Noori ( ) is a
Pakistani rock
Pakistani rock is a variety of rock music that is largely produced in Pakistan. Pakistani rock incorporates elements of both British–American rock and Pakistani classical music.
Since the 1980s, Pakistani rock has had its own distinctive el ...
band from
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
,
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, formed in 1996. The group was formed by songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist, Ali Noor, along with his younger brother Ali Hamza, who were soon joined by bassist Muhammad Ali Jafri and drummer Salman Albert. Since the inception of the band, there has been many changes in the line-up; the only consistent members being brothers, Ali Noor and Ali Hamza. The band has produced songs such as "Suno Ke Mein Hoon Jawaan" and the epic "Manwa Re".
History
Early years (1998 – 2002)
The name of the band, Noori, is not derived from
Ali Noor, lead vocalist and guitarist. Noori is a
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
word which means "light" and the concept behind the band was the light which shows you things with a different perspective.
Noori started seven years before their first album ''
Suno Ke Main Hun Jawan'' which was released in 2003. Before Noori, Ali Noor and Muhammad Ali Jaffri worked with co-VEN and released an
EP called ''Not In Your World''. Noori has been known for its live acts.
Debut studio album, ''Suno Ke Mein Hun Jawan'' and rise to fame (2002–2005)
Noori's debut album, ''
Suno Ke Main Hun Jawan'' developed a cult following before the album's release in 2003 through leaks on the Internet. It offered a complicated mix of sounds, starting from a folk-like "Manwa Re" that was actually written for a Pakistani film, to
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
anthems to youth like the title track. Noori's debut album created whirlwinds across the Urdu-speaking community all over the world. A first of its kind, it introduced the genre of
pop rock
Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...
music to the Pakistani mainstream. In addition, the album was also a departure from the beaten track of chummy love songs and focused instead on inspiring the youth of Pakistan to take up the responsibility of doing something worthwhile for themselves and others. Thematically with songs urging listeners to change the world, that life is beautiful and professing women empowerment. Their album was about youth, their innocence, their dreams and how they feel about life. After their album release in 2003, they performed a duet, "Nayan Jahan", with
Anaida
Anaida or Anaida Parvaneh is an Indian performer, director, producer, and playback singer. She is now a chef and healer.
Background
A Parsee/Zoroastrian of Indian-Greek-Iranian heritage, she was one of India's first pop singers, in the 199 ...
which was a success.
Second studio album ''Peeli Patti Aur Raja Jani Ki Gol Dunya'' (2005–2007)
Their second album was a follow up on where ''
Suno Ke Main Hun Jawan'' left off. It talked about what happens when the ever so energetic and hopeful youth grows up and faces the realities of the world. The discontentment and suffering which arises in this growing up create an indifferent and self-centered individual, who finds escape routes in things like drugs and other short-lived pleasures. Titled ''
Peeli Patti Aur Raja Jani Ki Gol Dunya
''Peeli Patti Aur Raja Jani Ki Gol Dunya'' (Urdu: پیلی پتی اور راجہ جانی کی گول دنیا) is the second album released by Pakistani pop/rock band, Noori. The album was released on 10 September 2005. Noori's singles from th ...
'', the album started off in a somewhat hopeful mood and then travels through bitter experiences and ends up with resigned despair, peppered with taunts. The album dealt with a variety of subjects ranging from the problems and consequences of drug use to the collective apathy we all have descended into as individuals and as a society.
In 2005, Muhammad Ali Jafri, who was playing bass guitar for Noori, left the band and started his own business. In 2006, Noori parted ways with Louis J. Pinto (Gumby), the band's drummer.
"Do Dil" and appearances in ''Coke Studio'' (2008–2010)
In 2008, after a hiatus of almost two years, Noori came back with their new single "Do Dil".
In 2009, they performed at the
Coke Studio Coke Studio may refer to:
* ''Coke Studio'' (Pakistan), a Pakistani television series featuring live music performances.
