Daily Times

Following the release of the critically acclaimed and one of Velo Sound Station Season 1’s biggest hits, “Baby Baby” in November 2020, the multi-faceted musician and ethnomusicologist Natasha Noorani has launched her new album ‘Ronaq’ with the release of its first single “Choro.”

Arranged, composed, written and performed by Natasha Noorani, the song represents a bold step from her previous EP Munaasib, into the world of Urdu Pop/RnB. Channeling the new-wave Pakistani pop music, CHORO has been co-produced by Natasha Noorani and the versatile Abdullah Siddiqui.

“The song is about being stuck in a toxic environment and the labour of leaving. Each space in the music video showcases a different aspect of that struggle. I wrote the first demo for this song in 2019 on my laptop webcam as a joke and it evolved into a song that has served me well over the years and I’m hopeful it will do the same for others,” Natasha Noorani said.

The music video has been co-directed by Abdul-Rehman Malik and Natasha Noorani, who previously worked together on Noorani’s single ‘Trace’ in November 2020. Each set has been meticulously art directed by Hashim Ali upon a dreamy pastel colour palette. CHORO’s music video has four distinct spaces which represent the multiple stages of duress and confusion present in the song. The main theme throughout the video is thread and ensnarement. Awais Gohar, who previously directed Faris Shafi’s ‘Introduction’ & Ali Sethi’s ‘Chandni Raat’, served as the DOP for Choro. The music video has been styled by Natasha Noorani herself with wardrobe by Generation and hair & make-up by Tuba Shehzad Malik.

The music video has been co-directed by Abdul Rehman Malik and Natasha Noorani, who previously worked together on Noorani’s single ‘Trace’ in November 2020. Each set has been meticulously art directed by Hashim Ali upon a dreamy pastel colour palette

It was awesome to make another music video with Natasha. She had given me a sneak peak of Choro when we were filming our first music video Trace and I absolutely loved the song. She outlined the concept, which was a series of abstract rooms with singular actions in them. There is symbolism attached to each action and each set design, but we wanted to keep it ambiguous, and leave it up to the viewer to find their own meaning as well. I’m really happy with the way it turned out, the whole team did a fantastic job, and I hope it does service to a great song.” said co-director Abdul-Rehman Malik.

Natasha Noorani is a musician, festival director and ethnomusicologist from Lahore, Pakistan.

Noorani has a diverse range as a singer-songwriter, playback singer and voice-over artist. While pursuing contemporary Pakistani pop music, she has also been training in khayal gayaki, and was awarded the Goethe Talents Scholarship in 2019. Her solo EP Munaasib is inspired by r’n’b, neo-soul and prog rock. Noorani is part of the band Biryani Brothers, and has collaborated on recordings with Strings, Abdullah Siddiqui, Sikandar Ka Mandar, Talal Qureshi, Gentle Robot & Jamal Rahman. Noorani was featured on Velo Sound Station and has also recorded on soundtracks for the films Baaji and Chalay Thay Saath.

Lahore Music Meet, Pakistan’s premier music festival, is founded and directed by Noorani. In 5 iterations, LMM has showcased 150+ artists, conducted 200+ sessions and panels, and welcomed thousands of audience members. LMM partners with major players in Pakistani music, including Pepsi and EMI.

Previously, Noorani served as the General Manager for Coke Studio Season 10 and subsequently took over as manager for top Pakistani band Strings overseeing the release of their album 30. She has also served as a Marketing Executive for the radio station CityFM89. In these capacities Noorani has managed hundreds of professionals. Through her work in management and festival organization, Noorani is now a critical community organizer for musicians across the country.

Peshkash, is Noorani’s project to archive and promote 20th Century Pakistani music. Insights from her archival work have been published in Dawn and Herald. Noorani regularly curates music and musical histories for outlets such as NTS and the British Council. Currently, Noorani is working on an oral history of the Pakistani music industry.

Noorani holds a MMus in Ethnomusicology, from SOAS and a Bsc. in Political Science from LUMS. She has been recognized by UNESCO as a Creative Entrepreneur and serves as a consultant for various cultural projects such as British Council Pakistan & Music Connect Asia.

Noorani has also held teaching assistant and research positions at LUMS.