August Issue 2010

On July 2, the long-lost EMI resurfaced and announced its revival as a recording company by launching two artists at a star-studded event at Studio 146. The artists, Irfan Khan and Kami Jee, performed at the event. The music industry was represented by singer Komal Rizvi (accompanied by brother Hasan Rizvi of Body Beat) and renowned singers Bunny and Amanat Ali.

For the last four years, EMI has been extensively servicing Digital Platforms and looking to cater to the industry on a global level. But in its heyday, when names like Mansoor Bukhari and Arshad Mehmood were associated with it, EMI had recorded some of the greatest names in music, such as Noor Jehan, Mehdi Hassan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Ghulam Ali, Iqbal Bano and Fareeda Khanum, and boasts an archive of over 8,000 hours of music.

EMI’s newest recruit Irfan Khan, better known as ‘iFFi-K,’ hails from central Punjab and is making waves on the Bhangra music scene. He started his career eight years ago and his last album Sohniyeh Teri Surat, featuring ‘Hunterz’ was an instant hit in the U.K. His latest album, Rhythm On Fire, launched by EMI, sounds very promising. It has 12 tracks, featuring world-class Asian music producers from the U.K., Pakistan, India and Greece.

Kami Jee has been part of the music industry for 19 years. A session player on keyboards and electronic percussion, he was part of the band Aaroh that broke up because of infighting, but he continued to work as a solo artist. Kami is now re-entering the music scene with Jeevan, in which he explores varied themes and his love for indigenous music.