- THE THREE SOUND OF REVOLUTION / RING SOUND / MIDDLE SOUND / INDEX SOUND
Mudassir Sheikh
(Pakistan)
Bio:
Mudassir Sheikh is a Berlin-based musician and media artist of Pakistani origin whose practice spans music, sound, video, text, performance and radio. His work critically engages with themes of collective trauma, mythology, environmental damage, and decolonial healing. Through research-based, interdisciplinary methods, Mudassir often addresses urgent socio-political issues in South Asia, countering the amnesiac forces of the state by bearing witness to them and subverting the discursive impossibilities of censorship and militarization.
Growing up in Karachi, Mudassir’s sonic practice is deeply influenced by his surroundings, blending instruments, voice, and field recordings in collaborations with visual artists across installations, radio productions, and sound design. His work nurtures creative communities both in Karachi and Berlin, creating fluid forms across media and materials. Recent research explores the role of Sufi shrines and their proximity to water bodies as sites of communal healing. Mudassir’s work, including collaborative projects, has been featured at the Istanbul Biennale, Colomboscope, TBA 21, and Oslo Museum. He was a recent nominee for the Forecast Platform and holds an MFA in Media Art from Bauhaus University, Weimar.
CONCEPT
My remix pays homage to the Urdu nazm “Mujhse Pehli Si Mohabbat” by the revolutionary writer Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Written during the turbulent 1940s, this nazm marks Faiz’s evolution from youthful romance to a mature, socially conscious poetic voice confronting oppression, inequality, and injustice. As a pivotal figure in the Progressive Writers’ Movement, Faiz redefined Urdu poetry and became a symbol of resistance against societal brutality.
Noor Jehan’s iconic rendition immortalized this work. Her courageous live performance—broadcast on the radio while Faiz was incarcerated—captured a pivotal moment where music and protest converged, transforming the nazm into a powerful rallying cry. As Faiz's daughter, Salima, remarked, 'The song became synonymous with Noor Jehan because she sang it so well and was brave enough to do it at a live concert on the radio when my father was in jail.' Her soulful delivery not only elevated the song to legendary status but also underscored the unbreakable bond between art and the fight for freedom.
In this remix, I sought to evoke the sonic textures of my childhood in 90s Karachi by incorporating vintage string sounds reminiscent of those often heard on Pakistan Television Network (PTV) broadcasts. Growing up in Pakistan, I was immersed in a rich tapestry of music—from Pakistani pop and Bollywood hits to classical and indigenous genres—which continues to influence me. Additionally, I've woven in field recordings and electroacoustic elements as a nod to my master’s studies and my work experience in Germany over the past five years. The remix also draws inspiration from early 2000s trip-hop and the remix songs that emerged in India during that period, blending a handmade, analog aesthetic with hip-hop elements. I see myself as navigating between these distinct sonic worlds: a culturally hybrid background that, at times, evokes both a rich sense of identity and moments of dislocation. Ironically, the lyrics have taken on a new meaning for me in this era of global turbulence and the collapse of long-held Western ideals—symbolizing the loss of naive hope and a bittersweet acknowledgment of harsh realities.
Lyric
Urdu
مجھ سے پہلی سی محبت مری محبوب نہ مانگ
میں نے سمجھا تھا کہ تو ہے تو درخشاں ہے حیات
تیرا غم ہے تو غمِ دہر کا جھگڑا کیا ہے
تیری صورت سے ہے عالم میں بہاروں کو ثبات
تیری آنکھوں کے سوا دنیا میں رکھا کیا ہے؟
تو جو مل جائے تو تقدیر نگوں ہو جائے
یوں نہ تھا، میں نے فقط چاہا تھا یوں ہو جائے
اور بھی دکھ ہیں زمانے میں محبت کے سوا
راحتیں اور بھی ہیں وصل کی راحت کے سوا
ان گنت صدیوں کے تاریک بہیمانہ طلسم
ریشم و اطلس و کمخاب میں بُنوائے ہوئے
جابجا بکتے ہوئے کوچہ و بازار میں جسم
خاک میں لتھڑے ہوئے خون میں نہلائے ہوئے
جسم نکلے ہوئے امراض کے تنوروں سے
پیپ بہتی ہوئی گلتے ہوئے ناسوروں سے
لوٹ جاتی ہے ادھر کو بھی نظر کیا کیجے
اب بھی دلکش ہے ترا حسن مگر کیا کیجے
اور بھی دکھ ہیں زمانے میں میں محبت کے سواراحتیں او ربھی ہیں وصل کی راحت کے سوا
ENGLISH
Oh my love, don't ask me for the love I once gave you
I thought that life will shine eternally only if I had you
I had your sorrows then the sorrow fights of this world mean nothing to me
Spring becomes long lasting in this world only because of your face
Except your eyes, nothing is there in this world to see
If I found you, my fate would bow before me
This was not how I wanted, wished to happen
Not only grief of love, the world is full of other sorrows, heartaches
There is happiness other than the joy of union
The dark magic of uncountable dark years
Woven in satin, silk and brocade
In every lane, bodies flesh is sold in market
Covered in dust, bathed in blood
Bodies retrieved from the furnace of diseases
Pus discharge flowing from their rotten ulcers
What can I do sometimes my eyes look in that direction also
Even now your beauty is magical tantalizing but what can be done
Not only grief of love, the world is full of other sorrows, heartaches
There is happiness other than the joy of union
Oh my love, don't ask me for the love I once gave you