* ''Coke Studio'' (India), an Indian television series featuring live music performances.
* ''Coke Studio Bangla'', a Banglade ...
Sessions along with artists like
Atif Aslam
Atif Aslam is a Pakistani playback singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He has recorded many songs in both Pakistan and India, and is known for his vocal belting technique.
Aslam predominantly sings in Urdu, but has also sung in Hindi, ...
,
Zeb and Haniya
Zeb and Haniya ( ps, زیب اور حانیا, pronounced as "Zayb aur Haa-nee-ya") was a Pakistani music duo from Kohat, active from 2007 to 2014. The pair have sung songs in Pashto, Urdu, Dari and Turkish, combining pop with folk music to cre ...
,
Ali Zafar
Ali Zafar ( pa, ; born 18 May 1980) is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, model, actor, producer, screenwriter and painter. Zafar started out on Pakistani television before becoming a popular musician. He later also established a career in Bo ...
,
Saeen Zahoor
Saieen Zahoor Ahmed or Ali Saain Shafiu ( Punjabi: سائیں ظہور, born 1936) is a leading Punjabi Sufi musician from Pakistan. He has spent most of his life singing in Sufi shrines, and didn't produce a record until 2006, when he was nom ...
and many other successful musicians. They performed a duet with
Saeen Zahoor
Saieen Zahoor Ahmed or Ali Saain Shafiu ( Punjabi: سائیں ظہور, born 1936) is a leading Punjabi Sufi musician from Pakistan. He has spent most of his life singing in Sufi shrines, and didn't produce a record until 2006, when he was nom ...
, "Aik Alif", a
Sufi rock
Sufi rock or Sufi folk rock is a subgenre of rock music that combines rock with classical Islamic Sufi music traditions. It emerged in the early 1990s and became widely popular in the late 1990s in Pakistan and Turkey. The term "Sufi rock" was co ...
song which was huge success. They also performed in the third episode of Coke Studio Sessions with their song "Jo Meray" which was performed in the format as it was originally composed by Ali Hamza in 2000. They performed "Sari Raat Jaga" on the fourth Coke Studio Session. On 14 August 2009, Noori performed "Kedaar" from their upcoming album at the last Coke Studio Session.
On 15 May 2010, the line-up for Coke Studio confirmed that Noori will feature in the
third season along with many well-known artists and bands like
Entity Paradigm
Entity Paradigm ( Punjabi, , in English sometimes shortened as EP) was a Pakistani rock band from Lahore, Punjab, formed in 2000. The band was founded by songwriter and guitarist Xulfi, vocalist, songwriter Fawad Khan and keyboardist and vocalis ...
, Aunty Disco Project,
Karavan
Karavan ( ) was a hard rock band from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, formed in 1997. The band was founded by former Awaz lead guitarist Asad Ahmed with bassist Sameer Ahmed, who were soon joined by drummer Allan Smith and vocalist Najam Sheraz. ...
,
Abida Parveen
Abida Parveen ( Urdu, sd, ; born 20 February 1954) is a Pakistani singer, composer and musician of Sufi music. She is also a painter and entrepreneur. Parveen is one of the highest paid singers in Pakistan. Her singing and music has earned ...
and many other successful musicians. On 20 June 2010, Noori performed a duet "Tann Dolay" with Zeb & Haniya at Coke Studio third season in the second session, 'Will'. On 10 July 2010, Noori released the studio version of the single "Tann Dolay" which also featured Zeb & Haniya. On 18 July 2010, Ali Noor and Ali Hamza did a live interview with Abdul Rauf and
Maria Memon on the weekly morning show, ''Geo Pakistan'', on
Geo News
Geo News is a Rank Number 1 Pakistani news channel owned by the Jang Media Group.
History
The Geo Television Network started out with the launch of its flagship channel Geo TV in October 2002 but has since launched several other channels whic ...
