Raeth ( ) is a Pakistani

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 ...

band. The band, which currently has two members, follows in the footsteps of other Pakistani, and Pakistani-American groups such as Junoon,

Strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

, and Jal. They have garnered a significant

fan base A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant p ...

in both

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 ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The band can be found on

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, and

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, while their music is available on streaming services such as

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, and

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Background

Raeth was initially formed in 2006 by four students from

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

— Wajhi Farooki (vocals), Mustafa Asad (bass), and Hasan Farabi (lead guitar). The band was launched in 2006 by

Fire Records Fire Records was an American independent record label, set up in 1959 by Bobby Robinson. Amongst others, it released records by Lightnin' Hopkins, Elmore James, Buster Brown and Arthur Crudup. At one point it was thought Fire had issued the las ...

at a local beach club in DHA. "Bhula Do," a single from their debut album ''Raeth'', was ranked among the top four best-selling audio releases in Pakistan, and became the number one on MTV Top Charts next to

Kailash Kher Kailash Kher (born 7 July 1973) is an Indian music composer and singer. He sings songs with a music style influenced by Indian folk music and Sufi music. He was inspired by the classical musicians' Pandit Kumar Gandharva, Pandit Hridaynath Ma ...

's "Saaiyan" in 2014. The album itself made it to No 7 on the Indian Planet M charts. In 2006, Raeth was also featured on

MTV India MTV India is an Indian pay television channel specialising in music, reality and youth culture programming. It was launched in 1996 as the Indian version of MTV and is owned by Viacom 18, a joint venture operation between MTV International owne ...

and

Channel V Channel '' ("V" standing for the letter, not the Roman numeral "5") is a Chinese and former Asian pay television musical network originally launched by Star TV Hong Kong (now Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific). It was part of the unit of Disney ...

as an up-and-coming new group.

Other work

In 2013, Raeth worked alongside musical director

Chirantan Bhatt Chirrantan Bhatt is an Indian musician, composer and singer. He is active in the Indian film industry, Bollywood, and has also composed music for Telugu films. He is best nown for his melody compositions. He is a member of the Gujarati Bhatt ...

on the remake of Indian action film '' Zanjeer'', starring

Priyanka Chopra Priyanka Chopra Jonas (; ; born 18 July 1982) is an Indian actress and producer. The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is one of India's highest-paid actresses and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awar ...

. In April 2020, Raeth lead singer Wajhi Farooki organized the online Anti-Corona Indo-Pak Concert, which he and two other artists— Bangladeshi folk singer Indira Majumdar and Kolkata-based Kinjal Bhattacharya—livestreamed an hour-long jam session on

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Members

Original: * Wajhi Farouqui – lead vocals * Hasan Farabi – lead guitar * Mustafa Asad – bass 2018 newcomers: * Sanjeet Mothey * Shikhar Sharma * Tarun Sharma

Discography

Debut Album: ''Raeth''

EPs & Singles

References

2006 establishments in Pakistan Musical groups established in 2006 Musical groups from Karachi {{Pakistan-music-stub