Let’s Not Remain Khamosh over Ayesha Omar’s "Khamoshi" Win at the 12th LSA’s
Originally Published on Skotao.com here.
The 12th Lux Style Awards were recently held at the Expo Center Lahore on the 4th of July. Dubbed as the Oscars of Pakistan, the award shows are the most exclusive events of all the film, fashion and music industry combined – they bring it all under one roof. And as they should be credited for doing a commendable job for holding an event of this scale, they should also keep in mind that these awards are supposed to acclaim the highly talented individuals this country is lacking in. But it seems like these are the kind of awards that the organizers would like to “keep in the family” and they have been known to do that.
I would specially like to talk about the fact how Ayesha Omar’s win came as big shock. The strongest contenders in the Best Album category were Usman Riaz and Sajid & Zeeshan. But let’s break down each and every nominee:-
[caption id="attachment_2514" align="aligncenter" width="625"]
Picture Courtesy: Moiz Khan at Skotato.com[/caption]
Chahar Balish by Sajjad Ali: Sajjad Ali is a very favorite of the nation and his pop songs are actually pretty good. But with this album, we see him experimenting with a lot of different sounds. And this experiment does justice to his sound. We have a signature Sajjad Ali album that the critics love and so do the people. With accents of rock, this adult pop album is a pretty good piece of music so no wonder it made it to being nominated. Though I will say that the album was a little too late to be nominated considering it was released in 2008.
Khamoshi by Ayesha Omar: I am a huge Ayesha Omar fan, and have been anticipating her debut album since I was a kid. But when the album came out, it was a disappointment. Just like the lead single, the album itself sounds very confused and offtrack. With so many years in the making, we would’ve expected something good out of the album, but it doesn’t do justice to Ayesha. We’ve seen her sing in her years old music and she can belt so much better than this.
Circus in the Sky by Usman Riaz: This self learned musician rose to the music scene courtesy of Uth Records but that was just the start. He plays the harmonica, the piano and the percussion guitar all by himself and has produced his own album. His work is internationally acclaimed and his talents have lead him to being a TED fellow and touring the world. His album is a work of art, along with the self designed album cover. Musically, he is very different and talent wise, he speaks volumes. It was glad to see him nominated.
Naubahar by Dynoman: Now the Pakistani awaam might not open up their hearts (and ears) to locally produced electronic pop music, but Dynoman goes to prove otherwise. His album is chock full of elctro pop infused with eastern elements and is a treat for the ears. It’s good to see Pakistani’s experimenting and going places with their music. Dynoman’s album is a must have because it proves how strong and versatile Pakistani musicians can be, while being good at it.
The Harvest by Sajid & Zeeshan: Pioneers of producing indie music on a big scale in Pakistan, this duo might not be very well known, but their music speaks volumes of their talent. With thought provoking and poetic lyrics, their work was well deserved to be nominated. But English is the only drawback they have hat might hinder them from reaching the masses. But their music is just great.
So here you have it, I have broken down all the nominees for you and you can very well see what I meant when I said that it seems to be a “house affair” and the awards seem to be “kept in the family.” The biggest shocker was Ayesha Omar winning the best album award. It could’ve and should have been anyone of the nominees but her. She might be old to the industry, but she has lengths to cover when it comes to her music. She can sing well, we know, but with the proper production she can do wonders. Though her debut album was a good effort, it was no where near to being lyrically, musically, creatively, and artistically as good as the other nominees. Let’s just hope the LSA’s see that how depriving the deserving artists only brings down their credibility.
P.S. The cover arts for the rest of the albums were just amazing and worth framing! Ayesha's was so monotonous.
Here's what some of the the twitterati had to say about it. But the list continues. Click on this link to see
The 12th Lux Style Awards were recently held at the Expo Center Lahore on the 4th of July. Dubbed as the Oscars of Pakistan, the award shows are the most exclusive events of all the film, fashion and music industry combined – they bring it all under one roof. And as they should be credited for doing a commendable job for holding an event of this scale, they should also keep in mind that these awards are supposed to acclaim the highly talented individuals this country is lacking in. But it seems like these are the kind of awards that the organizers would like to “keep in the family” and they have been known to do that.
I would specially like to talk about the fact how Ayesha Omar’s win came as big shock. The strongest contenders in the Best Album category were Usman Riaz and Sajid & Zeeshan. But let’s break down each and every nominee:-
[caption id="attachment_2514" align="aligncenter" width="625"]
Picture Courtesy: Moiz Khan at Skotato.com[/caption]Chahar Balish by Sajjad Ali: Sajjad Ali is a very favorite of the nation and his pop songs are actually pretty good. But with this album, we see him experimenting with a lot of different sounds. And this experiment does justice to his sound. We have a signature Sajjad Ali album that the critics love and so do the people. With accents of rock, this adult pop album is a pretty good piece of music so no wonder it made it to being nominated. Though I will say that the album was a little too late to be nominated considering it was released in 2008.
Khamoshi by Ayesha Omar: I am a huge Ayesha Omar fan, and have been anticipating her debut album since I was a kid. But when the album came out, it was a disappointment. Just like the lead single, the album itself sounds very confused and offtrack. With so many years in the making, we would’ve expected something good out of the album, but it doesn’t do justice to Ayesha. We’ve seen her sing in her years old music and she can belt so much better than this.
Circus in the Sky by Usman Riaz: This self learned musician rose to the music scene courtesy of Uth Records but that was just the start. He plays the harmonica, the piano and the percussion guitar all by himself and has produced his own album. His work is internationally acclaimed and his talents have lead him to being a TED fellow and touring the world. His album is a work of art, along with the self designed album cover. Musically, he is very different and talent wise, he speaks volumes. It was glad to see him nominated.
Naubahar by Dynoman: Now the Pakistani awaam might not open up their hearts (and ears) to locally produced electronic pop music, but Dynoman goes to prove otherwise. His album is chock full of elctro pop infused with eastern elements and is a treat for the ears. It’s good to see Pakistani’s experimenting and going places with their music. Dynoman’s album is a must have because it proves how strong and versatile Pakistani musicians can be, while being good at it.
The Harvest by Sajid & Zeeshan: Pioneers of producing indie music on a big scale in Pakistan, this duo might not be very well known, but their music speaks volumes of their talent. With thought provoking and poetic lyrics, their work was well deserved to be nominated. But English is the only drawback they have hat might hinder them from reaching the masses. But their music is just great.
So here you have it, I have broken down all the nominees for you and you can very well see what I meant when I said that it seems to be a “house affair” and the awards seem to be “kept in the family.” The biggest shocker was Ayesha Omar winning the best album award. It could’ve and should have been anyone of the nominees but her. She might be old to the industry, but she has lengths to cover when it comes to her music. She can sing well, we know, but with the proper production she can do wonders. Though her debut album was a good effort, it was no where near to being lyrically, musically, creatively, and artistically as good as the other nominees. Let’s just hope the LSA’s see that how depriving the deserving artists only brings down their credibility.
P.S. The cover arts for the rest of the albums were just amazing and worth framing! Ayesha's was so monotonous.
Here's what some of the the twitterati had to say about it. But the list continues. Click on this link to see
