"Q' Magazine calls them "One of the biggest bands in the world". Billboard says Junoon is the Subcontinent's "biggest crossover success after the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan". After their concert (a Tribute to the late Ustaad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan) at New York's famous Central Park last August, the New York Times dubbed their music "Pakistani rock mixed with religious rapture". Similarly, in a preview to Junoon's performance at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, the L.A. Times says Junoon's "ability to captivate audiences" is "inspiring Beatles-like reactions".
Junoon, meaning 'obsession' or 'passion', is South Asia's biggest rock band. They sing mostly in the language of Urdu, in a style blending Western hard rock with Sindhi & Punjabi folk and Qawwali. "The band's appeal reaches beyond the Westernised elite", says Newsweek International. Junoon, in effect, had to create an audience for rock music in Pakistan. This didn't happen right away. The band struggled financially for the first few years. Group members remember months of eating 'daal' and rice, the Pakistani poor man's staple. It all paid off in the spring of 1996, when Junoon scored its first big hit with the song "Jazba-e-Junoon" ("The Spirit of Passion"). |
