influences, a distinctive Pakistani music has emerged.[1]

EMI Pakistan is the country's biggest record label, as of 2015 holding the licenses of some 60,000 Pakistani artists and around 70% of the total music of the country,[2] while streaming service Patari has the largest independent digital collection, with some 3,000 artists and 50,000 songs.[3]

Traditional music

The classical music of Pakistan is based on the traditional music that was patronized by various empires that ruled the region and gave birth to several genres of classic music including the Klasik. The classical music of Pakistan has two main principles, ‘sur’ (musical note) and ‘lai’ (rhythm). The systematic organization of musical notes into a scale is known as a

raag. The arrangement of rhythm (lai) in a cycle is known as taal
. Improvisation plays a major role during a performance.

There are many families from

Patiala Gharana (Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan belongs to this gharana).Ustad Ghulam Farid Nizami a prominent sitar player and a Sufi singer belongs to the Senia Gharana. Number of other gharanas are present in Pakistan which serve classical music. Some classical musicians like Ustad Badar uz Zaman do not belong to any famous gharana but has served classical music enormously. The legendary sitar player Mohammad Sharif Khan Poonchwaley belongs to Poonch gharana of sitar. Ustad Rais Khan
is another prominent sitar player of Pakistan.

pakhawaj players of Pakistan and was a recognized practitioner of the Punjab gharana
style of drum-type instruments.

Ghazal

In poetry, the ghazal is a

Sufi mystics. Exotic to the region, as is indicated by the very sounds of the name itself when properly pronounced as ġazal. Although the ghazal is most prominently a form of Urdu poetry, today, it has influenced the poetry of many languages. Most Ghazal singers are trained in classical music and sing in either Khyal or Thumri.[citation needed
]

Qawwali

Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah
was one of the most important patrons of Qawwali and is widely credited for its cultural advancement.

Qawwali (

Turkish, Persian, Arabic, and South Asian musical traditions, to create Qawwali as well as the classical music tradition
. The word "Sama" is used (or is the preferred name) in Central Asia and Turkey, for forms very similar to Qawwali while in Pakistan, the formal name used for a session of Qawwali is "Mehfil-e-Sama". Instruments used in qawwali include:

Faiz Ali Faiz, a qawwali artist live in concert

A group of qawwali musicians, called Humnawa in

Naats
' and holding live dance and music parties with musical instruments on 'Just- Before- Weddings-Mehndi' celebrations. This again, has to be a 'Women Only' event per the long practiced tradition where Islam generally discourages mixed-gender gatherings among unmarried women and unmarried men. Although in the 20th century, the so-called modern era, actual practice among Islamic societies, has been that one will see a lot of female musicians and female singers holding public concerts for both men and women. For evidence, one can just read the musician name lists on this page to spot a lot of female names on those lists now.

Religious music

.

Hamd

There is a large number of

Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, along with his nephew Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
. There are Sabri Brothers Qawwal, Qawwal Bahauddin Khan from Karachi. 'Hamd' is also used extensively in Christian religious music from Pakistan and all over the world where people from this region are found. 'Hamd' is not the exclusive domain of any religion. As pointed out – it denotes praise to God, it is more extensively used in the Muslim world. It is usually used in conjunction with the Sanna (praise) and referred to as 'Hamd – o – Sanna'. 'Naat' denotes praise to the prophet Muhammad.

Naat

Nasheeds

Regional music

A trio of Pakistani folk singers performing at a local gathering

Pakistani folk music deals with subjects surrounding daily life in less grandiose terms than the love and emotion usually contained in its traditional and classical counterpart. In Pakistan, each province has its own variation of popular folk music. Pakistan has created many famous singers in this discipline such as the late

Pashto
folk music.

Balochi music

The music of

Dari and Saraiki
.

Balti music

According to Balti folklore,

Maqpon rajas. As a mark of respect, the musician who plays the drum (dang) plays for a long time. A Maqpon princess would occasionally dance to this tune. Gasho-Pa, also known as Ghbus-La-Khorba, is a sword dance associated with the Gasho Dynasty of Purik (Kargil
). Sneopa, the marriage-procession dance by pachones (twelve wazirs who accompany the bride), is performed at the marriage of a raja.

Punjabi music

A Punjabi dhol band, performing at a wedding in Multan

Music from the Punjab province includes many different varieties. One can read the 'main article' link directly above for details.

