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Calling it out
Loud
Call made it big in 2006 with its hugely popular album, Jilawatan. Ever since then, the band has been engaged in making videos, doing concerts, composing tracks for various occasions such as Defence Day and the World Cup and, of course, let’s not forget the Laree Chhutti fever that caught the nation with its infectious hook.
This catching up with Call was due to reasons aplenty: firstly, they have recently returned from a US tour; secondly, their new album is almost ready for release; and last but not the least, Call has composed yet another track for a Bollywood banner.
Since Call’s debut album was also released in the US, the band has a loyal fan following there. This time around, the venue was the renowned George Mason University, located in Fairfax, Virginia. The band was spotted in supreme form as they belted out hits like rocking extravaganzas Jilawatan, Shayad and Pukaar, the mellow Sab Bhula Kai, the heart-wrenching ballad, Bichar Kai Bhee, and the hip hop treat, Laree Chhutti. The desi crowd, consisting mainly of Indians and Pakistanis living in nearby cities or studying at the university, was simply out of control as they head-banged to each track. To cater to the goras amongst the crowd, Call performed covers like We Will Rock You in a signature Call manner but with so much command that even a gora cop was seen singing along. The concert was a major success and it proved the fans’ fidelity towards the band.
When I asked about the difference between performing in Pakistan and in the US, lead guitarist, Xulfi, reminiscently replies, “I didn’t find any difference in how a gig happens here in Pakistan or in the US. But yes, the fact that the goras are more knowledgeable in general about almost everything technical related to music, they made sure they gave us as much of a perfect sound as possible.”
Also, Call performed with a famous US-based drummer, Albert, during the gig. How was the experience of working with him? “He’s one of the best drummers I have played with and the interesting thing was that his style of drumming actually went perfectly with our style of music, even though we had just two hours of jamming,” replies Junaid, clearly impressed by Albert’s skills.
These days, fans of the band are looking forward to their second studio release, which has become quite a mystery now. Why the delay? Junaid informs, “We’ve been working a lot lately. In the past two years, especially 2007, Call came out with videos of Aasmaan, Hum Sai Yeh Zamana, Laree Chhutti and performed in different parts of the world. Now that we are done with all of that, we are fully concentrating on our next album.” But the million dollar question is when is the new album coming out? Xulfi answers promptly, “We wanted it to be out in April, but that plan had to be delayed a little for a few reasons. Firstly, the seldom upward and the more often downward trend of the political situation in our country did not really let people focus on music during those days. So, if the audience isn’t geared up for listening, then neither is a band ready to dish out its music. Besides, it was a stressful situation for us as citizens of the country too. So we couldn’t really focus properly ourselves. Right now, the album is still in the recording phase.”
Call made half a dozen videos from their debut album. Are they planning to shoot the same number this time round as well? “We’ve already shot 4 of them namely Aasmaan, Hum Se Hai Yeh Zamana, Laree Chhutti and the upcoming Yeh Pal. There will be another two at least, one of which will be our launching video for a punk rock track called Main Aisa Hun,” answers Junaid.
How will the upcoming album stand apart from the previous one? Xulfi replies, “This time around, the album has live drums that were recorded at Farhad's (Overload) studio in Lahore. I wouldn’t go on making tall claims actually. I can just say that the album is an honest, creative work of art, both musically and lyrically, that has evolved with time. Personalities grow, one makes new ideals, breaks old ones, moments happen that influence life in the weirdest, and sometimes in the most beautiful of ways. Hence, one is inspired to write more intensely. In fact, the intensity is created quite instinctively by a person who is in an emotional situation. I hope that the intensity that has gone into writing and making this music is felt by the people listening to it - that’s the only aim. Doing things to outgun other musicians isn’t really the aim, because all artists are striving hard for a better Pakistani music scene.”
Sultan chips in, “We have Farhad (Overload) playing on four of the tracks, Fahd Khan (Mekaal Hasan Band, ex-Fuzon) playing on a couple of tracks, and Kenny (Akash) playing on three tracks. So there is diversity even in the style of drumming in the album as every drummer brings his own flavour while playing.”
Another question that remains to be answered is why has there been such a delay in their second Bollywood venture, Yeh Pal? “The song’s release has to coincide with the movie release because that’s how both can take maximum benefit from each other. So the movie’s delay actually means the song’s release is delayed as well! Actually, the delay has worked in our favour because it’s nearer to the prospective album release date, which is near September end,” informs Xulfi.
Laree Chhutti has been nominated in the song of the year category. How does the band feel about that and what are their expectations? “We are definitely excited. Everyone awaits the Lux Style Awards, from the fashion and drama people and enthusiasts to the musicians and music listeners. I am pretty happy that a new category has been introduced to honour the song of the year. I know it’s a pretty big achievement being nominated and I hope for a fair draw in the awards. There is strong competition obviously as top songs have been nominated,” a thrilled Xulfi says.