What does the album title signify? It’s different from the usual one or two word names…
Both are characters – the male and female in society. They’re individuals who want to live whichever way they want. In the process they ignore the objective realities surrounding them and one day it hits them that they’re in a fix because the realities are much bigger than them. They realize a very basic fact that ‘duniya gol hai’ and find this basic realization came to them late. It’s an album against self-indulgent attitudes and ignoring the way things ought to be done.
So how are things supposed to be done?
When you lose sight of objectivity and do whatever you feel like doing, not realizing it could have bad consequences –that’s how things are not supposed to be done. It’s an introspective album.
How is this album different from Suno ke mein hoon jawan?
The previous album revolved around a blind optimism — showing the bright side of things. This is like a second phase to that album: what happens if you take life too easy (a lot of bad things can happen).
Is this a deliberate progression of ‘phases’?
Yes, this is part of a trilogy (or maybe four-part series). It’s the journey of a person growing up — when you’re growing up you don’t realize a lot of harsh realities. It’s the growth process of an individual.
Do you expect to garner the same level of popularity with this album as the first one?
I didn’t have any expectations with the last one either. I would like people to try and focus more on the content of this album. This album is sonically more mature. I’m expecting that people should be recognizing the hard work that’s gone into it and realize that the band is growing with direction.
What’s the band line-up for the album?
I’m on guitars, Hamza’s on bass and Gumby’s on drums. Hamza and I both have done the vocals.
Just as the new album title is unusual, you’ve had songs with controversial names, why the different approach to titles?
There’s no such deliberate attempt as far as names are concerned. These names have been with me for seven or eight years. The whole Noori ideology is pre-planned. We’re just executing it now.
Are you also working on videos?
We have planned to make a video for coinciding with the album release, but we haven’t decided on the song yet.
Is there a concert tour planned to launch the album?
We would like to hold as many shows as possible. After this album we’ll have a much larger repertoire.
Will Noori be retaining its current image with the new album, or is the band going to morph into something different?
The band will have a slightly more serious, no-nonsense kind of image. We’ve made quite a few mistakes with promotional activities and we’ve realized music is by far the most important thing.
One thing I want to say about the album is that together with Mekaal we have tried out some different production techniques. (The album is being recorded at Mekaal Hassan’s Digital Fidelity Studios). The sound quality that’s coming out is surprising even us. Mekaal is very honest about his work, and he’s really putting his heart and soul into this album.
