{"id":58866,"date":"2024-02-11T15:21:04","date_gmt":"2024-02-11T15:21:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/atif-aslam-talks-passion-for-fast-bowling-the-express-tribune\/"},"modified":"2024-02-11T15:21:04","modified_gmt":"2024-02-11T15:21:04","slug":"atif-aslam-talks-passion-for-fast-bowling-the-express-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/atif-aslam-talks-passion-for-fast-bowling-the-express-tribune\/","title":{"rendered":"Atif Aslam talks passion for fast bowling | The Express Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Amid anticipation and nostalgia, the music and film worlds are abuzz with the imminent return of Pakistani singer and songwriter, Atif Aslam, who once dominated the Bollywood scene until India banned Pakistani artists seven years ago. As his cross-border fans gear up for their icon\u2019s comeback with a romantic song for Love Story of 90s<\/em>, Atif sat down for a candid interview reflecting on his relationship to music and audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, my life, my breath, it\u2019s all music,\u201d Atif offered in conversation with RJ Sayema Rahman on Sufiscore<\/em><\/a>. \u201cIt might sound orthodox but it\u2019s the truth. If I don\u2019t listen to good music, my day does not go well. If I don\u2019t sing for a few days, I start to feel suffocation. When I have to contact my loved ones, I have to sing something for them. When I have to talk to Allah, I recite certain words.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went on to say, \u201cI find music to be a gift that is bestowed on someone\u2026All this is a gift, if it weren\u2019t, I wouldn\u2019t know whatever little I know about music.\u201d Known for early hits like Pehli Dafa<\/em> and Aadat <\/em>to his recent releases such as Zindagi <\/em>and Jee Ve Sohneya Jee<\/em>, the musician revealed that he didn\u2019t always possess the passion or sensibility for music.<\/p>\n

Discovering music<\/strong><\/p>\n

Atif shared, \u201cI was only going through some things in life when I listened to an album in a car. I must have been 12 or 13 years old, before that I didn\u2019t know that singing was even a thing. I used to think the actors on screen were singing themselves.\u201d The Jal Pari<\/em> singer disclosed that this first album he listened to was of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan with Michael Brooks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI listened to that and I began to wonder, what this was and why and how. No one knew and I fell into this circle, found a direction where I could find the opportunity to meet myself, to experience silence and solitude,\u201d he expressed how his early musical journey consisted of just him and his faith in god, unbeknownst to his family.<\/p>\n

Delving into anecdotes from his pre-career life, Atif shared his gradual entry into music, beginning with him contributing casually at a family event. \u201cThen I went to a funfair with my friends and they teasingly bet that whoever goes to the stage and sings, the others will give him a treat. I knew none of them sang or could go up on the stage so I went and sang a little with the playing band.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cricket and parents’ approval<\/strong><\/p>\n

The singer contended that it was the positive reception then that properly encouraged him to sing. Articulating his appreciation for his long journey in retrospect and the success he could cultivate, Atif extended gratitude to his parents whose prayers made his life what it is today. \u201cYou know that feeling you get that you can\u2019t survive this situation but some power would intervene and it was my parents\u2019 prayers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite being a little apprehensive of his inclination towards music, Atif divulged that his parents were comforted when they realised his interests wasn\u2019t solely about music but also about prayers and practising his faith. He further relayed how his parents never directly stopped him or discouraged him from pursuing his passion.<\/p>\n

However, music was not Atif\u2019s first love. \u201cI had already given up on one passion. I always wanted to be a fast bowler,\u201d he explained. \u201cI was very good at cricket. So I had given up on that because my parents insisted that education is more important, [cricket] doesn\u2019t have a lot of scope and they were right in saying that. Cricket didn\u2019t have much scope back then, today the case might be different.\u201d<\/p>\n

The artist described how reconciling with the loss of this dream is what brought him to music. New to music, Atif found himself spending his days with his brother\u2019s three-string guitar, attempting to make melodies without knowing most guitars typically have six strings. He said, \u201cI learned after a whole year that guitars have 6 strings and a standard tuning to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n

‘Tajdar-e-Haram’ and fame<\/strong><\/p>\n

Discussing the distinct experience propelled by his more religiously-oriented works such as his rendition of Tajdar-e-Haram<\/em>, Atif said, \u201cIn a live performance, for the first two hours and a few minutes, I sing for my audience. When I perform Tajdar-e-Haram<\/em>, that\u2019s only for me. Then it doesn\u2019t even occur to me that there are people watching me\u2026At that moment, I experience a flashback of all the sins I have committed but despite them, I have been given the honour to recite this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Atif further asserted the importance of personal integrity and authenticity at a time of virality, the internet and gadgets like autotuners. \u201cIt\u2019s not like there were no autotuners in my time but nowadays it\u2019s a dependency for overnight success. Now people want to be famous, they don\u2019t want to work hard. People won\u2019t stay on that pedestal for long now even though they want to but they don\u2019t realise that without hard work all of this is very short-lived,\u201d he commented.<\/p>\n

An ode to Mehdi Hassan<\/strong><\/p>\n

The conversation turned to Atif\u2019s 2023 track Zindagi<\/em>, released in December in collaboration with multi-instrumentalist duo Leo Twins. Remarking on his own personalised spin on Mehdi Hassan\u2019s classic Zindagi Mein Tau Sabhi Pyar<\/em>, the Doorie <\/em>singer talked about tackling the ghazal maestro\u2019s one of finest works. \u201cLeo Twins arranged the song beautifully, especially the strings section is very fitting for a ghazal.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cSinding Mehdi Hassan\u2019s ghazal is no easy task. He\u2019s among the great people and our training is no match for their training. You can only present a gesture of respect and that was my intent.\u201d Atif stressed the effort it took to bring his voice to par with the ghazal\u2019s beauty. \u201cAny project that I do, I never think what people will think about it especially when I am doing a cover. The only sentiment I have then is to honour a craft out of love. Not everyone can or will love everything so that debate is futile,\u201d the singer mused.<\/p>\n

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amid anticipation and nostalgia, the music and film worlds are abuzz with the imminent return of Pakistani singer and songwriter, Atif Aslam, who once dominated the Bollywood scene until India banned Pakistani artists seven years ago. As his cross-border fans gear up for their icon\u2019s comeback with a romantic song for Love Story of 90s, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58867,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.tribune.com.pk\/media\/images\/atifff1707652602-0\/atifff1707652602-0.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}