Drum roll: Two to tango Overload create a splash with two distinct, sharp and noteworthy videos

Maheen Sabeeh
Karachi
Overload really are the loudest band in Pakistan. They know how to make noise and for the right reasons. As the music industry struggles with record label deals, Internet and copyright debate, economic recession and security situation (which never seem to end) throughout the country, musicians are left with few options.
A music video still remains a hugely important medium of communication amongst fans and artists. And if one band in recent times (after Strings) has picked up on its importance, it’s Overload.
In the last two months, Overload released two videos – ‘Pichal Pairee’ and ‘Mela Kariyay’ – and both show the vivid character of this band and their ability to construct videos that give their songs further appeal with a lot of style. “We do our wardrobe ourselves. Each person wears his own collection but we jointly decide what look we want,” says Farhad Humayun about their changing garb in videos. Instep Today takes a closer look at the videos that have brought Overload back in the musical stratosphere…

Song: ‘Pichal Pairee’
Artist: Overload and Hassan Mohyeddin
Directed by: Hasaan Ashraf
Director of Photography: Mohsin Khawar

A breakbeat, aggressive riffs and a flourishing soundboard are just one side of this song. The real change comes through the video. It’s got a very gothic, grungy vibe with the band dressed in black. The whole ambience twists and turns. Director Hassan lets Meesha Shafi make her presence felt in a male-dominated rock band.

As Meesha starts the tune in spoken words:
“The conversation has ended/We’ve run out of things to say/And yet your silence is not awkward/As I listen to it I prey”, she carries off the slightly evil look and the sensual, dangerous streak with poise. Hassan captures it with that rock edge such a video requires. The interspersed shots of Mahmood lost in the riffs of his guitar and Farhad furiously hitting the drums – the video makes head turn. Shiraz’s silent demeanour makes him the most intriguing member of this band. And that adds to the charm of this video.

As a video ‘Pichal Pairee’ borders on darkness but it isn’t horrific. The video is surely gothic, at least to some degree, but it’s stylish too. On most tunes, this video would’ve fallen flat. But when a song refers to a ‘witch with twisted feet’, the Goth angle makes sense. And even though the song is in English and Meesha’s vocals tend to be off-key on this number, the hyper sound saves the day.

While director Hasaan gets most things rights, the camera work still could’ve done with an added amount of finesse.
In the end, ‘Pichal Pairee’ is wild and bold and the band lets loose just the same.

Artist: Overload
Directed by: Farhad Humayun

‘Mela Kariyay’ marks the debut of Farhad Humayun as a music video director. And he doesn’t disappoint. While the song plays as an extension to Overload’s mammoth hit ‘Cursed’ off their self-titled debut album, its the evolved line-up and the black and white shots that make this video such a cool treat. This trick works essentially because the percussion frenzy of ‘Cursed’ is given another edge through vocals and the fluid keyboards by Sheraz. It’s the same melody but with Meesha voice echoing the words, “Sajan Naal Mela Kariyay” – its psychedelic rock with full-on dhols!

To take such a song and turn it into a video was a smart move. The video, which is directed by Overload’s drum machine Farhad Humayun is captivating.
Shot in black and white, it is as tripped out as the song and it makes one point: OVERLOAD.

The close-up shots move from one member to another and each one has an individual personality and attitude that slyly comes out.
Shiraz smokes with that ‘I-don’t-care’ attitude, Farhad pounds on the drums and Nasir Saeen, Overload’s dhol master, flirts with the drums before going off into a realm of pure ecstasy.

The swirling circles and funky graphics make it all the more engaging.

To say that ‘Mela Kariyay’ is groundbreaking would be unfair. It’s common to use graphics but in this case, these tricks gel with the soothing sound that comes together through a mélange of instruments.
The point of this video, it seems, is to highlight the new changing sound of Overload and it comes across rather nicely. It’s one of those videos one can watch over and over because it spins on its own course. Rhythmic and lively, ‘Mela Kariyay’ is a must-watch.

– Overload videos are currently running on the airwaves and can be found on the internet

Music Mix

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!

In retrospect: a year in videos

2006 was a showcase of videos that were inspired, innovative, edgy, surreal and simply rocking! They say a lot about how far this medium of art has evolved in Pakistan. Instep takes a look at ten best videos of the year…

By Maheen Sabeeh.

