Jal get out of hot water

Jal Exclusive Interview from Dubai Battle Of The Bands.
By Asim Aquil
Contributor CT & Pakmanzil.com)

Jal, the Pakistani pop group, which hit it off with their immensely successful number Aadat, broke apart well before their first album was released. In an unexpected turn of events, this generated immense hype... within the media and the singers reached new heights of fame within the Pakistani music industry.

Pakmanzil.com corners the group, which was recently in Dubai for a concert, where the band members Gohar and Farhan reveal some of the most in depth and unheard details about themselves and their controversial split that, made headlines.

Do you agree that Jal is grabbing a boy-band image?

Gohar: Well it's true. I don't want to say anything against rock bands. I too was a big fan of Junoon. Before Jal, everyone was doing rock music. But after Jal you'd notice several softer bands have come up, like Surr and Sifaar. They used to compose rock music, but now they're making music like Jal.

How would you classify Jal's Music?

Gohar: It's not pure rock, its soft rock. You can even say its pop (music), which has mostly melodies and the lyrics, are very deep. If the words relate to the individual then people sing along with you. They themselves probably relate to our music.

How does a typical Jal song evolve from the melodies to the song?

Gohar: It's all about the mood. Like Rangon Main is not a sad song. We had just come from playing cricket and I grabbed the guitar. Everyone was just talking and having fun. You know all the songs should not be of the same mood since that'll bore everyone. Farhan and Shazi also give in their inputs. They contributed in making changes to the songs.

Any updates on the next album?

Gohar: We haven't come up with a name for the album yet, but inshallah it'll be out by the end of this year. We're currently focused on the Teri Yaad video being directed by Sohail Javed, which should be out by the end of April.

There was a leak of a song on the Internet, Hamein Itna Pyar, is it from the next album?

Gohar: No, nothing's decided about that song — its arrangements, its rhythms and even its lyrics have not been finalised. Unfortunately it still made it on the Internet, after we sang it at a particular programme. Farhan didn't even know the lyrics back then.

Why hasn't Aadat been marketed here in Dubai?

Gohar: We are launching our cassettes and CDs here. We have a deal with Khalid Sadaf (of Sadaf Recordings) to launch the album. Sadaf will also arrange a full-fledged concert; the launching show, that was long due.

Farhan, how has joining with Jal been?

Farhan: The response we've got from the fans has been great. First it was just Pakistan and now we just did our second concert in Dubai and it was great.

How did this name, 'Jal' come about?

Gohar: While coming up with a name, we decided it should be a soothing and relaxing one. At that time the only thing that came to our minds was water. You quench your thirst with water and you can't live without it either. We wanted to make the kind of music that people can't live without and people would go like yes we cannot live without Jal.

Farhan, how has replacing Atif Aslam been for you?

Farhan: Well I've never tried to replace him. I've always tried to make my own place. When the first video that of Woh Lamhey, came out with my voice, it worked wonders for me. Everyone was singing that song everywhere. It was a real boost for me that everyone accepted me as a vocalist and they appreciated my voice.

Tell us why did Atif break up from Jal?

Gohar: I had hired his brother, Shahbaz as the manager. The clash with him was that he was quoting a lot. Even before the release of the video he was charging Rupees 80-90,000 per concert and 30 per cent of the payments from the concerts, albums, videos and everything. I told Atif that this can't work; we need to hire a professional manager. I was in contact with Khurram J. Khan (the current manager of Jal) and used to get some tips on how the marketing should go about. Atif meanwhile agreed that only the two of us will run the band.

Are you officially Jal now?

Gohar: Yes we are officially Jal now. Three or four months back we had a dispute and we couldn't use that name. Atif had a stay order in March. I now have the trademarks and the copyrights. After six or seven months they said that I can use the name Jal in the media. So at the time when the album was released, it only had our names and a message at the bottom that the case is still pending in the court.

Have Atif and Gohar separated that far apart that there's no chance of a reunion?

Gohar: I'm very happy with the current line-up. Atif met me on that Geo TV's New Years show and he told me that we'd do a joint venture after ten years, maybe. He said that it's good there's hype about both of us. I asked him to first correct himself and only then might I think about doing it. I'm really happy; I think Farhan has a lot of potential. It's been a year and even when Atif came he sang out of scale and I played weird guitar notes too. These are the things that you learn over time. It's really hard for Farhan to come all of a sudden and handle a band and record an album. But scale wise I think he's better than Atif