Call (Pakistani band)
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| Call | |
|---|---|
| Country | Pakistan |
| Years active | 1994 - Present |
| Genres | Alternative rock |
| Members | Waqar Junaid Xulfi Sultan |
| Past members | Omer Pervaiz Danish J. Khan Sunny Usman Shahzad Hameed Khurram J. Khan |
| Website(s) | Official Website |
The name and the concept behind the band was a Pakistani Danish Jabbar Khan.
Contents |
[edit] History
Call started out in 1994 when an 11 year old, Xulfi, Omer Pervaiz (Naqsh) and Danish Jabbar Khan; heading NCA's mime group undrap nexus started composing background music together for mime performances at NCA, Lahore.
Exploring with this new found energy; call's music was theatrically huge and embodied the dramatic mime performances perfectly. Their music gave a new found life and language to the mimes that proved to be explosive. The performances became more and more popular with every passing event and people caught up with the enthusiasm the group so feverishly conveyed through this passionate art form. It was then that Khurram Jabbar Khan; (elder brother of Danish and Xulfi;) driven by his strong desire to create a more organized impact through music bought a drum kit, and consolidated the group as a band; thus giving birth to Call. The band's music was a strong reflection of Danish Khan; who is still known for his creativity and daring attributes to music and art that never find themselves confirmed within the socio-political and religious boundaries set by the society.
[edit] Bass player joins
Soon Shahzad Hameed joined the band as a bass player. Call's music was an amalgam of the various influences that the group members brought in. Owing to their diverse background and strong opinions Call's sound represented passionate and powerful expressions. With the lyricist Danish Jabbar Khan on Vocals, Xulfi on keyboards, Omer Pervaiz on guitar, Shahzad Hameed on bass and Khurram J. Khan on drums; call was compact passionate team. The music's main concept was came mainly from Danish's angst ridden and questioning lyric's and Xulfi and Omer Pervaiz's musical experiments.
Call was the most honest representation of what "underground bands" are meant to be. Free from all restrictions, experimenting to their heart's content and growing as each member boarded their ship. As Shahzad Hameed recalls;
- "playing in the garage and just jamming and doing strange sounds and sometimes real weird sounding things was fun, we were experimental band -we were all naive... And we were doing music truly as a unit we were passionate about whatever strange sounds we were making... The live sound and show was our main concern plus, the live show of call was a theatrical / musical experience - Danish being the art student and the true rebel of the band brought in these influences..."
Call derived major inspirations from Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Iron Maiden. They had first gig in 1995 with flame torches lit all around the ground and two huge screen slides on both sides of the band with live mime performances to compliment their music. The atmosphere created by the torches and the powerful musical experimentations the band went with at a time when rock was still an alien language to the Pakistani audience took them by surprise. The band performed ten original songs and received an overwhelming response from the crowd for them. This gig left a strong daring impression on the minds of the people who back in the mid 90s were only used to cookie-cutter bands singing covers. The gig gave the band the confidence to perform live and to realize the huge impact a good and strong live performance can create. They realized that despite the narrow marketability of the music they played their music still retained the power to penetrate the masses despite popular belief. Shahzad Hameed separated ways from the band after two years in 1996 and encouraged by the positive response from this gig and the ones that followed call decided to play only cover till 1999
[edit] Departure of Omer Pervaiz
Omer Pervaiz then decided to start his solo project "naqsh" and departed from the band. Realizing the potential the band's music retained, Khurram J. Khan and Xulfi decided not to give up on in and two young and talented players; Ahsan Fida Khan on lead guitars and Faisal Murtaza on bass were then invited to join the band as they continued fighting the "war for rock". Call actively participated in all the rock festivals and gigs that were organized in Lahore adding to the music industry in more than one way and inspiring other musicians to break free into the daring world of experimentation. The participation gave them the experience needed to refine their live act and the professionalism to work in the music industry as a mainstream band would.
[edit] Departure of Danish J. Khan: Fall of Call
However, on October 20, 2001, Danish Khan gave his last performance at the rock festival on his birthday and decided to leave the band as his creative and restless soul moved on and out of the music industry in search for a new horizon. With the captain of the ship gone, Call was disbanded as every member moved on to different paths in live and to pursue other projects. Khurram J. Khan moved to USA, Xulfi got busy with his then band paradigm, which joined hands on with entity to form eP, while Ahsan and Faisal moved on to fulfill family obligations. Thus Call, for the first time in seven years, was effectively dissolved.
[edit] Revival: The return of Call
Lured by the irresistible desire to make music in September 2002, Khurram J. Khan; being a prominent member of the band returned from USA to revive Call. He and Xulfi auditioned for new band members and initiated call's first Urdu project, leading the band into a new direction. Junaid's exceptional vocal strength seemed to be perfect for the band's passionate music as he was welcomed aboard the band as the lead vocalist. Soon sunny on the lead guitars, sultan on bass (Xulfi's student) and Usman (Sunny's bro.) On rhythms were added to the band. What the band members brought on board was their individual personalities and tastes in terms of music and expression.
Call first single Nishaan was released on various Pakistani music websites and gained tremendous popularity online. Nishaan helped the band to gain fans all over Pakistan. The song was also the most played song in all major Pakistani Radios. Call finally made the video of their second song called Pukaar. Which was a hit instantly and won Indus Music Award for the best Alternative Rock Song category. The band did shows in major cities of Pakistan with well established bands like Noori, Ep and Jal.
The challenge that stood before call was to not only revive and retain initial passion and philosophy behind playing but also to take call to a whole new, higher level. Call's music retains strong elements of alternative rock, complimented with strong vocals and meaningful lyrics. As a band they derive inspirations from alternative rock and nu metal. Obliged by the responsibilities of running jilawatan productions Khurram J. Khan decided to part roles in the band, still managing and inspiring them to make music, as Waqar A. Khan joined the band on drums. With the new added energy of Waqar on drums, call intended to experiment with creativity and come up with a different package from all its contemporaries.
[edit] Jilawatan: Debut album
Jilawatan means in exile, which means 'The condition or a period of living away from one's native country'
With the maturing of the sound and expression that discovered, shaped and thus gave birth to call, the music has also aged and diversified. Three years down the lane, with Junaid on vocals, Xulfi on lead guitars, sultan on bass and in live concerts with Junaid on vocals, Xulfi on lead guitars and backing vocals, sultan raja on rhythm guitars, Fahad khan on drums and Farhan Ali on bass.
Call released their debut album aptly titled "Jilawatan" in November 2005 all over Pakistan and later on in USA and India. Call's music depicts our moods and changing states of mind while we embarked on the journey towards limitless possibilities. Call views music as a socially relevant, redemptive force. The album has a diverse range from heavy numbers for the Head bangers to mellow meditative numbers and powerful ballads and it proves to the world how free art can still be produced in a context of enduring societal restrictions and hurdles.
The masterminds behind Call, Khurram, Junaid and Xulfi aim towards retaining the passion and zeal with which they started call and adding to it with every passing day.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Jilawatan (November, 2005)
One of the singers, Xulfi sang a song in the Bollywood movie Ek Chalis ki Local called Laree choote
