Natasha Noorani announces the launch of her new album RONAQ with the release of its first single, CHORO
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 proudly announces the launch of 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.
Natasha Noorani on CHORO, “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.”
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 for CHORO can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/ThWTCXd42lM
“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.
For more information, please visit:
Youtube: http://bit.ly/NatashaNooraniYouTube
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About Natasha Noorani:
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 artit. 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 (2020), and has also recorded on soundtracks for the films Baaji (2019) and Chalay Thay Saath (2017).
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.
Song Title: CHORO
Language: Urdu
LYRICS
Socho hum bhi thay udaas ke dono ke beech vaadi ban gay
(Kaisay samjhaaon tujhe yeh
Pyaar se dikhaaaon tareeqay)
Socho hum bhi thay naraz ke dhokon ke hi hum aadi bun gaye
(Kaisay behlaaon tujhe mein
Pyaar se sajaaon umeedain)
Choro
Choro yeh haath mera
Choro
Choro yeh haath
Mein aag mein kharri hui
Aag mein yun bheeg chuki hoon dekho zara
Bolo na tum bhi toh kabhi (pyaar se)
Baatein woh chuppi hui
Kabhi toh batana
Unhein na bhulaana kahin
Roshni ke teer
Alfaazon mein bharri
Aag hai unqareeb
Jhaank ke toh dekho
Aagay barh ke peechay chalaingay
Seh na paaon gi mushkil
Aur yun hi hai
Dukhi hoon
Chuppi si rehti hoon
Tum se meri jaan-e-jaan
Chor
Choro yeh haath mera
Choro
Choro yeh haath
Mein aag mein kharri hui
Aag mein yun bheeg chuki hoon dekho zara
Aankhon mein dekh ke batao
Tum duur na kho jao
Aao meray paas aao
Dil mein kaheen buss jao
CREDITS
AUDIO
Arranged, Composed, Written & Performed by Natasha Noorani
Produced by Abdullah Siddiqui & Natasha Noorani
Mastered by John Davis at Metropolis Studio, UK
Artwork by Senna Ahmed
VIDEO
Directors: Abdul-Rehman Malik & Natasha Noorani
Executive Producer: Natasha Noorani
Producer: Bilal Khan
DOP & Color Grade: Awais Gohar
Art Director: Hashim Ali
Focus Puller: Saeed Cheema
Gaffer: Allah Rakha
Production Manager: Rao Saleem, Sher Ali
Production Assistant: M. Asif
Wardrobe: Generation
Hair & Make-up: Tuba Shehzad Malik
Styling: Natasha Noorani
PR: Lotus PR
