Overload – Ankahi (KM Single Review)

By Ahmad Uzair

Live and let live! is the motto of Overload’s latest video “Ankahi” which marks a new beginning for Overload who have been in the industry for quite some time but mostly got noticed by their appearance on this season of Coke Studio.

Overload, as they claim, is the loudest band of Pakistan and they have surely proved the point with some of their kick-ass performances in past. They have always seemed to believe on the evolution of music and this is pretty much evident with this very outing too. In this song you would hear a totally different side of Overload which not many of us have seen before and this is something that makes this project rather unusual for the band and fans alike.

It’s been a sort of bumpy ride for Overload, initially they were just an instrumental band, then they managed to rope in Meesha Shafi for vocals but things didn’t go well between them and soon they fell apart. But Overload’s presence on Coke studio this year has really given a new start to them. Their song Neray Aah and Mahi were perhaps one of the best numbers from this season of CS.

Ankahi is not all about some intense dhol or those groovy drum beats which were once a signature thing to be associated with overload. But this time around Farhad has succeeded in exploring an entirely new avenue in singing and has gone very melodic with an equally message oriented video which really stirs you up. The song focuses more on visuals and lyrics and avoids any of those scorching guitar riffs or ear blowing drums.

You might be surprised to know that that this super talented drummer-turned-singer has also directed the video for Ankahi, and you simply cannot take it away from him for the effort he has put in and has come up with such a wider concept which is rather really scarce to see these days.

The video tends to portray the dejected souls in our society and showcases all the ill happenings occurring around us. It’s all about shedding negativity and looking forward to more of the positive things and re-building our society on this. It really sheds light on social evils residing in our day to day life and gives a message of respecting other people thoughts and ideologies which might be conflicting to yours, but in the end ensures the peace. The video gathers up with every one standing united; perhaps the need of hour for us as a nation. Any layman can relate to the visuals and it really gives a feel of something created specially for our own society with some noble spirit behind it.

Lately Overload seems to be really focusing on their cast while making their videos. Earlier on we saw a star-studded huge cast for Nerah Aah. This time too there is a staggering cast of 63 people spearheaded by none other than the legend Nadeem and this happens to be his very first music video. Other notable actors are veteran Naveed Shahzad who is also Farhad’s mother. The video also displays some kathak moves by ace dancer Nighat Chaudary.

Farhad might not have much experience of direction but he has managed to bag two LSA nominations for his earlier videos as director and this is pretty much of the same class, even better.

And once again with vocals, he keeps you entrenched with his rather haunting voice which is really different from his earlier screaming sound. He delivers the vocals so effortlessly that it really makes you think about the lyrical content of it specially when he shouts  ‘Awaz Kyun Dab see Gai / Keh to sahi tu Ankahi ‘ , Something directly addressing us to always stand up for the truth , no matter how worse the conditions can be.

There is no screaming in this song, neither the lengthy dhol instrumentals but this re-invention of their own sound is gripping and shows up a new dimension of the band with some excellent lyrics written by Tahir Shaheer who really deserves some applause for such a praiseworthy writing.

All in all, a tremendous job by Overload guys and a special shout out to Farhad for coming up with such a beautiful concept in this otherwise inactive industry of Pakistan where we see very little work from the mainstream bands these days.