Classical
dream debut
EP has arrived with a bang: Irtiqa has several merits which make this album noteworthy
****1/2
By Mohammad A Qayyum
"Shut up when I am talking to you," was a
line most famously used in their debut single. EP clearly had the swagger down
before they ever had the songs. 'Humain Aazma' and 'Kahan Hai Tu' their earliest songs, for
all their energy and the then novel style (at least in Urdu) were sloganeering
101. In live performances they were also erratic. The fact that they were a Pepsi
Battle of the Bands band was also a strike against them. One got the feeling
that the band was all hype and after fellow BOB band Aaroh's
disappointing album, one did not expect much from EP.
But with their debut album EP have taken a quantum
leap forward and certainly belied all expectations. Irtiqa,
as the album is aptly called, is possibly the best debut album ever released in
At a first listen, the most noteworthy thing about
the album is precisely that it is an album. It is a focused and thematically
cohesive piece of work with songs that gel and work together. Most often in
Thematically the album is a more mature look at the
shape of things and feelings in real life. Darker themes are not just
perfunctorily touched upon; they are delved into through words and music: the
existential angst of 'Kahan Hoon
Main', the righteous disgust at materialism in 'Fitrat',
the confusion of the crossroads of 'Rahguzar', the
fatalistic undercurrent introduced in 'Hamesha', the
futility of the up and at 'em spirit in face of
passing time in 'Waqt' and finally the emotional
meltdown of 'Irtiqa III' all represent powerful
counters to the pointless and head-in-ground optimism of most other popular
artists today. In its darkness and sobriety Irtiqa is
groundbreaking. The intelligence demonstrated throughout in composition and
what the album says is key.
Coming to the songs themselves, almost every single
one has something remarkable about it. Half of the album is superlative ('Fitrat', 'Waqt', 'Hamesha', 'Rahguzar'), while the
other tracks remain still of an exceptionally high quality and are only lesser
than what they could have been due to excess of familiarity with them ('Kahan Hai Tu',
'Hamein Aazma') or because
they only work in parts ('Agosh', 'Barzakh'). And as a finale to it all there is 'Irtiqa III' by far the best and most unique song I have
heard recently in Urdu.
'Irtiqa I' provides an
atmospheric intro to the album with ambient sounds and effects. It immediately
serves notice to the listener that this is an album with a difference. The
powerful two-punch of 'Haimain Azma'
and 'Kahan Hai Tu' follows. The songs lack power only because they have by
now been played-to-death. Some novelty is sought to be added by newly sequenced
drum patterns but one feels live drums would have certainly helped these songs.
'Hamesha' is the first of
the great tracks: it is memorably catchy -- the most commercial song on the
album -- and though it might be formulaic in places, it also has many merits.
The intro of processed drums and piano arpeggios is delightful. The lyrics
present a straight love song or a celebration a la Oasis' Live Forever (compare
"Main rahoon ga Hamesha" with "You and I are gonna
live forever") but with a dark undercurrent.
'Waqt' follows 'Hamesha' and once again has brilliant music. It is
atmospheric and showcases the three vocalists in the band. Ahmad Ali Butt's
opening English rap is jarring and almost torpedoes the song. But it is Zulfi thereafter who comes into his own as an accomplished
vocalist and saves the song. Fawad, the lead
vocalist, then comes in for the chorus and does a creditable job. Thereafter
late into the song it all truly comes alive. Around halfway into the song, 'Waqt' comes up with the most unexpected changeup, a
delightful interlude of celtic flutes, and then once
again it is back to the hard dynamic.
'Aghosh' soon follows and
is a curious song. It has me confused. For one, like all good art, it has been
variously interpreted: is it an anti-war song? Or a patriotic
song with a difference? Most people seem to favour
one of the two. I think it is an I-love-my-mummy song. The video seems to
support this and this is the only explanation one can think of
when one wonders why the song was released as a single to launch the album. The
song in fact is one of the weaker ones on the album (along with 'Barzakh'), if not the weakest. The sentiment behind it
however is creditable.
'Irtiqa II' is a whole
lot of white noise interlude that works as quite a wakeup call after the
relatively gentle 'Aghosh'. 'Rahguzar'
for most people is the highlight on the album. I disagree, though musically
once more the song is brilliant, starkly orchestrated with explosions of energy
and demonstrates a man at crossroads. The wah solo in the album is tasteful and a highlight in its
restraint (almost Dave Gilmour-like) and refusal to resort to the shred-guitar cliches.
'Fitrat' keeps up the
quality and is a juggernaut of a song. Songs decrying materialism ('Mister Fraudiyae', 'Paisa', etc.) have already been done in the
past, but this one goes beyond those and does it with tons of passion. It opens
with excellently doubled vocals that give an eerie effect to the song, before
the song explodes into its chorus. Ahmad Ali Butt demonstrates his excellent
singing pipes here. Lyrically, the observations may still be trite, but the
intensity make them convincing.
'Barzakh' reminds one a
bit of the band Tool and after two killer tracks, it comes across as a bit of a
let-down. It aims for an epic feel but does not quite manage it. But it is the
perfect set-up song for what comes next.
