History of music in Pakistan
We visited the heritage museum ''Lok Virsa'' in Islamabad a while back and it made me want to look into a few things such as how music came into being here, considering how Pakistan is portrayed. Although, I am aware some sort of music existed back when the Mughals ruled the subcontinent.
Pakistani music, as diverse as its multiethnic population, ranges from qawwali, a popular brand of music branched from Sufi Islam, to good ol' fashioned rock 'n' roll. It includes diverse elements ranging from music from various parts of South Asia as well as Central Asian, Persian, Turkish, Arabic, and modern day Western popular music influences. Each region of Pakistan has its own folk music traditions, characterized by distinct rhythms, melodies, and instruments. From the spirited beats of Punjabi folk music to the soulful tunes of Balochi music, Pakistan's regional folk music adds to the country's musical diversity. With these multiple influences, a distinctive Pakistani sound has been formed.
In 1940s, traditional cult favorite among Punjabi folk was Alam Lohar. Lohar, who was born in 1928, began working while he was barely a teenager. Today's biggest bhangra star.
The name sounded awfully familiar to me until I realised my father used to love his music.
Pakistan's golden age. The 1960s saw a global shift in music. Pakistan gave rise to Ahmed Rushdi, who is regarded as the first disco star of his generation, in the East, alongside the Beatles in the West. The song Ko-ko-Korina, which was awarded a Platinum Jubilee, became so well-known in the area that it significantly elevated the Pakistani film industry. Over the years that followed, the song was performed extensively in Pakistan and in India, Pakistan's neighbor to the north.
During the 1950s, minorities in Pakistan, with a few notable exceptions, sang some of the best music to come out of the entertainment business and frequently featured on TV. Christian-family singers Sunny Benjamin John and Irene Perveen captured the hearts of young Pakistanis with their emotional music, which belonged to the perennially beloved form of ghazals, or songs of poetic expression.
I'm pretty sure I knew this song by heart even before I was 10 . lol
“Nazia Hassan remains one of the most iconic pop musicians to ever come out of Pakistan,” said culture writer Ahmer Naqvi. Although, her career didn't start until the 80s she did began in the late 1970s. Her song ''Crazy about Disco'' did make it to the US Billboard charts. Here's to one of my favorite song!
''Boom Boom'' - The name incase Youtube decides to fail me. ;-;
To any Pakistani who grew up in the '80s, the words "Vital Signs" were not measures of various physiological statistics, but a musical band of heartthrobs who sang ''Dil Dil Pakistan'', literally meaning Heart Heart Pakistan. These young, leather-jacket-wearing-motorbike-riding men were patriotic, and Pakistanis realized, "You know what? It's cool to be Pakistani." Styled in Ray-Ban wayfarers, the band members of Vital Signs challenged General Zia-ul-Haq's strict regime and introduced Pakistanis to the world of pop music. Because it was a patriotic song, it remained uncensored.
Bands like Junoon, Vital Signs, and Strings have achieved both national and international acclaim.
HOW CAN ONE NOT BE OBSSESED WITH THIS!!!
In the early 2000s, the explosion of media gave young artists an opportunity to showcase their talent. A plethora of TV channels saw the emergence of fresh, new faces that are now household names in Pakistan. Halfway through the decade, Coke Studio launched. In this rendition of Live on Abbey Road, Coke Studio has created a fusion of all musical genres. From combining qawwali with bhangra, to ghazals with rock, Coke Studio has brought artists from all over the country into one studio, and made it work.
Then there are those artists to come out of Pakistan, of which Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is considered to be timeless. A frequent collaborator with Peter Gabriel, powerhouse Khan, a qawwali singer who sang for soundtracks of movies such as Dead Man Walking, Natural Born Killer, The Last Temptation of Christ, and Gangs of New York is considered to be the greatest to come out of Pakistan. Time magazine wrote about Khan: "On [his] death in 1997, Westerners were just starting to grasp this musical treasure that Pakistan had given the world-but in South Asia women wailed and men wept as if a god had removed himself from the earth."
Another song I'll always be in love with - ''Purani jeans aur guitar'' by Ali Haider
Why my mamu who is idk from which century loved some of these songs. hehe.
The dancing girl and the musical pots found from Moen Jo Daro are some of the proofs of the early music of this land.