Schaz Khan — Jalan (Albumreview)
Speaking about the album, Schaz reveals that at its core Jalan is about herself. “I’ve written the tracks myself. I’m a very down-to-earth person and this album is about loving, enjoying the feeling and ultimately about losing. It’s about all the difference situations of being in love.”
By Khaver Siddiqi
“It’s taken me six years to finish this album,” says Schaz Khan, her voice filled with determination, her words echoing the hard work she’s put in.
Jalan — the music video — was released four years ago, directed by Wajahat Rauf and became the talk of the town. Though it was quickly labelled as controversial by a certain section of the electronic media, Schaz says she never did understand the controversy that it allegedly stirred. “It was just a video about a woman in a government job who gets pressurised by her male peers and develops a split personality,” she recalls. “There was nothing controversial about it and yet people labelled it so.”
Still, she remained undeterred and has since then been hard at work on the album titled Jalan. Produced by Emad ur Rahman, the album features a host of musicians, namely Shallum Xavier, Omar Bilal Akther and Aamir Zaki on the guitars.What was it like for her to work with them? Says she, “To me, they’re all friends so I never had any boundaries working with any of them. I didn’t limit myself in terms of being a musician.” In fact, she goes on to say that she’s actually learned from working with them. “Once you’re working with so many talented people, the learning process begins both ways: I’ve learned from them, and they from me.”
Speaking about the album, Schaz reveals that at its core Jalan is about herself. “I’ve written the tracks myself. I’m a very down-to-earth person and this album is about loving, enjoying the feeling and ultimately about losing. It’s about all the difference situations of being in love.”
The album kicks off with Mastana, a groovy number with a catchy beat. It starts off slowly but once it picks up steam, it doesn’t stop till the end. It’s not fast, but it has its own pace and carries the listener through. The title track Jalan is next and ultimately reminds you of the song called Fever with a hint of Strings thrown in (especially their first album). Though we’ve heard this before, this is the first time we hear it in the context of this album. It may be old, but surprisingly it fits in well. The serenade of the guitars — especially the solo towards the end — makes this track a worthy listen.
Teri Ratain is a ballad with a lot of potential, but loses its way somewhere. It definitely could’ve been a better track at a much lesser length. Hamain Kya Hogaya is probably the best track on the album and Emad and Schaz both complement each other’s vocals and carry the song (and the listener) along with poignant vocals and lyrics.
Aay Sanam sounds like it’s been stretched as it starts off with a slow pace and works its way towards a slightly faster one, and ends rather abruptly. A good song which could’ve been better with pace control. Mere Yaar is upbeat and catchy — something you don’t hear these days — and catches the listener off guard as they find themselves tapping their feet to the beat.
Mere Hi Raho takes the longing and melancholy a bit further as you can literally hear the sadness in Schaz’s voice as she sings about lost love. This is the slowest track on the album and its lyrics reflect Schaz’s personality the most. It’s pretty clear that she’s singing from the heart. Jan-i-Jana is a loud desi disco track which sounds almost obnoxious when compared to the rest of the tracks. It fits nowhere in the album and should’ve been left off. The album ends with a remixed version of Jalan which compliments the original track.
Jalan by Schaz Khan is an impressive first album. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is definitely a worthy listen. I would call it an insight into the singer’s life, of her hard work put into the album and the things she has gone through. Emad has carefully sprinkled his input all over the album, and though it may not have worked on all the tracks, it does create a synergy within the album and gives it Schaz’s inner voice.
Source: DAWN.COM | Images
