Fashion
 Profiles
 QAs
 Events
 Issues/Controversy
 Style
 Flash
Music
 Interviews
 Musician Profile
 Album Reviews
 Musical Notes
 Charts(Bytes)
Entertainment
 Reviews
 TV / Films
 Features
 Star Bytes
Lifestyle
 Profile
 Shop Review
 Restaurant Review
Society
 Profile
 Events
 Features
Columnists
 Fasi Zaka
 Nadeem F Paracha
Regulars
 In The Picture
 Vibes Charts
 Style Watch
 Musical Notes
 Starbytes
 Flash

 

album
profile

MHB ride again: Mystical music and pertinent poesy symbolize Saptak
Mekaal Hasan Band's long-awaited second album finally hit the stores late last month to quench the craving of fans and music enthusiasts for quality music. 

By Amar Ayaz

 

Album:  Saptak ****1/2

Artist:   Mekaal Hasan Band


In times where simple riffs and meaningless lyrics will sell albums and get an artist invited across the border, there are still a few bands and artists that remain focused on creating unique music which represents a fusion between local culture and western influence. These musicians, in a sense, show an evolution of environment whilst keeping the core culture intact. Mekaal Hasan Band (MHB) are one such set of musicians who seamlessly blend western jazz with Sufi and other traditional poesy to create a hybrid that can only be described as eastern jazz.

The nine-year-old band recently released their second album, Saptak, after an interval that lasted longer than many had hoped. Their first album Sampooran took a while to enter the hearts and minds of audiences as it's uniqueness at the time created a sense of confusion as to what feelings it should invoke. A little time and a couple of videos later their songs started to garner more attention. As a result Sampooran created a hunger for similar music which spilled over in the form of anticipation for MHB's next album.

Unfortunately this aural thirst lasted around half a decade, and trying not to sound like a broken record (pardon the pun) but record labels have really got to get their acts together so that Pakistan can start benefiting from the fine tunes that are now being released. Melodies such as those emanating from the lyrical and instrumental harmony, merged with superior composition and crisp production.  

The instrumentals, particularly the guitar and flute, intermingle with Javed Bashir's vocals with textbook perfection. Flawless production and the masterful integration of sounds, being polished off in the end by Mekaal Hasan show why he is one of the most sought after producers in the industry today. Saptak grabs your attention from 'Chal Bulleya's intro and holds it till 'Albaela's' last chord. Compared to Sampooran, Saptak's instrumental composition seems to have marked an improvement in Mekaal.

Mohammad Ahsan Papu's flute also seems to have played a larger role in this album, particularly in 'Chal Bulleya'. As we all now know that the powerful video by Bilal Lashari depicts the seven deadly sins, in the sequence which displays lust that Papu launches into a flute solo, which according to Mekaal is very symbolic as in Greek mythology it is the instrument of lust.

Amir Azhar and Gumby combine their bass and drums respectively to support the music. It is in 'Bhageshwari' however, that one spots Amir's talent on the bass, as the opening sequence delivers a more than acceptable bass-line. Pete Lockett, a multi-percussionist with whom Mekaal has worked and toured, also features on the closing track of the album titled 'Albaela'. Javed Akhtar also lends a hand by playing percussions on 'Huns Dhun' and 'Andholan'.

Added to the instrumentals, the ebb and flow of Javed Bashir's vocals do justice to the poetry that is selected for this album. Apart from 'Mahi', 'Andholan' and 'Bhageshwari', which were written by Javed Bashir, the rest of the album features various poets and Sufi saints. Amongst them are the revered Bulleh Shah, Bhagat Kabir, Shah Hussain, Amrita Preetum, Ahmed Anis and Ustad Amir Ali Khan Sahib. For the full list we urge you to spend the spare change and buy the original album so that you can refer to the album sleeve while admiring the album art.

What adds to the album is the message it is trying to send across to its listeners. While other artists and bands are busy singing about love lost or gained, MHB are one of very few who remain relevant in terms of poesy. They use traditional Sufi poetry by Bulleh Shah and Bhagat Kabir to show the love for material wealth and superficial beauty, while idealism and spiritual journeys are also illustrated through a Kaafi by Shah Hussain. Ahmed Anis and Amrita Pritam's poesy illustrate the violence and suffering, begging and summoning Sufi saints such as Waris Shah to rise again to support their convictions.

Overall the album elicits a feeling of a journey through time and a sundry of situations (once the poetry is understood). The music adds to this lyrical expedition beautifully. For every verse, Mekaal's Gibson fades in and out, Papu's flute soars and simmers and the percussions lay faultless foundation. This is plainly manifest in 'Andholan', 'Albaela' and 'Jhok Ranjhan' where the cocktail comprising equally of vocals and instrumentals are incomparable.

The only slip in the album is apparent in 'Ranjha' where Javed's vocals fail in keeping up with Mekaal's riffs. A purely instrumental or perhaps live version might do the track justice but on the album it falls short of the other exemplary tunes. Similarly, 'Bhageshwari' seemed little out of place from the general flow of the album despite its crisp composition. Apart from that it is definitely an album worth actively listening to simply for the incisive instrumentals, brilliant breaks and change of tempos between, and within, songs which persistently please listeners' ears.   

Though, after listening to Saptak in its entirety, and taking under consideration their previous work, one can justly infer that if there was one band to represent Pakistan on the world music stage it would be MHB. With the group headed off in the summer for a tour which includes Toronto, Paris and Prague amongst others, and more musicians moving towards fusing western and eastern elements, one can hope for Pakistan to be known as more than just a hot-bed for extremists and explosions.  

*****Get it NOW!
****Just get it
***Maybe maybe not
**Just download
the best song
*Forget that this was made