Pakistani Top 10 Bands of all time

 1-JUNOON:

 Junoon  جنون is a sufi rock band from Lahore,Punjab,Pakistan formed in 1990. The band is directed by founder, lead guitarist and songwriter, Salman Ahmed who was soon joined by keyboardist Nusrat Hussain and vocalist Ali Azmat. Junoon is Pakistan's most successful band; the Q magazine regarded them as "One of the biggest bands in the world" and The New York Times called Junoon "the U2 of Pakistan". Since their inception, the group has released a collective total of seventeen albums: seven studio albums; one soundtrack; two live albums; four video albums; and three compilations. Junoon is also South Asia's most successful band of all time with more than 30 million albums sold worldwide.

Pioneers of sufi rock, with such an original sound they achieved success during the early 1990s. Its members were signed to major record album EMI Records and afterwards released their self-titled debut album Junoon in 1991. After two years, the band recorded their second album Talaash (1993) with their new bassist Brian O' Connel after Nusrat Hussain left the band. The release of their second album began to create a cult following for the band. In 1996, Junoon released their third album Inquilaab, and it was only then that Junoon developed a nationwide fan following, with blending rock guitars and bluesy vocals with eastern elements like the use of tablas, raga-inspired melodies, traditional Pakistani folk music, and Eastern inspired poetry. The following year, the band recorded the critically acclaimed Azadi (1997), being the band's first international record deal, and making it Junoon's debut album in India. The band went on to record and release Parvaaz in 1999. The band found renewed success and popularity starting with 2001's Andaz and through 2003's Dewaar and their supporting tours.

After the release of their seventh studio album, vocalist Ali Azmat and lead guitarist Salman Ahmad went on to pursue a career as a solo singer and bassist Brian O' Connell returned back to his native land to United Stated. Although Junoon's two other members, Ali Azmat and Brain O'Connell, left the band in 2005, Salman Ahmad continues to perform as a solo artist under the "Junoon" label and has moved to New York. In 2010, Junoon released the soundtrack album Rock & Roll Jihad based on Salman Ahmad and Junoon's musical journey throughout the years.


2- VITAL SIGNS:

The band shot to instant fame with their 1987 patriotic song Dil Dil Pakistan, which was voted the 3rd most popular song of all time by BBC World.

Soon after, Nusrat Hussain parted ways with the band to make way for guitarist Salman Ahmad. They released their successful debut album in 1989 along with TV producer Shoaib Mansoor who also wrote the lyrics for the band. Shoaib Mansoor also directed a mini-drama Dhundle Raste about true story the band, in which the band member acted themselves. In 1990, Salman Ahmad left the band, and was replaced by guitarist Rizwan-ul-Haq.

After Rizwan-ul-Haq joined the band Vital Signs released Vital Signs 2, the follow up to their debut album in 1991 which was a departure from the band's rosy imagery and sound.

In 1993, Vital Signs began work on their third album in Rohail Hyatt's studios in Rawalpindi. A few months later they released the album Aitebar, which soon outsold its predecessor, Vital Signs 2. On Aitebar, the Vital Signs returned to the upbeat mood of their first album. After performing a number of concerts managed by Rohails brother, the group headed out with director Shoaib Mansoor to film Guitar ?93, a Pepsi-financed venture featuring videos shot all across Pakistan.

During 1995, Vital Signs began work on their fourth album. Vital Signs asked Assad Ahmed (then Awaz and current Karavan) to play on the new album. The album was titled Hum Tum. Producer Rohail Hyatt improved on the moody Pink Floydian sound and production he first attempted on 1991's Vital Signs 2.

After the release of Hum Tum, the band concentrated on their personal projects and Vital Signs drifted away. Junaid Jamshed went on to pursue a career as a solo singer, Shehzad Hasan concentrated on his work as a music producer and Rohail Hyatt formed a production company.

Members

Rohail Hyatt (Keyboards / Guitars)
Produced all the Vital Signs albums
Later formed a production house called Pyramid Productions
Composed and produced the number one hit track Jiya Dhadak Jaye sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
Is regarded as one of the finest Music producers in Pakistan
Producer of popular and most creative music show Coke Studio
Junaid Jamshed (Vocals)
Released three solo albums after Vital Signs' fourth album, all produced by Shoaib Mansoor.
Announced that he would not perform or make any more music several times due to his religious commitments.
Owner of a successful fashion label in Pakistan.
Has now left the music industry and preaches Islamic teachings.
Shehzad Hasan (Bass)
Worked with India's Pooja Bhatt on her movie Paap.
Produced the critically acclaimed album Sawal by Rushk


3-NAZIA & ZOHEB:

Born into a well-to-do Karachi family, Nazia and Zoheb spent their teenage years in London. The brother and sister duo released their first album "Disco Deewane" in 1981 and became an instant hit with the title song reaching the top of the Pakistani charts. They released their second album in 1982 titled "Star/Boom Boom". It was a sensation in the Europe, Middle East, South America as well as in South East Asia. They shot to true stardom and fame as a result of the song "Aap Jaisa Koi" which Nazia Hassan sang for the Indian movie "Qurbani" made by actor/producer Feroz Khan when she was just fifteen.

