Back in April, Finders Keepers introduced us to their new Sounds Of Wonder series with a compilation of Lollywood soundtrack cuts released under the same name. M Ashraf ruled that set and, with releases of the full Dekha Jaye Ga and Uf Yeh Beevian soundtracks, originally released across three EPs apiece, we get a closer look at his fuzz’n’twang.
From 1976 and ’77 respectively, these sitcom films arrived at a time just before Pakistan’s government began clamping down on hedonistic blow-outs. The storylines read like the processed kitch capers of “head” movies: girl falls into mindless, evil Western ways (clubbing, boozing, dancing) before being rescued from surefire self-destruction.
The music, however, soars with a freedom most selfconsciously “eclectic” artists can only dream of. Timbaland and Missy Elliott may have patted themselves on the backs for introducing a strain of Eastern cymbal play into their chart stormers, but here are 14 examples of effortless quaking grooves incorporating mouth percussion, synths, fuzz guitar and a recorded vocal so up front in the mix it threatens to shred the eardrums. Rendered modern by being so out of time in the first place, just think of those psyched-up Westerners posturing with their jai guru devas, when we could have gone to the source all along.