'Irtiqa III' is quite
simply one of the best Urdu tracks ever. One could have written a whole piece
about this song alone. Instead I will limit myself to a paragraph. The song is
more of a spoken word song, a dramatic piece. For the first few minutes it
threatens to be melodramatic to its own detriment, but comes alive with some
fabulous symphonic work later on and a powerfully intense ending. The last
three minutes of this song provide the best last three minutes of any Pakistani
album ever. It reminds one of the drama of Guns N Roses' 'Coma' ("Use Your
Illusion I") crossed with the angst of Pink Floyd's The Wall ('Jang o Aman' is memorably rhymed with 'Ustaad-e-Mohtaram'
which is at once humorous and harrowing a la 'Another Brick in the Wall'.) The
song is lyrically effective, a masterwork by Danish Jahan,
Zulfi's brother. The music is truly symphonic and the
production is a master-class in studio manipulation. As for the vocal delivery,
Fawad puts his dramatic experience to good use.
One thing actually that 'Irtiqa
III' highlights and the rest of the album brings home is the appropriateness of
the music and how it is used to convey feelings. 'Waqt'
conveys a passing of time, 'Fitrat' outrage and
finally 'Irtiqa III' is the best at this with the
whole gamut of feelings it unleashes.
Lyrically, the intensity to the words in the album
is the key. It is the darkness that this album is shot through with that is
important. 'Suno Ke Main Aik Jhoot Hoon'
as the last statement to the album is a far cry from the debut feel-good
celebration of 'Suno Ke
Main Hoon Jawan'. In this
there is distinctly a broadening of the emotional spectrum of lyrics on this
album. The vocabulary too used on the album is great.
The treatment of various themes is more thorough
here than elsewhere. Most people lyrically lambast
'Paisa' (Haroon, Awaz). 'Fitrat' takes it a little beyond and finds a link between
human nature and materialism. In that the lyrics are certainly a bit more
evolved and involved than other albums.
Moreover it is clear that this is a work of true
dedication. The album is a complete artistic statement. 'Irtiqa'
reflects the mood of the album in its packaging too. The cover with depiction
of a foetus is grim and representative of the album
concept. There is no posey band on the cover, and the
provision of lyrics is convenient.
As regards the personnel on the album, curiously
only half of the live band makes it on record and the performances of the
persons on record are varied. We have Zulfi on
guitars/bass/vocals and whatnot and Ahmad, Fawad
(also on keys and drum programming) and Salman on
vocals. Zulfi is the star here, and the album is
mostly his baby.
Fawad is the real revelation on this
album. He demonstrates remarkable improvement and proves all critics wrong. His
vocals are quite uniformly spot-on and his ability to emote is an asset
(notwithstanding the overacting in 'Irtiqa III').
What has truly been impressive has been his hand in composition of most of the
best songs on the album. The highest plaudits go to Fawad
for his drum programming which is stunning. While a couple of tracks could have
been better with live drums (EP does after all have two drummers), his work on
'Irtiqa III' and most others is stupendous. By all
accounts, live drums were to be recorded at Mekaal's
studio and the band in final reckoning deemed the sound they were getting to be
not good enough and went with programmed drums (self produced) instead. In the
climaxes the drums work out while the snares and toms, the thuddadud
double bass combos and the rolls are brilliant.
While Fawad prospers, Ahmad
Ali Butt is not all that convincing on record. On stage he rules all but here
his rapping does not have the staccato intonation needed. That being said his
singing is quite powerful on 'Fitrat' and he should
certainly do more of it.
Overall, EP crafts some impressive soundscapes on this album. The production is quite good. Irtiqa really is a studio creation and the band have used all tools at hand -- sound effects, studio
techniques, etc. -- to come up with an accomplished production.
Stylistically there are strong hints of
All of this is not to say that Irtiqa
is a perfect album. There are a few minor criticisms: For one, the interludes
really should have been made skippable tracks. As
things stand if one wants to listen to 'Humain Aazma' one has to hear over a minute of random interlude
noises before the song even starts. Two, the guitars for all their excellent
tone could have done with better production. The wall of sound required on up
numbers is missing sometimes. 'Kahan Hai Tu' and more particularly 'Hamain Aazma' could have done
with the huge treatment, whereas on record one only gets to hear a couple of
guitars.
Three, if one is more thorough in looking at it,
the concept of the album does not really work. For one, the order in which the
tracks are put out is bit confused. The kid is born with 'Irtiqa
I' and already he is singing 'Hamein Aazma'? And then is immediately assailed with the doubts of
'Kahan Hai Tu'? Admittedly, some of the best concept albums have had
this problem. Sargeant Pepper's by the Beatles was a
concept album "only because we [the Beatles] said so" according to
John Lennon. Irtiqa might have thematic coherence but
some of the songs are out of place or order if the album is indeed seeking to
be a conceptual narration. Lastly, the title of the album is not accurate in
the sense that Irtiqa stands for evolution. The album
actually describes devolution, or the disintegration of a man-child.
In conclusion, with Irtiqa,
the bar has clearly been raised for other artists. I would venture so far as to
say this is the best Pakistani album bar none. Compare Irtiqa
to any other album to see how. You will be left with a staggering thought: this
is their debut album and the band is still in its '20s. The future is alive
with possibilities and for now one gives in to the art of Irtiqa.