By Haseeb Peer
During the penultimate month of 2012, I wrote a piece about how the critically commended band Jal had delayed the release of their album indefinitely and had made bogus promises to their fans time and again leading to a sense of dismay amongst them. Even though the album hasn’t still been released, yet something affirmative with respect to music has appeared from the band’s side.
In the early part of this month, the band finally released a song from their upcoming album piyaas- a song known by the name of “Tanhai” meaning solitude. At the outset, a just over a minute teaser was released by the band to give an initial impression of the coming material, which was soon followed by a complete slow version and a subsequent fast version. The preliminary slow version provided a complete insight into the vocal skills of Goher mumtaz which had always been overshadowed by the heart piercing voice of Farhan Saeed in the past.
Personally I under no circumstances expected mumtaz to come up with such a feat and having been an enthusiastic lover of the band since their premature days.
“I can securely say that the band hasn’t lost its mystical soothing and elegant touch, but in turn Mumtaz has certified that his fans get what they have been waiting for over a year now.”
The slow version of the song according to my humble opinion and dissection is a delight to listen and provides the perfect platform for the band to release their full scale album. Even though the band had released Ik arzu from the new album in the past yet something of substantial magnitude was missing and this song certainly fills that void somewhat if not up to the brim. The fast version of the song which is almost of duration of two and a half minutes certainly clarifies the fact that Goher can sing summarily and without a break in breath, a trait which is associated with so many astonishing and acclaimed singers.
The way Goher has produced the soft ballad and its fast version has certainly impressed fans and writers like me who have been waiting impatiently to write, appreciate and even minutely criticise his album. The time has come now; I think we all know what is about to ensnare us from the band which has given us so many songs that we cherish every time when we are in high spirits, in a sense of cheerlessness or in an average frame of mind.
The song has certainly raised the expectations of the fans all around and I hope he releases the album pretty soon to show that he loves respects and admires the poignancy of his fans and gives us an unforgettable album, the effects of which, I hope will remain with us throughout the journey of our life.
“Haseeb Peer is the author of “A Village love story” published by penguin India in their Anthology”.