. On 26 July 2010, the Noori brothers did a collaboration at the fourth Coke Studio session 'Form' for the song "Hor Vi Neevan Ho" with their mother, Noor Zehra Kazim, an accomplished player of the
Sagar veena, an instrument developed by her father,
Raza Kazim
Raza Kazim ( ur, , born 13 January 1930) is a lawyer, philosopher, inventor and former politician in Pakistan.
Family
He invented a musical instrument, the Sagar Veena, of which his daughter Noor Zehra is the only player in Pakistan, and throu ...
at the Sanjan Nagar Institute for Philosophy and Arts.
''Begum Gul Bakaoli Sarfarosh'' (2015)
Noori performed three preview shows for their new album ''
Begum Gul Bakaoli Sarfarosh'' in Lahore, Islamabad, and Karachi on 19, 20, and 21 September respectively. Each show had a limited audience of 111 people. Noori used the slogan "I am 1 in 333" for the promotion of these three shows. Although Noori set the release date for the new album at 30 September, it was later delayed to 9 October. Noori, through social media, once again announced the release of their album through a series of meet and greets in Lahore (9 October), Karachi (10 October) and Islamabad (11 October). Noori proclaimed that their album would only be available for sale at these three meets and greets, in order to build a one-on-one connection with the fans by eliminating the middleman. Noori later on performed in Peshawar on 22 November as well for the promotion of the album. Additionally, the album was made free to stream through
Patari.pk
Patari (Urdu: ) is a Pakistani Comparison of on-demand streaming music services, music streaming service founded in February 2015 by Khalid Bajwa, Faisal Sherjan, Iqbal Talaat Bhatti and Humayun Haroon. The site provides Pakistani music and is kn ...
as a Patari exclusive on 9 October.
Music director in Coke Studio Season 9 and Cornetto Pop Rock (2016)
Noori appeared as a music director in
Coke Studio Season 9. Noori's first song in this capacity was "Aaja Re Moray Saiyaan", which was sung by
Zeb Bangash
Zebunisa Bangash (born 7 March 1982), better known as Zeb Bangash, is a Pakistani singer-songwriter from Lahore, Punjab. Her family originally comes from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Apart from her solo career, she was the member of music group Zeb and ...
and Ali Hamza. It was well-received. The band collaborated on "Paar Channa De" with
Shilpa Rao
Shilpa Rao (born Apeksha Rao; 11 April 1984) is an Indian singer born and raised in Jamshedpur. She completed her Post Graduation in Applied Statistics from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, before working as a jingle singer for three years. During ...
, which turned out to be successful as well.
Noori performed three concerts in Karachi, Lahore & Islamabad for Cornetto Pop Rock. Cornetto released their song featuring
Quratulain Baloch, which did well on charts.
Discography
;Studio albums
* ''
Suno Ke Main Hun Jawan'' (2003)
* ''
Peeli Patti Aur Raja Jani Ki Gol Dunya
''Peeli Patti Aur Raja Jani Ki Gol Dunya'' (Urdu: پیلی پتی اور راجہ جانی کی گول دنیا) is the second album released by Pakistani pop/rock band, Noori. The album was released on 10 September 2005. Noori's singles from th ...
