Hashim gets animated with ‘My Moment’ while Zeeshan Parwez gets the most romantic he’s ever been!
Maheen Sabeeh
Hashim Saeed aka Hash is back with another spanking song after ‘Load The Cannon’. This time, it’s ‘My Moment’ and instead of dancing, Hashim plays with animated guns to protect his lady, played by VJ Natasha Campbell.
Even though ‘My Moment’ first hit airwaves somewhere in 2004, Hashim has re-done the track while animation guru Zeeshan Parwez has directed a brand new video for the updated version. The result predictably, is fabulous.
There is little argument to defend the concept. It’s been done umpteen times but what makes it work in this particular case is the animation. A girl, a boy, bad goons – all animated in the classic Zeeshan Parwez style.
This is not Japanese anime that has Overload tried with ‘Storm’. This is animation that is totally Pakistani. And it may not be as slick as the rest of the world, but at least it is an original look.
90 per cent of the video is animated while a few shots in between are real but they gel well with the video.
Come to the song and Hashim has really changed gears this time. The first time around, ‘My Moment’ registered but barely but all that has changed.
Simply put, this updated tune is funky and extremely groovy in sound.
“It has a beat,” says one listener. And that is exactly what Hashim’s biggest USP is.
Be it ‘My Moment’ or his other tune, ‘Load The Cannon’, what strikes one instantly are the catchy hooks that Hashim’s music offers.
“I call it hyper pop,” laughs Hashim. This may not be a genre that one has heard of before but it is one that will add a punch of variety to the local music business.
“I can’t be following trends. It’s up to me as an artist to do something that is unique to me alone. And I don’t think anyone is doing this kind of music in Pakistan,” says Hashim confidently. And here one has to agree with him… Hyper pop is a genre alien to our scene. In fact, we haven’t even ventured out into electronica as yet barring a name like Rushk. But Rushk have never performed live ever and the lead vocalist doesn’t reside in Pakistan.
The bottom line is that these genres have not been explored fully (if at all) in Pakistan.
An effort was made by Zoheb Hassan who returned with his solo album, Kismet, in 2006 but that sound belonged to the eighties and was neither contemporary nor fully dance but somewhere in the middle.
Hashim, too, is inspired by the eighties. But he uses it as an inspiration to create a sound that belongs to this era.
“My music definitely has influences from the ’80s. I admit but I am not imitating anyone. It is music that is made with this day and age in mind. For the last four years I’ve worked on this record and refined it so it doesn’t sound dated,” says Hashim.
Being influenced by a particular era or an artist is never, ever bad as long as it is not imitation.
Our biggest examples are Junoon and Vital Signs. Salman Ahmed decided to go the musical way after he saw Led Zeppelin live and was deeply inspired. And for many years, he made music that was original and it was the creation of Sufi rock.
Former Vital Signist Rohail Hyatt was inspired by Pink Floyd but instead of imitation, he used this inspiration to create an album like Hum Tum. To this day, no album can match the haunting mood of that record.
Coming back to Hashim, another plus for him is that he doesn’t struggle with the English language, which is the one and only reason why Hadiqa Kiyani and Aamir Zaki’s Rough Cut was flawed.
“I’m more comfortable in English. Through my music and performances, I will make the language irrelevant,” says Hashim.
It might just happen. Annie’s ‘Mahiya’ rocked the nation, from truckers to rickshaw drivers to the youth. And it was the beat that did the trick.
Look at music globally. The beat of Timbaland made Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado into two brightest shining stars of music in the world.
If they can do it, so can Hash. But in the meantime, look out for ‘My Moment’. It is definitely worth watching and listening!
