Atif Aslam having fun at Juro Gey Tou Jano Gey" shoot

Atif Aslam having fun at Juro Gey Tou Jano Gey" shoot
Committing to your passion means a lot of hard work, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun along the way! Just check out our own superstar Atif Aslam having a blast on the set of the ‘Juro gey to jano gey’ shoot and see a side of Atif Aslam that few in Pakistan might ever have witnessed!

Dekho Gey To Jano Gey!

Atif Aslam Dholna HD Coke Studio Season 5

Atif Aslam is back with "Dholna", a track that was originally supposed to be in his next album but he decided to use it in Coke Studio! Listen to it, enjoy & share it with the rest of the world! Keep rocking with Atif Aslam !!

Atif Aslam: Music for my ears

LAHORE: The young boy of yesterday, who pranced into the Pakistani music scene with “Aadat” showed the world that he has evolved into a mature artist with “Charkha Naulakha”. In a world where pretty much everything has been tried before and making it big means selling yourself short to commercial agents, Atif Aslam chose to step back and embrace the cultural poetry of the subcontinent. His crisp vocals, seasoned with a tinge of folksy dialect have given subcontinental poetry a new avatar. However, amidst all the hype and fanfare, Aslam feels that his music should undergo metamorphosis and be more about self-discovery.

Time for some soul searching


The singer is distancing himself from commercial endeavors, that urged him to feature consistently in Bollywood ventures, and is focusing on challenging himself musically now. Talking about his fourth album, which is currently untitled, Aslam says he wants his latest project to have more weightage and depth than previous album Meri Kahani. “I’m getting away from the commercial approach. I feel it’s necessary to come clean as an artist, so this album will hopefully be very pure and close to me and my life,” says Aslam.

The singer says that to him, making music is a personal process in which he first likes to strum a few chords, lay down some scratch vocals and get the melody for the song. The lyrics come in later depending on the mood. “When I work or approach any song, I try to keep my three greatest inspirations, that is Chris Cornell, Jeff Buckley and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, in mind,” adds Aslam.

Rock the boat

The singer complains about the tenacious attitude of the people of Pakistan and says that even though he is following his typical music making pattern, he will show a different side of him no matter what. “People have always been reluctant to accept change. The change Junoon introduced penetrated the Pakistani mindset after a long time. This time I’m going to do it deliberately to explore myself,” quips Aslam, who is currently in Lahore recording his latest album. Currently, he is set to release four songs as part of “Coke Studio” and has also worked on the Race 2 soundtrack.

For the greater glory of music

Aslam has also been working to promote Pakistan musicians and artists. He says that encouraging new talent is important to him because he knows there are no regimented platforms to polish and promote raw talent. However, he praises the efforts of “Coke Studio” that gave younger bands such as Qayaas a chance to prove their mettle to the masses. “To be very honest, if initiatives like ‘Coke Studio’ don’t come up, I may have to come out with my own label,” says Aslam, who is extremely happy with his rendition of “Charkha Naulakha” with Qayaas due to its progressive rock sound which included sections of inspiration from Led Zepplin’s song “Kashmir”. For the time being, the singer is elated to get the opportunity to perform with fresh bands on the show.“I feel excited whenever I’m jamming with fresh musicians for ‘Coke Studio’. I feel like I’m contributing to their brand new musical careers.”

Going back in time

2002

Atif Aslam started his professional career as the lead vocalist of the band Jal in 2002.

2003

In 2003, due to differences with lead guitarist Goher Mumtaz, Aslam parted ways with the band to pursue a career as a solo artist.

2004

On 19 July, 2004 he released his first solo album, Jal Pari. The album featured various smash hit tracks such as “Bheegi Yaadein”, “Ehsaas”, “Mahi Ve”, “Ankhon Sey” along with the title track “Jalpari”.

2005

In 2005, three tracks from Aslam’s first album (“Yakeen”, “Ehsaas” and “Aadat”) were included in the soundtrack of an independent Hollywood venture titled Man Push Cart.

The year also marked his venture into Bollywood as his super hit song “Woh Lamhe” featured in Indian suspense thriller Zeher. The song even earned him a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer.

2006

Atif Aslam released his second solo album, Doorie, on 22 December 2006. The album was his way of experimenting with different musical genres and exploring his musical abilities. The tracks “Doorie”, “Ehsaas” and “Hum Kis Gali” were announced as chartbusters as they were extremely well-received in both Pakistan and India.

2008

Aslam’s third solo musical venture, Meri Kahani, was released worldwide on January 18, 2008. The artist went back to his roots in this album and created tracks similar to his original sound of 2004. The album had a total of 12 tracks.

He was also awarded the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Medal of Excellence) by the Government of Pakistan the same year.

2009

In 2009, Aslam made his presence felt in the show “Coke Studio”, produced by Rohail Hyatt. He was widely appreciated in the show as he gave five

performances experimenting with different musical avenues.

2011

Aslam made his acting debut in acclaimed film-maker Shoaib Mansoor’s film Bol which was released in June 2011. He even sang two songs for the movie — “Kaho” and “Hona Tha Pyaar”.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 3rd, 2012.

Atif Aslam Looking Ahead to 2012

Catching up

Looking ahead to 2012: Is the
Atif Aslam year about to begin?

