Wishal raheel
LAHORE
After 10 years of waiting, the moment finally came for Noori fans to rejoice. Begum Gul Bakaoli Sarfarosh is Noori’s much awaited third album was released for the public at Fortress Square on Friday night.
Waiting in a long queue to get hold of the CD, numerous fans could be seen enthusiastic and excited about the revival of the music industry. At a well-managed and highly well planned event that allowed individuals to not only get hold of the CDs but also to take pictures with and meet the band members, Noori demonstrated how it plans on bringing about a change in the existing music industry.
Like ‘Peeli Patti’, this album too is a concept album. Speaking to The Nation the band leader, Ali Noor, revealed that the main concept behind Begum Gul Bakaoli Sarfarosh revolves around a character created by the band- a woman- who crossed the border in 1947 in hopes of a better future and a grand home. “However, with the passage of time, she had her hopes crushed one by one. As things started falling apart, she realized that the problems being faced by the country aren’t because of external factors but are there because of individuals’ inability to realize their true potential and their roles in society. Realisation, which can be a dangerous task, is thus the album’s central theme,” Noor explained.
A very prominent Noori song, Mujhay Roko, which had been unofficially leaked on the internet has been officially released via this album. Commenting on that, Noor revealed that this album had been written before the band’s other two albums. However, the band waited for its audience and itself to mature further before releasing the album. “The time is now perfect for the album to be released,” Ali Noor added.
At one of the previous events, the band mentioned how the live performance culture in Pakistan has died down and how that needs to be revived. “The band will definitely be bringing back the live performance culture but with an improved model. Due to corporate sponsors and other technicalities, not everyone could attend the concerts. That is about to be changed via Noori’s new model. At the band’s album promotion a few weeks ago, tickets were sold in the form of T-Shirts to the audience. “This mode allows everyone to attend these concerts while allowing for the process to be somewhat funded too. The band is focusing on making its performances more interactive; a visible difference from the live performance culture of the past,” Noor explained.
Commenting on the Fire Records controversy, Noor stated that it was one of the major reasons behind the downfall of the music industry and that Fire Records could not promote the artistes as it had intended to. However, Noori didn’t lose out from it because the band hadn’t signed a contract with the company. “Pakistani artistes are ‘simple’ people who got trapped in such contracts. Due to this, they got exploited and the music industry suffered,” Noor was of the view.
It finally seems as if the phoenix is rising from the ashes and Pakistan’s music industry is back on its track to revival with Noori taking the first step with its album Begum Gul Bakaoli Sarfarosh