'Changes have helped us evolve'

Considered as the pioneer of Pakistani rock music scene, Noori band has been offering music enthusiasts breathtaking, evergreen songs for more than a decade. Formed in 1996, the band focuses on keeping Pakistan in context while making their music.

Riding on the success of their last album, Begum Gul Bakaoli Sarfarosh which was released in October, the band now looks forward to performing at the upcoming Bacardi NH 7 Weekender, scheduled to be held on November 28 and 29 in Delhi.

Ahead of their performance, Metrolife got talking with Ali Noor, who speaks about the band’s formative years, their inspirations, their music and much more.

“Our songs focus on the Pakistani individual, especially the youth; the challenges we face in everyday life; the confusions that cloud our decisions and choices, and the inner and outer resistances, which dissuade us from pursuing our passions,” he says.

Keeping such social issues as the central theme of their music, they talk about overcoming these challenges along with rediscovering one’s potential as individuals and as members of society – and their latest album focuses on the same.

“The idea we are trying to communicate is that the best life is lived when one is not just focused on individual betterment and there is a reason beyond personal benefit to pursue a passion. That we have to create an environment within us which will push us enough to overcome all that hinders us from moving in such a direction,” he elucidates.

According to him, it were these ideas that resonated with the Pakistani youth and hence triggered a rock revolution way back in 2003 when they started out.

Crediting his maternal grandfather, Raza Kazim, a lawyer and an activist, for being the inspiration behind their music, Noor says, “We have been involved with the work being done at the Sanjannagar Institute of Philosophy and Art set up by Raza. Although the work at Sanjannagar is far more advanced and complex compared to the nature of Noori’s work, but some way or the other it always seeps into our music making process.”

However, when it comes to music of India and Pakistan, one wonders if the countries that are divided by borders are divided by music as well? While qawwalis and sufi music are known to be the strongest elements in Pakistani music, in India, classical, instrumental and Bollywood rule the genre.

On this, Noor poetically mentions how these countries are bridged, rather than being divided by music. “It would be a romantic statement to say that there is no differentiation between Pakistani and Indian music. Once these borders were created, the cultural trajectories were also delineated. The evolution of social conditions in Pakistan and India have determined to quite an extent the nature of music (or other arts) coming out from the two countries.

“Our shared history (pre-partition) spans a much longer time frame compared to the differentiated one. Our cultural heritage is more or less the same and hence our aesthetics have many overlaps. Pakistanis’ love the music that comes out from India and Indians love the music that comes out from Pakistan,” he says.

He adds, “Lastly, we have all witnessed how music has been one of the biggest cultural bridges between these two countries divided by borders. So, we have been brought closer by music for sure.”

Even though the band always has its members leaving and new ones joining, their music has been consistent and meeting their fans’ expectations.

“Members coming and going has been most taxing on our fans who had developed a unique connect with each of the individual band members. Some of them, who were more attached to one of the members who left, got alienated with his absence. But the larger majority of our followers (who we now call our friends) have been associated with the ideas communicated by Noori. For them, the music that we put out is far more significant than the specific members who helped put that out. However, these changes have only helped us evolve and discover new styles of playing,” Noor tells Metrolife.

Apart from their gig at the Bacardi NH7 Weekender, the band is all set with their track Yaariyan, done in collaboration with the folktronica duo Hari-Sukhmani. “It’s in Punjabi, and it took us almost two years to complete this piece. Now we are waiting for the right time to share it with the world, which I believe is very, very near!” says Noor.