In conversation with Sachal Studios, “the maestros of classical and jazz music”
From 122 film releases every year in the 60’s to 10 film releases a year in the 90’s, Pakistan’s film industry has suffered. The subcontinent has a rich and diverse history of film production, in 1913 the first full length feature film was produced and shown commercially, this film called Raja Harishchander pioneered film production and viewing in the subcontinent. After the partition both Pakistan and India progressed rapidly.
Film in the subcontinent has been intrinsically linked with music, traditionally all movies had a soundtrack that unlike the western cinema did not only exist in the background. In 1966 the film ‘Armaan’ brought a rise to Pakistani pop music, introducing legends like Ahmed Rushdie.
In the 1980’s, our film and music industry began to decline as a socio-cultural shift took place and the Afghan War gained momentum. Film production lost its appeal as less and less films got clearance from the censor board and film production became a financially unviable option in the Pakistan economy. This decline left the film industry’s dependents in dire financial straits, these artists and musicians went through a tough time and eventually ended up in odd jobs.
From 2003 the industry is steadily reviving as the numbers of cinemas grows each year and cinema goers increase, the industry is slowly headed towards its former glory. Efforts on both the private and public sectors have brought about a slow but steady increase in the production of the quality films. However, the music industry is still in the infancy after its rebirth, despite Pakistan’s spectacular talent most music now produced is digital as the convenience and cost play a role, digital music can never compare to the sound of actual instruments being played in an orchestra setting.
Sachal Studios Orchestra is one of the few complete orchestras operating in the subcontinent and is playing a massive role in the revival of the music industry. Sachal Studios is also currently one of the most technologically advanced studios in Pakistan. The studio was set up by technicians from Abbey Road studios, a world renowned studio, where all the global greats including the Beatles recorded. When the studio was being set up, the technicians arrived to Pakistan and stayed for 4 months supervising and tuning the studio to international standards. With some of the best musicians available in the subcontinent on their roster; Sachal Studios have brought a unique sound to the musical landscape. With a wide array of music, ranging from jazz to classical, all played over traditional classical instruments, Sachal studios brings a unique mix of genres. The founder of Sachal Studios Izzat Majeed in conversation with us told us about his journey, which started with his father who was a film producer and Izzat grew up amongst the greats of the film industry but like his father the music always held a special place in his heart. After the decline of the film industry during the latter part of the 20th century Izzat saw how the deterioration affected the peripheral artists of the industry as most of the greats fell into poverty and were forced to take up odd jobs. The music was slowly becoming a lost art. In 2002 the idea of getting the orchestra together took hold, so he travelled Pakistan seeing what the industry had to offer, with his research in what the local musical infrastructure had to offer, he decided to set up his own studio around 2005. To kickstart the process Izzat brought in musical instruments from abroad and then brought the artists out of their forced retirement. Pulling together the orchestra and outfitting the studios took about 2 years; by 2007 Sachal Studios was ready for an official launch. Right from the start Sachal Studios Jazz took the world by storm, playing for 1000s in packed venues across four continents with international recognition Sachal Studios Jazz orchestra for the first time fused the east and west when they played Jazz music on instruments native to the subcontinent. Sachal Studios with a state of the art recording facility and Izzat’s remarkably sharp mind behind the creative process brought along a rapid progress to a place where they have become global players in Jazz and are all set up to lead the recording market. With upcoming performances across the globe and a planned jazz festival in Pakistan, Sachal studio has big things slotted for the next year.