His fashion choices are controversial, his out and out commercial attitude has the hoity toity getting their knickers in a twist and Atif Aslam couldn't care less. There is a tide in the affairs of men and Atif Aslam is all about riding the wave. He follows up his Bollywood smash hits with soulful appearances on Coke Studio, moves on from there to pack the O2, one of the hippest arenas in London, and at a time when the Aman Ki Asha between India and Pakistan is gaining momentum, he will be seen on television screens on both sides of the border and around the world leading the Pakistani team against Himesh Reshammiya's Indian team in the ultimate desi style battle of the pop idols, Sur Kshetra. After that, he will think about releasing his next album. Love him or loathe him, you cannot be immune to this pop icon of the 21st century who put the “roll” in rolling stone. Over to Atif about where he's been and where he's going…

Instep: Tell us about your collaboration with Qayaas. 'Charka Nolakha' has quickly become a favourite?

Atif Aslam: I believe in supporting and promoting the youngsters and upcoming artists and if I feel I can help them in anyway which benefits them and their music, I would never say no. So when Sarmad approached me to collaborate with Qayaas, I decided to give it a try as I found the band really passionate and enthusiastic about their music. We initially wanted to do a rendition of 'Sun charkhe di mithi mithi kook' so we worked on the song and shared our version of the song with Rohail Hyatt who suggested to perform 'Charkha Nolakha' by Ustaad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan sahib instead as he felt it was much better suited to what we had in mind in terms of our music collaboration for Coke Studio. So we decided to re-work 'Charkha Nolakha' and fused it with sufi, folk and progressive rock elements which you all saw and heard in the first episode. Like Bilal Khan, Umair (Jaswal) has done well for his first time in Coke Studio.


Instep: What can you tell us about your new song on Coke Studio, 'Rabba Sacheya'?

Atif Aslam: 'Rabba Sacheya' is a question-answer session between your inner self and your thoughts about the purpose of mankind's existence. Also I wanted to introduce the beautiful poetry of Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Khawaja Ghulam Farid to this generation. There is nothing better in this world other than having an association with Kaa'ba, Qibla, Masjid Mimbar and Mushaf Tay Quran. In other words, bringing my fans and myself back to reality of the existence of Allah.

Instep: Can you tell us about the outfits you're wearing during Coke Studio recordings. The turban and frock coat had everyone talking…

Atif Aslam: Well, the first one was designed by my brother Shahbaz Aslam but I always wanted a turban with that so I had to tie it myself before the shoot and it took me 30 minutes to wrap that piece. For the second episode, the churidar was made by Shahbaz again and then I added the jacket and traditional khussa with it. For the rest of the episodes, wait and see…

Instep: How was it working with Rohail Hyatt?

Atif Aslam: The best thing about Coke Studio is Rohail Hyatt! He is open to all the ideas we share with him - even on the actual recording days. He has done so much for the country and a lot of credit goes to him for bringing in some really good talent and rediscovering the old gems in our country.

Instep: Your appearance on the second season of Coke Studio reinvented you as a musician. Tell us what to expect from your appearance on the fifth season?

Atif Aslam: I wanted to show a different side of me, which is a complete reflection of my music as can be seen in my performance, both in Coke Studio Season Two and Season Five, as that is the kind of music I've always wanted to do ever since I started my career. I feel this time it was much smoother - perhaps the video could have been different, I liked the audio mix this year.

O2 Arena performance

Instep: You recently performed at the O2 Arena in London. How was the experience?

Atif Aslam: Alhamdulillah, it was amazing. I was surfing the high wave of love and energy of the crowd from the start to the end of the concert. I loved every bit of it. It was one of my most memorable concerts.

Instep: How did the performance go?

Atif Aslam: I was enjoying the acoustics of the arena a lot and the crowd responded brilliantly, which gave me more passion to perform for them in a unique way, dedicated to the O2 Arena and its audience.

Instep: How did the chance to perform at the O2 come up?

Atif Aslam: Flex Effects always choose nice venues. Last time they arranged my concert at the Royal Albert Hall on the 14th of April 2007, and I was glad to perform there as the first Pakistani after Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan sahib. This time they planned to go even bigger and booked the O2, which is the highest rated, famous, and finest venue in the world to perform at. It's like a dream of every international artist to perform there. I am glad I am, Alhamdulillah, the first Pakistani, or you can even say the first South Asian singer to perform there. It was covered hugely by the Asian and British media in the UK. I am really happy Allah gave me this opportunity to present a positive image of Pakistan to the world.

Instep: Was Sonu Nigam set to headline the event? Why did he pull out? And how did that impact your performance/setlist?

Atif Aslam: I don't know the reasons and it didn't affect our set list. We performed all our songs that we planned, and seeing the unstoppable energy in the crowd, a few experiments and improvisations were done too, which they loved on the spot.

Instep: Which other artists and performers were part of the event?

Atif Aslam: There was a 10 minutes dance performance by the dance group Bolly Flex. Alhamdulillah, the huge success of O2 was shown by the houseful audiences at the Manchester and Glasgow concerts. Loved the tour.

'Juro Gey to Jano Gey'

Instep: Please tell us about your new song, 'Juro Gey to Jano Gey'.

Atif Aslam: It's a commercial advertisement song shot for a cellular company. The song has the right energy of a rock number and the cellular company wanted to connect their brand with the youth of the country, inspiring them with my career's hurdles and success which Allah has bestowed upon me. The advertisement was shot in Bangkok.

Instep: Why did you choose to work with Mobilink/Jazz Jazba?

Atif Aslam: I chose the project as it is related to young people who need to redirect their misguided passions in a right and fruitful direction, and I'll be glad I can be an inspiration to someone.