'' (2005)
* ''
Begum Gul Bakaoli Sarfarosh'' (2015)
;Live albums
* ''Live at the Rock Musicarium'' (2012)
Film scores
Band members
Timeline
ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:30
PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:0 right:10
Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/1996 till:01/01/2016
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom
ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1996
ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1996
Colors =
id:vocals value:purple legend:Lead_vocals
id:rhythm value:oceanblue legend:Vocals,_rhythm_guitar
id:lead value:green legend:Lead_guitar
id:bass value:yellow legend:Bass
id:drums value:red legend:Drums
LineData =
at:10/25/2003 color:black layer:back
at:09/10/2005 color:black layer:back
at:10/09/2015 color:black layer:back
BarData =
bar:Noor text:"Ali Noor"
bar:Hamza text:"Ali Hamza"
bar:Jafri text:"Mohammad Ali Jafri"
bar:Salman text:"Salman Albert"
bar:Farhad text:"Farhad Humayun"
bar:Gumby text:"Gumby"
bar:Kami text: "Kami Paul"
PlotData =
width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
bar:Noor from:01/01/1996 till:end color:vocals
bar:Noor from:01/01/1996 till:end color:lead width:2.5
bar:Hamza from:01/01/1996 till:end color:rhythm
bar:Hamza from:06/30/2006 till:06/30/2011 color:bass width:2.5
bar:Hamza from:06/30/2013 till:end color:bass width:2.5
bar:Jafri from:01/01/1996 till:06/30/2005 color:bass
bar:jafri from:06/30/2011 till:06/30/2013 color:bass
bar:Salman from:01/01/1996 till:01/01/2000 color:drums
bar:Farhad from:01/01/2000 till:12/30/2002 color:drums
bar:Gumby from:01/01/2003 till:06/30/2006 color:drums
bar:Gumby from:01/01/2011 till:11/30/2012 color:drums
bar:Kami from:11/30/2012 till:end color:drums
;Current members
*Ali Noor –
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
, backing vocals, lead guitar
(1996–present)
*Ali Hamza –
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
, backing vocals, rhythm guitar
(1996–present)
*Kami Paul –
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
(2013–present)
;Former members
*Louis J. Pinto (aka Gumby) – drums
(2003–2006, 2011–2012)
* Salman Albert – drums, backing vocals
(1996–1999)
*
Farhad Humayun
Farhad Humayun (; 5 October 1978 – 8 June 2021) was a Pakistani singer, drummer, record producer and video artist. He was popularly associated with the Pakistani drum jam band Overload which he founded in 2003. Farhad started his career as un ...
– drums
(2000–2002)
* Murtaza Jaffar – rhythm guitar
(2003)
* Mohd. Ali Jafri (bass)
;Live concert (additional members 2012)
*
Faraz Anwar
Faraz Anwar (Urdu: فراز انور; b.15 July 1976) is a Pakistani musician, composer, singer-songwriter, bandleader, and a guitarist who founded the ''Mizraab'', a heavy metal music and hard rock genre band based in Pakistan. His musical act ...
– Lead guitar
*Zeeshan Pervez
*Awais Jaffery – Bass & Lead Guitar
Awards
*Noori won the award for the Best Rock Song for "Do Dil" at MTV Pakistan Music Awards in 2009.
*Noori was selected as "Picked Artist of the Month" on the Pakistani music channel called
The Musik
ARY Musik (, formerly The Musik) is a Pakistani pay television music channel, first launched in 2003 as "The Musik" in Dubai by Salman Iqbal. It is part of the ARY Digital Network. In 2009 its name was changed to "ARY Musik". It features musi ...
in June 2006.
*Noori has won the Best Rock Song Category Award for "Nishaan" in Indus Music Awards 2006.
*Noori has won the Ultimate Rock song Category Award for "Saari Raat Jaga" in MTV Pakistan Awards 2006.
*Noori has won Album of the Year award for ''Begum Gul Bakaoli Sarfarosh'' at the
15th Lux Style Awards
Controversy
On February 18, 2022, a journalist named Ayesha Binte Rashid accused Ali Noor of sexual harassment. She called him a sexual harasser and predator in her
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
post. In response to these allegations, Ali Noor said he is truly, deeply sorry.
See also
*
List of Pakistani music bands
The rise of musical bands in Pakistan began in the 1980s when cassettes first came into Pakistan bringing in a wave of Western rock music. Western-influenced rock music began to feature in underground concerts all across the country. In the 19 ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 1996
Musical groups from Lahore
Pakistani musical duos
Pakistani musical groups
Pakistani rock music groups