Junoon for Music

FROM ISSUE # 64 (April 2001) | IN THIS ISSUE
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Junoon has made it big in the Indian subcontinent . Theirs is unconventional music - Pakistani folk flavoured tunes, qawwali-style singing and western elements - electric bass, guitars and drum sounds. It is different, and the spiritual tint also manages to make it appealingly alien. In Pakistan, pop still rocks. But Junoon has pop'd in well with their own kind of music, which, with all its uniqueness, can still be categorized as rock. It's the number one band in Pakistan; no surprise - it's number one in South Asia. Riz Khan, host of Q&A in CNN, even dubbed them "the biggest band in Asia".

Junoon comprises of the talented Salman, Ali and Brian. The trio has been proclaimed as one of the 'biggest bands in the world' (Q magazine) and the 'most successful south Asian crossover after the Late Nusrat Fate Ali Khan' (Billboard magazine). The band has been around since the early 1990s and success hasn't come easy for them. In fact, initially the band faced a lot of financial hardships and spent days surviving on 'rice and daal'. The band made its big breakthrough with the song Jazba-e-junoon in early 1996. They made it big in India and other countries with their release of Azadi, released under EMI Music records. This might have been the band's fifth album, but the first to bring them much success. The album went platinum, four weeks after its release, and the single Sayonee was number one on charts, both on MTV and channel [V].

Their music has been defined as 'Sufi-Rock', a blend of rock and Pakistani folk/classical (quwwali) music. The lyrics delve into socio-political issues such as the political system, which has also made Junoon one of the most controversial artists in Pakistan.

Their video for the huge international hit Sayonee, which portrays a child being abducted, was shunned by authorities and high religion figures retaliated, eventually causing the ban of the video, like the the video for their 1996 single Ehtesaab. The latter created controversy and ultimately got banned because concerned authorities felt that it was highly political in it's content, and would cause a difference in the election that was coming.

Despite being shrouded in controversy, time and again, they've still managed to gain the confidence of fans all over the world, including India. Their concerts (in India) are very successful and they have a strong fan following, who call themselves the Junoonis. Their performances in New York and House Of Blues (Los Angeles) were well reviewed by critics from L.A Times and New York Times.