After 4 albums, with 4 being huge hits in the 80s, Nazia went on to get married in 1995 which ultimately ended in divorce and Zoheb went on to handling his father's extensive business in Pakistan and the UK. He was also appointed Advisor to Governor Sindh for the Image Promotion of the Province of Sindh. Unfortunately he felt that his heart was no longer in music after the sad demise of his sister and decided to call it a day after an album dedicated to the memory of his late sister.

Nazia Hassan died of lung cancer in London on August 13, 2000 at the age of 35 at 9:15 am. Her brother Zohaib Hassan help set up a charity foundation named after her to help in creating support systems for children in need as well as providing homes for them. The foundation also sponsors awards in recognition of individuals who promote greater harmony between cultures. The recipients of these awards will be selected from all fields ranging from music and the arts to science, sport, business, engineering, humanities and charitable work, politics, etc. The Nazia Hassan Foundation seeks to promote fusion between different cultures, traditions and beliefs.

4-STRINGS:


Strings is an internationally acclaimed Pakistani Indie Rock band comprising two members. The band was formed when four college students—Bilal Maqsood, Faisal Kapadia, Rafiq Wazir Ali and Kareem Bashir Bhoy—decided to form a band in 1988 in Karachi. In 1992, the quartet disbanded only to make a comeback with two of its members, Bilal and Faisal later in 2000. While the initial band was riding on the new wave of Pakistani pop music, the later formation ushered a new revival in the music industry of Pakistan.


Kapadia and Maqsood followed in the footsteps of Junoon and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and took their act across the border to India only to realise they already were a recognised band in the country as remixes of one of their earliest songs were played in clubs. As ambassadors for Pakistani pop music, the duo set out to conduct concerts all over the world thenceforth.

Acclaimed world over for their stringed rhythms, their songs are praised not only for being melodious but having a strong poetic sense to them. Penned by Anwar Maqsood, Bilal's father, the lyrics of their songs always carry a deep meaning with them. Anwar has been writing lyrics for the band since its re-formation.

Where Kapadia is the lead vocalist for the band, Maqsood acts as the composer, guitarist and at times does vocals for a few songs. To play live at concerts, both the members have hired Adeel on the lead guitar, Shakir on the bass guitar, Haider on keyboards and Qaiser on drums, an entourage ensemble that travels with them to various international concerts at times.


5-FUZON:


The Fuzon art insists on setting feelings above mere technique; and creating an individualistic genre of mold breaking music. Above everything else Fuzon is stylistically different. Born out of diverse western pop/rock and eastern classical influences, Fuzon started in 2001. The trio, consisting of studio sessionist Immu, Shallum and vocal exponent Shafqat, rediscovered its credentials as a serious cutting-edge band, fusing deeply meditative ragas with rock and jazz.
Fuzon encompasses hybrid styles of exquisite melodies and everlasting pop/rock instrumentation, hence carving out a special niche for the threesome. The three seasoned collaborators of the band consider their debut album as a labor of love as well as a message of hope to all.



 6-ENTITY PARADIGM (EP):


Entity Paradigm (also known colloquially as eP or EP) was a Pakistani rock music band. EP was one of the pioneer mainstream rock bands in the Pakistani music industry, and its musical style was a fusion alternative rock, hard rock and rap. Musically, EP was heavily influenced by Tool, Pink Floyd, Def Leppard and Rage Against the Machine, amongst other Western dynamos. EP was also among the first Pakistani rock bands to make heavy use of synthesizers in their music.

Initially, Entity and Paradigm were two separate bands that were active in Lahore's underground music scene. During the early 2000s Ahmad Ali Butt from Entity and Fawad Afzal Khan from Paradigm were working on a popular TV sitcom called Jutt and Bond (which originally aired on Indus Vision), when the program's director suggested that the actor's bands do a title track for the show. Led by Paradigm's guitarist, Xulfi, the two bands collaborated and within a week came up with the Jutt and Bond's title song, called "Humain Aazma", which was played at the beginning and end of the show.

