INSTEP Magzine

I listen to a very wide variety of music, depending on my mood, from rock and pop and funk, to jazz, desi film, ghazal and qawwali. But these days I am listening most to the soundtrack of Kaminay. 'Dhan Te Nan' is brilliant. I am a huge fan of Vishal Bhardwaj and one of my favourite albums, in fact, is his score for a small B-grade film called Jahan Tum Le Chalo, which by the way I have never seen.

Other stuff I am listening to: I just came across a single called 'Kapola' from the upcoming film Chintu Ji, which is a hilariously sly song-and-dance item number about international arthouse cinema, and I'm making everyone listen to it. I am also trying to recompile a selection of my favourite monsoon-related songs which I had first made during the last big spell of rain and which include songs such as 'Aaj Mausam Bara Beyimaan Hai' from Loafer, 'Bhaage Re Mann' from Chameli, 'Ae Abr-e-Karam' from Naseeb Apna Apna, 'Saavan ke Jhoolay' from Jurmaana and 'Deewana Hua Badal' from Kashmir Ki Kali. And that's just the desi compilation.

The English one I have to think about since it'll be more likely stuff that reminds me of the rainy season than the songs being about the monsoons. I think I will certainly include tracks such as 'Like the Weather' by 10,000 Maniacs, 'It Never Rains' by Dire Straits, 'Rain' by Madonna and 'Umbrella' by Rihanna in there.

I can't possibly identify my 5 favourite songs since it's completely dependent on my mood. But performers who I can always listen to include the early Dire Straits, the early Billy Joel, Cassandra Wilson (jazz), Billy Holiday, Squirrel Nut Zippers, kd lang, Peter Gabriel, Bob Marley, (Ustad) Amanat Ali Khan, Pathanay Khan, Noor Jehan, Nusrat Fateh Ali, Abida Parveen and the Sabri Brothers.

Of the current crop of new Pakistani musicians, I am most intrigued by the voices of Javed Bashir (Mekaal Hasan Band), Zeb and Haniya, Maryam Kizalbash, Amanat Ali, Arieb Azhar and Junaid Younus (Siege). I also think Omran Shafique is hugely talented, particularly because he is not trying to overplay to show off.