Keeray Makoray - Gods of the Sun

'Keeray Makoray' is from Lahore, and from what I understand, is an offshoot of the metal band 'Takatak'. 'Gods of the Sun' was the first tune that introduced me to their music. The tune is as old-school heavy metal as it gets, and features harmonized riffs that pay homage to canonical bands such as Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Dio. These precarious distorted guitar tones of the 70s British 'Heavy Metal' bands were soon usurped by ones that were tighter, highly processed and amplified, and lead to the birth of a plethora of newer genres in metal. However, I digress.

Given the sound that comes out of the speakers when one hits the play button, the band does seem rather anachronistic. The solos are nicely executed around the hallmark blues/pentatonic scales, and the vocalist seems to be extremely comfortable in flirting with the higher pitches. (Imagine Robert Plant and Ozzy Osbourne's Pakistani love-child, to make things easier). The lyrics urge the listener to be wary of chess-playing, sadistic tyrants. This sentiment is echoed in the tune where one of Hitler's speeches has been sampled. How do I know if it's Hitler or not? I don't.

Alien Panda Jury & EMPROR LEPHANT - Atmo

The indie/electronica wave rising from Karachi is probably one of the best things that has happened to this harrowed country in aeons. Alien Panda Jury is the moniker of Daniel Panjwaneey, a name somewhat familiar to those who've been following musical developments in the aforementioned region. The identity of EMPROR LEPHANT, on the other hand, remains a mystery to most.

'Atmo' is a heady concoction that features many elements that adhere to an 'aesthetic of failure' as defined by the American composer and writer Kim Cascone. It explores sonic domains that are in many ways esoteric, and somewhat alien in these parts. Bits, bleeps, clicks and delayed snare attacks give the tune a basic Glitch/IDM framework. The oozy bassline acts as a cohesive agent.

Noah's Heark - 'First Flapping Wings'

Ziyad Habib manipulates sounds in a very subtle, fluid manner in this set titled 'First Flapping Wings'. It comprises of two tunes, and both seem to flow seamlessly in slightly different directions. 'Spider Eyes' is a sound-sampling bonanza, and toys around with an arpeggiated key melody. Background ambience plays a key role. 'First Flapping Wings' is what you might experience if you decide to take a bubble-bath on a lazy August afternoon while you listen to Eastern classical melodies and contemplate on the amount of foreign substance in your system. Reminiscent of Gold Panda and Flying Lotus, this is worth listening to.

Uncle Bunkle Jingle Shop - They Talk So Loud

Ingmar Bergman's Through a Glass Darkly was released in 1961, and remains to this day a bold document depicting a young woman's descent into schizophrenia. The film ends with a conversation between the woman's father and her brother Minus, and a part of it goes something like this:

Minus:      I’m scared Papa. When I sat holding Karen in the old wreck, reality burst open.  Do you understand what I mean?

Father:    Yes, I understand

Minus:    Reality burst open and I tumbled out. It’s like a dream. Anything can happen

Papa, anything.

Father:   I know

Minus:    I can’t live in this new world Papa

The notion of 'reality bursting open' isn't a new one, and has been captured in an interesting manner by Karachi's 'Uncle Bunkle Jingle Shop' in this tune. A Thom Yorke-esue angst ridden plea in an increasingly dissociative, alienating milieu. That's exactly what I hear whenever I listen to this tune. Maybe, i'm just over-analyzing things. The guitars emphasize one motif repeatedly, until it becomes hypnotic. The crescendo at the 3.14 mark is achieved with the help of the aforementioned haunting vocals coupled with a sample depicting young, oblivious children frolicking about in an undefined space. Reality might burst open at any given point, and catch them unawares.

The Joomi Experience - Belvadere Street'

The EP 'Elyria' was undoubtedly the band's most memorable presentation. 'The Joomi Experience' is the brainchild of Muhammad Ali Suhail and Syed Zain Ul Abedin, and they purport to experiment with sound, and it's visual presentation. While we haven't seen any significant development on the visual front minus the album artworks, the band has followed up in the sonic realm by releasing two more albums since.
A part of me wants to write more about the EP, but i'll refrain (for now).