Artist: Strings Video: ‘Beirut’ Director: Omair-Shehryar Subdued, subtle and straight from the heart, ‘Beirut’ is a video that will always stand out because it is the one video that we all identify with. The prime focus remains on images from the very recent war in Lebanon and places like Iraq and Palestine and taglines that tell one what the real cost of war is. Even as you hum this beautiful melody, you also think and that makes this a video to remember.
Artist: Ali Azmat Video: ‘Teri Parchaiyaan ‘Director: Zeeshan Parwez. ‘Teri Parchaiyaan’ was one of the most captivating videos to come out in recent times. A drowning city, a young boy riding dolphins, and flying on an eagle – these were some of the symbols in the video. Shot in animation, it was a video that gave one hope. Intense, edgy and surreal and thought-provoking, what more does one want from a video?
Artist: Noori Video: ‘Meray Log ‘Director: Mandana Zaidi If you want to see the real Pakistan, hamaray log from all walks of life, just the way they really are, ‘Meray Log’ is the video to watch. The faces are random, from school going kids to the average man on the street to families. It is just a very sensitive and natural video. What a winner it really is!
Artist: Hadiqa Kiani and Aamir Zaki Video: ‘Iss Baar Milo ‘Director: Jami ‘Iss Baar Milo’ is a great example of how a dark concept can be weaved into a video and add power to a song. This video shows Hadiqa in an asylum, she hallucinates Humayun Saeed and ends being medicated for it, which is, not being able to see him or talk to him. No doubt the concept was dark but the attention given to detail was phenomenal. Zaki smoking a cigarette and playing guitars, the teal-gray colour effect and Hadiqa’s acting – it was all top notch.
Artist: Arieb Azhar Video: ‘Husn-i-Haqiqi ‘Director: Zaman Hazir. Simply shot and amplified by a kaleidoscope effect, ‘Husn-i-Haqiqi’ was a moving video, literally. A reflection of faces in the streets of Lahore, images that merged and disseminated with the pace of this Sufic track, it was a fabulous video to see. A definite see for all.
Artist: Ali Zafar Video: ‘Masty ‘Director: Shiraz Bhattacharya ‘Masty’ is the epitome of what an Ali Zafar concert usually looks like. A performance-based video but just the way it has been shot and the energy that penetrates out of it makes it a cutting-edge video. The concept compliments the song and watching Ali Zafar fly over 200 hundred screaming girls is just a lot of fun to watch.
Artist: Aaroh Video: ‘Raag Neela ‘Director: Jalal-Amir ‘Raag Neela’ is a perfect example of a great performance-based video. Aaroh looked like a rock band for the first time in any video. The backdrop that changed from red to blue, the bar on top of which all of them performed, the attitude and style with which each member carried himself – all these made ‘Raag Neela’ the best Aaroh video to date.
Artist: Coven Video: ‘Sailing Fast’ Director: Uns Mufti. Shot in the happening streets of Tokyo and a Pakistani village, ‘Sailing Fast’ was such a funky video to mark the debut of Coven. One witnesses a complete role reversal in the concept; an English song (excellent by the way) being sung by dehatis (as shown in the video). The three Coven men also work in fields to save up money to send to a chick in Tokyo. It remains inexplicable to date and that’s why it is so interesting.
Artist: Salman Ahmed Video: ‘Al-Vida’ Director: Ruhi Hamid. Based on a true story, ‘Al-Vida’ remains a groundbreaking video, not just for Pakistan but also for all Muslim nations. The message it brought was that AIDS victims should not be discriminated against. Nadia Jamil played the protagonist who contracted AIDS from her husband and despite facing discrimination from society, she did what was needed, that is create awareness for others. Just for that feat alone, it deserves to be lauded.
Artist: Manjeet Singh Video: ‘Ishq’ Director: Sohail Javed ‘Ishq’ is the kind of video that touches your heart. Romantically morbid, this video remains a cut above all other sappy love videos because of the treatment given to it. Burning cigarettes, thick smoke, spilling red wine, movement of the camera and emotions that remain visible throughout – this was a great video to watch. Everything gelled – the mood of the video with the heartbreaking song, the acting from Sanam Agha and Moammar Rana, the expressions they carried and the way it was shot. Fantastic!