Potohari music

Potohari has a rich tradition of poetry recital accompanied by sitar, ghara, tabla, harmonium and dholak. These poems (potohari sher) are often highly lyrical and somewhat humorous and secular in nature, though religious sher are also recited.

Sindhi music

Music from Sindh province is sung in Sindhi, and is generally performed in either the "Baits" or "Waee" styles.

Shina music

The predominant language found in Pakistan's

Nuristan province of Afghanistan and the subsequent increase in commercial activity in Chitrali bazaars allowed this local form of music to flourish in the past few decades.[citation needed
]

Saraiki music

Atta Ullah Essa Khelvi Khan is one of the most famous Saraiki singers in Pakistan, hailing from Mianwali
.

Pashto music

Khattak Dance, a swift martial arts sword-dance performed by Pashtuns
in Pakistan's Northern Areas

Pashto music is commonly found in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in Pakistan's major urban centres such as Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Sialkot and Multan. Music genres include Tappa
, Charbeta, Neemkai, Loba, Shaan and Badala.

Hindko music

Music from Hazara Division is sung in Hindko dialect, and is generally performed in either the Mahiyay or Shaer styles.

Modern music

Pakistani music in the 21st century revitalized itself and has many segments as follows:

Pop music

Ahmed Rushdi, the father of pop, also known as the first regular pop singer of south Asia

Pop music really started in the South Asian region with the famous playback singer

bubblegum pop, rock and roll twist music
and Pakistani film music. This genre would later be termed as filmi pop. Veterans like Runa Laila and Alamgir started the pop industry in Pakistan. Paired with Bengali singers .

Following Rushdi's success, Christian bands specialising in jazz started performing at various night clubs and hotel lobbies in Karachi, Hyderabad and Lahore. They would usually sing either famous American jazz hits or cover Rushdi's songs. Rushdi sang playback hits along with Laila until the Bangladesh Liberation War when East Pakistan was declared an independent state. Laila, being a Bengali, decided to leave for the newly independent Bangladesh.

Zohaib Hassan and the member of the pop group Nazia and Zoheb, in 1981, became the first playback singer to release a pop music album. Her first album was "Disco Deewane" and second was "Aap Jaisa Koi". Both the albums broke sales records in Pakistan and India and even topped the charts in the West Indies, Latin America and Russia. Hassan won several awards for her songs, including the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the later and received the Pakistan's highest civilian award, Pride of Performance
for her contributions in the music field.

Modern pop singers such as

.

Rock music

Shallum Asher Xavier from Pakistani rock band, Fuzon
, performing live at a concert

The rise of rock music in Pakistan began in the 1980s when cassettes first came into Pakistan bringing in a wave of Western rock music, particularly groups such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, and AC/DC. Western-influenced rock music began to feature in underground concerts all across the country. In the 1980s, rock bands Vital Signs and Strings rose in defiance of the authoritarian regime and gained immense popularity amongst the youth. Vital Signs is widely regarded as Pakistan's first and most successful pop rock band. Their single "Dil Dil Pakistan" was voted the third most popular song of all time in a BBC World poll in 2003.[10] Despite being active since the late 80s, Strings achieved widespread popularity after the release of their second album in 1992. The band went on to sell over 25 million albums worldwide. Junoon, Aaroh, and Noori followed suit in the 1990s.

United Nations General Assembly Hall and only the second Pakistani act to perform at a Nobel Peace Prize Concert.[12][13]

The early 2000s saw the arrival of progressive metal, progressive rock, and psychedelic rock with bands such as Entity Paradigm and Mizraab. Mekaal Hasan Band, Call, Karavan, Jal, Roxen, Mizmaar, and Qayaas also exploded onto the music scene with different brands of rock including alternative and soft rock. The television series Pepsi Battle of the Bands was instrumental in launching Entity Paradigm, Aaroh, and the Mekaal Hasan Band, all of whom competed in the inaugural edition of the show in 2002.

The resumption of the Pepsi Battle of the Bands in 2017 after almost 15 years, heralded the resurgence of Pakistani rock with the rise of Kashmir, Bayaan, and Badnaam.[14]

Although the heavy metal genre began to rise in popularity after the

1997 general elections, Pakistani heavy metal music can be traced back to the new wave of British heavy metal of the 1980s and 1990s with bands such as Black Warrant (band), Final Cut, and Barbarians. In recent years, numerous heavy and black metal bands including Overload, Saturn
, Saakin, Karakoram, Burq - The Band, Taarma, The Nuke, and Aag have amassed followings in this niche rock music in Pakistan.

