Once upon a time, when albums were a rage in the music industry, a band that carved out a niche for itself was Jal. After giving numerous hits like “Aadat”, “Woh Lamhein”, “Sajni” and “Boond”, Jal has come out with its new album “Pyaas”. Goher Mumtaz, the band’s vocalist, lyricist and composer was in the Capital recently to talk about Jal’s new album, current trends in music and fusion. Excerpts from the interview.
Tell us about your latest album, how did it come to be? And how do you think it will make a difference considering your past hit tracks?
It has been more than two years that we have been working on our new album and we are really excited about it. Also, after a very long time we have come out with something new, which makes it very special for us. We zeroed in the title “Pyaas” for our album because it so happened that one of our fans had posted on the band’s Facebook page saying they are thirsty for a new album since Jal means water. We found this interesting, discussed among ourselves and went ahead to name our latest album.
You are a prominent name amongst the well-known bands today. What do you have to say about the emerging trends in college and school bands nowadays?
I think it is a great idea to get together and form a band. But, I would like to add that please don’t follow anybody’s style or pattern, because it is something that has already been done. Further, do novel things and be innovative. We as a band stood out because we did something new, fresh and raw.
A lot of innovation and novelty these days happens in the form of fusion. Do you approve of it?
Your take on fusion concept in music
There is nothing wrong with fusion. A good example would be Coke Studio, where it always works. There is a song from our album called “Ud Jaanaa” which is a Punjabi track, where we played harmonium and tabla, percussions with guitar. It worked great for us and we received positive feedback. However, one should be careful how to do it and not just go ahead for the sake of doing something quick or new.
Considering the current trend of nonsensical songs, what is your take on the importance of lyrics nowadays?
That is the pressure of the industry. Everybody wants to become famous overnight, but it doesn’t work in the long run. Those who have written these kinds of songs are known for just one track. However, for us it is not possible. We have also been asked by many people in the music industry to make an item number but haven’t done that in the last five years.