It was during this time when adverts for Pepsi's Battle of the Bands began to air on television; the competition called upon entries of aspiring bands from all over Pakistan. Since neither Entity nor Paradigm had any of their independent compilations on record and time was running out, they decided to send off "Hamein Aazma" to the Battle of the Bands as a collaborative effort. It was at this point that EP officially came into being.

Entity Paradigm's board members consisted of following

    * Zulfiqar J Khan (Xulfi) - lead guitars/composition
    * Fawad Afzal Khan - lead vocals/composition

EP got together for the battle of the bands competition. Then suddenly, and without warning, EP flew off to Karachi because they believed in themselves and took part in the initial round of the Battle Of The Groups in which they went head to toe to head to heart with twenty of the best bands from across Pakistan, including such big names as Mekaal Hassan. It was during this time that they made two new tracks: "STFU" and a cover of the late, Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Eddie Vedder's, "WTF" for the Battle of the Groups campaign.

Then,a previously planned 6-month hiatus in the EP production line came during which the Battle of the Groups programs were being aired on national and satellite television and viewers were being polled on their favorite band.

Then it was announced, that the two bands that had made it to the Battle of the Bands Grand Finals were Aaroh and EP. The band once again took off to Karachi for the Finals where they lost out to Aaroh. They released their debut album, Irtiqa in 2006.

Dismantling of EP

On January 9, 2007, EP supposedly did an interview with "Images" (Karachi's Dawn newspaper) in which they annunciated that the band had dismantled.[2]

While earlier reports from EP did hint towards a possibility of releasing more album, thus far the only album to be released by EP is Irtiqa.

Discotheque

Singles

    * "Hamesha" from Irtiqa
    * "Kahan Hai Tu" from Irtiqa

    * "Tribute" (2005) Irtiqa
    * "But I Am Just A Man" () Irtiqa
    * "Fitrat" (Live)" (2006) Irtiqa

7-JAL (THE BAND):


Jal is a Pakistani band that has done a brilliant job composing music that is contemporary without losing out on traditional influences. Their songs are as popular in India as they are in Pakistan.

Jal
In 2002, Goher Mumtaz and Atif Aslam got together to work on their first song, Aadat.  Aamir joined them as a bass guitarist. The song was an instant hit.  It commanded the attention of the music industry in both Pakistan and India. Umer Anwar directed the video which was voted fourth best video in 2003 by ARY The Muzik.

However Goher and Atif had some differences and Atif decided to step out of the band to make it on his own.

Jal Once Again
The current members of the band are Farhan Saeed on vocals, Goher Mumtaz is the lead guitarist and Aamir Sheraz is the bass guitarist.

Their first single was Aadat (2004) and five songs from their album were on the Top 40 songs in Pakistan.  Aadat also made its way into a Bollywood movie, Kalyug.

Around the same time, Atif Aslam released Jal Pari which featured few of the songs he had composed with Goher. This created a legal hassle as to who owned the rights of the songs.

Their second album was Boondh (2007), which was mostly pop and soft rock. They performed in concerts across Pakistan and India soon after its release.

Awards
Jal enjoys the status as one of the most popular bands in Pakistan and have won numerous awards.

Some of the awards they have won are:
* MTV Asia Awards 2006
* Indus Music Award for Best Rock Band in Pakistan
* MTV Asia Awards’ Best Ballad Song Award in 2008 for “More  Piya”


8-NOORI:


Coming out of Lahore, Pakistan, this band of two brothers is considered one of the pioneering forces behind what is dubbed as the ‘21st Century Pop Revolution of Pakistan’. Ali Noor, 31, is a trained lawyer, while Ali Hamza, 28, is an Economics graduate from the top business school in Pakistan (LUMS). By moving away from the typical professional paths which society expected from ‘well educated Pakistanis’ like them, the two brothers decided to follow their passion – music. What they ended up doing was to set a precedent for so many others like them, who would usually not even consider pursuing their passion professionally.

Over a span of 6 years the band has put out two albums (Suno Ke Main Hun Jawan – 2003, Peeli Patti Aur Raja Jani Ki Gol Dunya – 2005), they have performed over 400 concerts, self-produced 10 music videos and won 3 major music awards [Two time award winners at the Indus Music Awards :: Best Rock Song Category – Suno Ke Main Hun Jawan (2004), Nishaan (2006); 1st MTV (Pakistan) Video Music Awards 2007 :: Winner of Best Breakthrough Video – Meray Log].

International success is also on the rise as the band has toured Canada thrice in the past two years and once in Europe (August 2008 at the Oslo Mela, Oslo, Norway).

