Abbas and his music
In the wake of the recent terrorist attack to hit Karachi recently, Abbas Ali Khan took the bold initiative to go ahead with the launch of his much anticipated album, Sun Re. Khan is, by far, one of the first artistes to sign up with Indispensable Communication, a record label owned and operated by Tariq Amin and whose influence and control over the projection of Abbas Ali Khan’s music is very much apparent has been around for over a decade, bursting into mainstream music as a solo artiste only recently.

Previously, Abbas’s flirtation with music included being a keyboardist for a band by the name of Shor, some 10-odd years ago. The band went on to release a video which was aired at the then popular show, Music Channel Charts. Abbas was in eight grade at that time and since then, he has been very serious about music, going to the extent of training his vocals classically under the patronage and guidance of Ustaad Fateh Ali Khan.

Hosted by Tanya Shafi, the launch encompassed a mixture of live performances with a five member band with some songs being performed with a DJ and on DAT. The evening kicked off with Abbas singing a new song off his album titled Dhoondtay, a melodious number which depicted that not only could Abbas sing well, he had considerable control over the range his vocals could carry.

Having performed the first couple of songs with a live five-member band, khan teamed up with DJ Parri and later on with rapper Waleed for the song Teri Yaad, the video of which had also been released on the airwaves and has garnished a relatively good response.

Out of all the newer tracks that he performed from his album, Najaney Kyon was the most memorable with the guitarist in the song plating a major role in its overall appeal. The song, coupled with the guitar playing had an energetic feel to it that was, in its own way, very contagious.

Khan was later joined by the band that he had initially performed with and amongst the songs that were performed near the end, the Abbas Ali Khan classic, Sun Re was a treat to listen to. The track in itself has a very pleasant sound to it with catchy lyrics. It was the first song that Abbas Ali Khan had released as a solo artist and along with the aesthetically masterful video —depicting Khan with a lot of bling bling and with Tariq Amin made up as a clown— it shot Abbas to pop star status almost instantly.

On what sound his album is expected to carry Abbas commented that, “It’s a blend of different genres that I have been inspired with since childhood. We can’t really categorise this album as pop, fusion or rock, because every song has a different sound and every song tells some story about my life and incidents. I have put in my heart and soul in it and I’m sure it will affect the hearts of the listeners as will, in a positive way.”

Abbas Ali Khan is everything that a pop singer should be: he sings well and looks good while doing it. His songs don’t border on being senselessly light and happy or on the achingly depressive, but are composed of a mix that isn’t difficult to relate to and easy to digest.

With a background in training in classical when it comes to his vocals and his intense drive and focus when it comes to his music, one can surely say that we are only beginning to see the first of what Abbas Ali Khan has to offer. “I’m here to be remembered as a great artiste”, said Khan on himself as an individual within the media industry, “I’m not really running after stardom. I think if I’m true to my music and do what my soul tell me to, and if my conscience is satisfied, stardom will come eventually. I’m really satisfied will my graph of success which although has been gradual but is stable and solid”.

First Published:
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August 06th, 2006