The Music of Pakistan includes diverse elements ranging from music from various parts of South Asia as well as Central Asian, Middle Eastern, and modern-day Western popular music influences. With these multiple influences, a distinctive Pakistani music has emerged.
Junoon is a Pakistani sufi rock band from Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, and Tappan, New York, formed in 1990.
Vital Signs were a Pakistani pop and rock band formed in Rawalpindi in 1986 by two Peshawar University students. After their formation, they soon became Pakistan's first and most commercially successful as well as critically acclaimed act. The band's popular lineup consisted of keyboardist Rohail Hyatt, bassist Shahzad Hasan, guitarist Nusrat Hussain and vocalist Junaid Jamshed. Rooted in Rawalpindi with some influence from Western music during the conservative regime of President Zia-ul-Haq, the Vital Signs utilizes several genres, ranging from pop music to rock, and often incorporating classical and other elements in innovative ways. In the early 1990s, they came to be perceived by many Pakistani fans and country's cultural observers as a "promising new era of cultural revival". Their enormous popularity significantly opened a new wave of music and a modern chapter in the history of Pakistan.
Salman Ahmad is a Pakistani born-American musician, rock guitarist, physician, activist, occasional actor and professor at the City University of New York.
Ali Azmat Pacha is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He is best known as the lead singer for the influential Sufi rock band Junoon and for his subsequent solo career later followed by a career as an actor as well.
Junoon is the debut album of the Pakistani sufi rock band Junoon, released on 30 September 1992. It was released by EMI and recorded at the EMI studios in Karachi in 1990. The album is produced by founder, songwriter and lead guitarist Salman Ahmad. The album contained a total track list of twelve songs with eight tracks being in Urdu language, three tracks in English and one instrumental.
Azadi is the fourth studio album and the fifth overall album of the Pakistani sufi rock band, Junoon. The album was released in 1997 and established the Sufi rock sound that the band pioneered on their previous album, Inquilaab. The album was popular worldwide, bringing fame to Junoon.
Pakistani rock is a variety of rock music that is largely produced in Pakistan. Pakistani rock incorporates elements of both British–American rock and Pakistani classical music.
Pakistani popular music or shortly Pak-pop music refers to popular music forms in Pakistan. Pakistani pop is a mixture of traditional Pakistani classical music and western influences of jazz, rock and roll, hip hop and disco sung in various languages of Pakistan, including Urdu. The popularity of music is based on the individual sales of a single, viewership of its music video or the singer's album chart positions. Apart from within Pakistan, Pakistani pop music has also achieved an influential following and popularity in neighboring countries and is listened by members of the Pakistani diaspora, especially in the Middle East, Europe and North America.
Junoon is a Pakistani sufi rock band founded in 1990 by lead guitarist and only original member, Salman Ahmad. The band has released seven studio albums, as well as numerous live albums, compilations, singles, video albums, music videos, and soundtracks. Keyboardist Nusrat Hussain left the band after the first studio album release and was replaced by bassist Brian O'Connell. They released their self-titled debut album in 1991; which barely made a dent in the Pakistani music industry. Guitarist Mekaal Hasan and band producer John Alec replaced O'Connell, and have been playing bass for live shows since O'Connell's departure.
"Ghoom Taana" is a song by Pakistani sufi rock band Junoon. It was released as the fifth and final single from their seventh full-length studio album, Dewaar. The single also featured in Salman Ahmad's debut solo album, Infiniti. The song was originally sung jointly by Ali Noor, vocalist of Noori, and Ali Azmat. However, the duet sung with Shubha Mudgal featured only Salman Ahmad for the male vocals. In 2016, a new rendition of the song featured in the band's eighth studio album, Door.
The Rock Star and the Mullahs is a 2003 documentary film directed by Ruhi Hamid and Angus MacQueen and by producer Pamela Friedman. The film follows the journey of the South Asian rock music band Junoon and addresses music in Islam. The film won the "Outstanding story on South Asia - Broadcast" award at the South Asian Journalists Association Awards.
Strings was a Pakistani pop/rock band composed of two members, plus four live band members from Karachi, Pakistan. The band was initially formed by four college students—Bilal Maqsood, Faisal Kapadia (vocals), Rafiq Wazir Ali (synthesizer) and Kareem Bashir Bhoy —in 1988. In 1992 the quartet disbanded, only to make a comeback with Maqsood and Kapadia in 2000. While the initial band rode the new wave of Pakistani pop music, the later lineup ushered a revival in the Pakistani music industry.
Inquilaab – The Story of Junoon is a 44-minute radio broadcast documentary presented by Omar Bilal Akhtar, broadcast on City FM 89, on March 13, 2009. The documentary explores the journey of the South Asian rock music band Junoon and the struggle they face to become one of the biggest band in the world.
Sayonee is a song by the Pakistani sufi rock band Junoon, released in April, 1997. It is the first track from the band's fourth album, Azadi (1997), released on EMI Records. Written by lead guitarist and founder of the band Salman Ahmad and writer Sabir Zafar, it is the lead single on the album, the song uses blends of rock guitars and bluesy vocals with traditional musical elements like the tabla percussion drums, Hindustani raga-inspired melodies styled and blended into Pakistani folk music.
"Yaar Bina" is a song by the Pakistani sufi rock band Junoon, released in April, 1997. It is the fourth track from the band's album fourth album, Azadi (1997), released on EMI Records. Written by lead guitarist and founder of the band Salman Ahmad and writer Sabir Zafar, it is one of the lead single's on the album, the other being "Sayonee", the song uses blending of rock guitars and bluesy vocals with eastern elements like the use of tablas, raga-inspired melodies and traditional Pakistani folk music.
Nighat Chaudhry is a Kathak classical dancer who was born on 24 February 1959, in Lahore, Pakistan. She moved to London with her parents when she was one year old. She studied ballet and contemporary dance; but when she was 14, she met Nahid Siddiqui, one of the greatest Kathak dancers, and began training with her. Inspired to learn the classical forms of her own culture, she abandoned ballet. In order to understand and absorb the nuances of the Indian style, she wished to be closer to its origins; and she moved back to Pakistan. She eventually became a trained Sufi & Mystique Kathak classical dancer and has been active as a professional Kathak dancer for over three decades.
