Like most people here, I'm still trying to recover from last Friday's events in Paris, where a handful of terrorists murdered about 130 people and injured hundreds more. People compare it with the 9/11 attacks 14 years ago, but this feels way closer to home. You see, however my mind knows better, for my heart New York is almost unreal, a place from the movies. Paris is a city that I know and love - I've visited it often and, if I happened to be there for the weekend, I'd probably also be inside the Bataclan theater watching Eagles Of Death Metal. According to the announcement of the Islamic State terrorists, in the face of Paris the killers have targeted our immoral way of life: To them, going out to restaurants, football games or -above all- rock concerts should be a crime punishable by death. It's beyond belief that such twisted minds exist. And yet, not only they do exist, but it turns out that the whole fiendish plan was probably conceived by people brought up in France itself. and who lived in the Brussels Molenbeek district only a few hundred meters from where I'm sitting now. So how can people living among us harbor such beliefs and such hate? Maybe there's a psychological explanation, a primeval urge to dominate through violence. One thing I know for certain is that it has nothing to do with religion. Sure, people have always found excuses for their worst crimes in the Holy Books: Once, Christians believed the Bible commanded them to burn "witches", heretics, Jews, gays or whoever was perceived to be the Other. We haven't progressed too far from that, I'm afraid. It's still way too easy to dehumanize people of a different religion, race or ethnicity, making them thus legitimate targets for hate. Friday's atrocities threaten to unleash a poisonous cloud of Islamophobia: France's Marine Le Pen asks to shut down all mosques in the country and The Netherlands' Geert Wilders wants us to declare the Quran illegal (and what about the millions of Qurans already circulating in Europe, Geert? Should we make a big bonfire and goose-step around it?). Donald Trump...O.K., Trump is completely nuts, he may be running for the Republican Party presidential nomination but nobody in his right mind takes him seriously. But the other two lead their countries' biggest or second-biggest parties. Hopefully, however grieving or confused, people won't take the bait. Remember, if you want to know what a muslim is like: He is you, your neighbor, your children - only born in another country or in a family with a different faith. Anyway, such thoughts drove me to present a record that comes from that other part of the world, a CD by a bunch of Pakistani rockers drawing inspiration from the ancient muslim Sufi tradition, a band who has striven for peace and understanding between different nations and faiths.
Junoon (جنون, a word meaning "Passion" in their native Urdu) is one of Pakistan's (and the Asian Continent's in general) most successful rock bands, yet relatively unknown to the rest of the world. I discovered them thanks to a little book (actually 1000+ pages thick) entitled Musichound World: The Essential Album Guide. It must be out of print now, as well as outdated since it stops somewhere around 1998-99. I bought it second-hand in a book fair and like to browse it from time to time, when I get bored with the same old stories from Western/Anglo pop. Anyway, it's where I read the story of Junoon and decided to seek out an album by them. Initially they were comprised by guitarist and main songwriter Salman Ahmad, vocalist Ali Azmat and keyboardist/bassist Nusrat Hussain. The latter was replaced by American Brian O'Connell, Ahmad's friend from his sojourn in New York during his early teens. Their music blended loud rock guitars with Eastern elements like the use of tablas, traditional Pakistani/Indian melodies and the muslim tradition of sufism. Their lyrics often draw inspiration from classical sufi poetry, while their vocals sound like a cross between Robert Plant and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Junoon gradually became very popular and equally controversial, because of their outspoken stance against political corruption, Pakistan's nuclear program and the arms race between their country and India. Their constant urging to the government to spend more in health and education instead of weapons led to their music getting temporarily exiled from radio and TV as well as a ban on live performances in the county's interior. "Parvaaz" is their sixth, and probably most famous, album. It was recorded at the historic Abbey Road studios in London and released internationally by EMI Records, to great acclaim.The lyrics are mostly based on the work of 17th-18th Century sufi poet Bulleh Sah. The music seems to finally achieve that elusive synthesis of the East and West, earthly and spiritual, rock and traditional. Western analogues can be found in Led Zeppelin and Pearl Jam - not coincidentally since Eddie Vedder, along with Jeff Buckley, has studied Fateh Ali Khan's vocal mannerisms and incorporated them in his music style. The other rock element is Ahmad's intricate guitar work. He avoids rock riffs and instead focuses on producing expressive solos that often remind me of Carlos Santana. The vocals, melodies and percussive instruments express the band's Eastern/mystical side. The album opens with lead single "Bulleya", a mystical poem put to a beautiful mid-tempo melody with soaring vocals. "Pyar Bina" and "Sanwal" have a new wave vibe that reminds me of early U2, the latter song also characterized by an insistent bass line, tribal drums and Santana-like guitar solos."Mitti" and "Ghoom" are a couple of ballads with emotive vocals, mostly acoustic percussion and electric guitar solos. They remind me of Pearl Jam's calmer moments. "Sajna" is a bluesy mid-tempo rocker with a catchy chorus while "Rondé Naina" and "Ab to Jaag" are closer to Bollywood. "Aleph" is a slow lament with Floydian guitar which provides the perfect album closer. Only -at least in my copy- it's followed by a second, longer, version of "Bulleya". Although I was hesitant at first, and still unconvinced after the first listen, Junoon have won me over with "Parvaaz". Highly recommended to anyone interested in Asian rock, or just in a less prejudiced view of the muslim part of the world.
***** for Bulleya, Sanwal, Sajna
**** for Pyar Bina, Mitti, Ghoom, Bulleya (Reprise)
*** for Rondé Naina, Ab to Jaag, Aleph
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