 To top it all, noori is known as one of the most energetic and entertaining live acts to have ever hit the Pakistani music scene. The experience of a noori show is a rush of adrenaline that comes from the heart! No wonder they have performed over 375 shows since they went public in 2003.


 9-AAROH:

Aaroh (literally means ascending in classical music) is a Pakistani rock band founded by Farooq Ahmed and Nabeel Nihal. They surfaced into mainstream scene after winning the Battle of the Bands competition in 2002 sponsored by Pepsi. In 2004, Nabeel Nihal was replaced by Haider Hashimi as the band's lead guitarist .

Music

Aaroh's music is a fusion of western rock music and eastern style of vocals. As implied by the word "aaroh", which refers to the ascending scale in the eastern vocals such as "Sa Re Ga Ma",the band's music epitomizes the classical eastern music fused with rock. Aaroh's acclaim to fame is due to their exuberant live performance backed up with thought provoking lyrics.

Band Members

 Nabeel Nihal (Former Member) (Lead & Rhythm Guitars)

Nabeel Nihal is one of the founders of the Band. Kamran introduced him to the music scene.He played lead and rhythm guitars for Aaroh's first album,Sawaal which was actually produced by Kamran. In early 2002, he was accused of mishandling the band's funds. Consequently, he was replaced by Haider Hashimi as the lead guitarist. Nabeel Nihal has announced that he will give all his rights to the band name "Aaroh" to Farooq Ahmed eventhough the name and the band belonged to Kamran. Nabeel is a session player for Haroon , the ex-member of Awaaz, the band, and had always been one, but Kamran saw the talent and introduced him to good music.


Nabeel Nihal Worked alongside many artists since 1994 and until now has produced two solo albums of Junaid Jamshaid ("Us Rah Par" & "Dil Ki Baat") and Schehzad Mughul's upcoming album "JhoomLay" . Also known as one of the best music producer & songwriter in Karachi and involved in a few projects with director Shoaib Mansoor in a TV series called "Gulls & Guys".

Kamran Khan (Former Member)( Keyboards )

Kamran Khan played in the first album of Aaroh called Sawaal as the keyboard player. He left the band along with Nabeel Nihal as a result of accusation of misuse of the band's funds.kamran khan is living in gulshan iqbal near disco bakery nowadays

Farooq Ahmed (Vocalist)

Farooq Ahmed has served as the lead vocalist for Aaroh since its beginning. Farooq has received classical music training. His strong background in classical music and the scales, give the band the flavor that goes unparalleled in Pakistani music industry. 

Khalid Khan (Bass)

Khalid has worked with almost every major act in Pakistan which include Falam, Collage, Circle, Aamir Zaki, Fuzon, Shehzad Mughal, Faraz Anwar and Najam Sheraz.

He is a major force behind AaroH's music since the beginning.

Haider Hashmi (Lead & Rhythm Guitars)

Haider has played in Aaroh's latest album, Raag Neela. He replaced Nabeel Nihal after the band's breakup. Most of the Raag Neela songs have been written and composed by him. His inclusion in the band has been a blessing in disguise as the band now sounds more versatile. With his basic schooling in Karachi, Haider went on to study in Tunner Junior High School and then Frankfurt American High School - Germany. FAHS is where he picked up the guitar and took guitaring as a subject. Moved back to Pakistan in 1989-90, formed an Underground Band (Mind Riot) in Lahore in '94 along with Farhad (Overload's Drummer). Late '96 Haider moved out of Pakistan and said farewell to any prospects in music. Haider moves back to Pakistan in 2000 and re-joins Farhad's band (Rumble Fish)in Lahore. Haider moves to Karachi in 2003. It was not until 2004 when he was auditioned and inducted as Lead Guitarist for Aaroh.

Haider has carved a niche for himself in the Pakistani Music Industry with his distinct playing style which can safely be called his signature playing.

Jason Anthony (Drums)

Jason Anthony serves as the band's drummer.

10-RAETH:


Raeth is a young Pakistani rock band. They follow in the footsteps of Junoon, Strings and Jal in garnering a significant fan base in India.

The band members are:
Wajhi Farouqui - Singer
Hassan Farabi - Guitar
Mustafa Asad - Bassist

The band lists Iron Maiden, GunsNRoses, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Kishore Kumar and Incubus as their musical influences.

Discography:

1. Bhulado
2. Tumhare Liye (Bheege Se Gesu Hain Tere)
3. Door Jag Ka Taara
4. Ab Kyon
5. Aansoo
6. Bhulado (Acoustic)
7. Rangon Ko
8. Akela Hoon Mein
9. Raat Aur Chandni
10. Bhulado (Club Mix)

The track “Bhulado” has been a smashing success.