You must have heard the news - Junoon's coming to Kathmandu. And that's the reason we have this special issue, much in advance. We hope you'll enjoy the treat.
The young lot, in the audience, on 23rd of March in BCC would be those who have a crush on Junoon. They are not really in love with their music, because they haven't heard more than two songs may be, on satellite television. Their albums are not available here yet. Junoon has not been marketed here before. They sing in Urdu, of which we wouldn't be able to decipher, word to word, even if most of us are familiar with Hindi; and both are similar. And their music is experimental - again, not the kind of stuff Nepali audience are at home with. But something in Junoon's music attracts Nepalese listeners - most probably the rock element in it, and of course the eastern mix, which is not all alien to us. In fact, Junoon is at the moment perhaps the only band with cross border appeal in south Asia. Not many bands have enjoyed the popularity they do. I can think of only one other rock band which previously hugged the international limelight. That was Indus Creed from India - the band that has ceased to exist now.
Junoon will be the first Pakistani band to perform in Kathmandu, and may be the first foreign band to perform rock music, in a language other than English, in Kathmandu.
-Yubakar