Hip hop music

Pakistani hip hop is a blend of

hip hop
music.

Filmi music

Pakistan's film industry known as "Lollywood" is based in Lahore and Karachi.

Notable artists

Singers

Bands

Composers

Producers

Music journalism

Music journalism in Pakistan has grown over the years and most newspapers and TV channels have their own reporters and critics on music of Pakistan. Besides the newspapers, many news websites have also started giving coverage to Music in Pakistan. MangoBaaz, Musicians of Pakistan, and VeryFilmi are common examples.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Music and Dances of Pakistan, Musical Instruments of Pakistan". Government of Pakistan, National Heritage Wing website. Ministry of Information, Broadcasting & National Heritage. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  2. ^ Mahmood, Rafay (12 June 2015). "Patari takes a hit as country's biggest record label threatens legal action". The Express Tribune. [...] EMI Pakistan holds licences to around 60,000 Pakistani artists and almost 70% of the total music of the country.
  3. ^ "Patari's profile".
  4. ^ "Baltistan is Beautiful Land of Mountain|Glaciar| Velleys". mybaltistan.com website. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  5. ^ Hussainabadi, Muhammad Yousuf: Balti Zaban 1990
  6. ^ "Ahmed Rushdi remembered as a magician". The Nation. 12 April 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  7. ^ "Atif Aslam Rocked the O2!". BOLLYSPICE website. 6 May 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Atif Aslam Dhamaka London concert". 6 May 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Bollywood Showstoppers Press conference". BOLLYSPICE website. 6 April 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  10. ^ The World's Top Ten (most popular songs in 2003) BBC World Service website, Retrieved 13 October 2020
  11. ^ (Jon Pareles)In Performance: Pop; Divine and Secular Love Expressed in Rock Style New York Times, Published 8 May 2002, Retrieved 16 October 2020
  12. ^ Junoon Band's Concert in Observance of United Nations Day to be held in General Assembly Hall, 24 October 2001 United Nations website, Published 19 October 2001, Retrieved on 16 October 2020
  13. ^ Junoon band's performance for Nobel Peace Prize Concert at The Royal House of Norway website Published 17 December 2007, Retrieved 29 July 2020
  14. ^ (Turyal Azam Khan)'Pepsi Battle of the Bands' makes a powerful return Asia Times (newspaper), Published 24 July 2018, Retrieved 16 October 2020
  15. ^ Sajjad Ali, Ali Azmat draw big crowds at Lahore Music Meet Dawn newspaper, Published 12 March 2017, Retrieved 14 October 2020
  16. ^ a b "Three Generations of Songmakers". Dawn (newspaper). 4 August 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  17. ^ a b Remembering the legend (Mehdi Hassan) Dawn (newspaper), Published 13 June 2012, Retrieved 15 October 2020
  18. ^ "Classical singer Amanat Ali Khan remembered". The News International (newspaper). Associated Press of Pakistan. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  19. ^ Arif, Aayan (29 July 2018). "Musicians Of Pakistan: Natasha Khan - Making an Impact in the World of Music". Musicians Of Pakistan. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  20. ^ "Natasha Khan Pakistani Singer". Natasha Khan Pakistani Singer. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  21. ^ Abida Parveen on allmusic.com website Retrieved 16 October 2020
  22. ^ Qawwal Amjad Sabri's obituary on The Telegraph (newspaper) Published 23 June 2016, Retrieved 15 October 2020
  23. ^ Profile of music director M. Ashraf on cineplot.com website Retrieved 15 October 2020
  24. ^ End of a legend: Fans pay tribute to Bangladeshi music director Robin Ghosh Dawn (newspaper), Published 13 February 2016, Retrieved 15 October 2020
  25. ^ Shades of glory: Sohail Rana Dawn (newspaper) Published 19 April 2009, Retrieved 15 October 2020
  26. ^ Arif, Aayan (19 March 2019). "Musicians Of Pakistan: Nescafe Basement Brings Aadat's Nostalgic Magic Back Leaving the Fans in Tears of Joy". Musicians Of Pakistan. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  27. ^ "Dream station productions launches Acoustic station". The Nation. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2020.

External links