'Belvadere Street' is the third track on 'Elyria', and is in many ways emblematic of the earlier TJE sound. The bass is slick, and the guitars notes oscillate between delayed chords until the Tool-esque grungy riff enters the picture. Only that it's not Tool-esque in so far that it keeps changing it's tangent every now and then with the help of mini-wah-wah-ed guitar runs.

Orangenoise - The Morning After

Coming from the local shoegaze stalwarts 'Orangenoise', this infectious tune was released about a year ago. Slightly different from their more recent tunes, it features a plethora of heavily panned sonic matter floating around a juicy bassline that melts out of the speakers. That's the only word I can use to describe. It's fluid. Viscous. The reverberating-space invader percussions help to stretch out the tune along its bass-centric structure.

Basheer & The Pied Pipers - Mallet

A lot has probably already been said about this duo. I'll skip directly to the tune in question. 'Mallet', from 'Basheer' is a coalescing of sorts. A coming together of chopped samples that seem to stretch on forever, subtle delayed guitar phrases, reverberating mallets, and perhaps most importantly, a bassline that demands to be heard. Almost a plea by the 2.50 timemark, the tune explodes at around 3.18.

Abeer Sheikh and the Wonderband - Stray

Abeer Sheikh and his wonderband. Bringing indie/electronic music to a greater consciousness since its inception. A nuclear center around which various collaborative artists revolve, Abeer Sheikh manages to impress in this offering. 'Stray' features delectably labyrinthine lyrics, periodically interspersed with a haunting vocal harmony. The constant flat thudding of the snare somehow manages not to appear superfluous, and gels in the tune nicely till its culmination in an acoustic riff showdown. One can even hear the ukulele being strummed to give the rhythm section a nice foundation.

Exhibit A - an excerpt from the lyrics: 

He seems vicious, delirious, self destructively serious 

He's vindictive, no common sense, no shame nor pride just negligence 

Good guy Abeer Sheikh. He's met ones like you before, just so that you know.

Death Spell Inc. - Seven

Death Spell Inc. Hometown: Lahore. Relatively unheard of, these boys released this song about a year ago now. I don't think they've come up with anything else after this. The tune itself is no-funny-business-bad-assery, and is primarily riff based. If you like metal in any of its denominations, you'll probably find this easy to digest. There's a transition to a more mellow soundscape halfway in between, after which the tune gains momentum again. The eventual resolution takes place within a standard dual-harmonized riff setup.

Red Blood Cat - Excerpt from the understood sessions

Here's a little gem that probably didn't get the kind of circulation that it deserved. To hear these sounds coming from Islamabad was awe-inspiring, to say the least. I have no idea why these guys didn't make more music. They should've.

'Excerpt from the understood session' takes you back to the Canterbury scene in the 1970s, amidst the likes of Soft Machine, Gong, and even Camel, to a certain degree. Complete with an odd-time signature, a morphing bassline, laid-back smoshy guitars and a general plethora of psychedelic debris, the tune is delight to listen to.

Malang Party - Dil Jalay

Yes. They call themselves 'Malang Party'. Their facebook page further informs the reader that apart from being a 'Musical Band', they are also the following:  a) A Political Party; b) a 'Mind-Circus'; and c) an all purpose 'Malangi Commune'. I don't think I'd like to use the word 'Malang' ever again. I even remember someone referring to them as a 'Baluchi-Blues-Funk-Rock-Reggae' outfit. Baluchi. Never really got my head round that part.

I still remember seeing these guys play live in an obscure gig in Islamabad about two years ago. Shahzad Hameed was on bass. A rastafari-esque Zeeshan Mansoor on the guitars. A gaunt looking drummer. A guy with sunglasses and greasy hair providing forced vocals over the fluid, rhythmic guitar melodies. The crowd might've had mixed views about their performance, but I kind of liked it. These guys were exploring interesting sonic domains.

The song in question, 'Dil Jalay' was also performed at the said gig. As far as I know, the band has a slightly different line-up these days. Mansoor has taken over the vocal responsibilities, and they've gotten a new bassist. 'Dil Jalay' was recorded and released about 8 months ago, featuring a more dominant, fluid bass line and easy-on-the-ears bluesy riffs.