noori has decided to part ways with Gumby.
There are a number of practical and conceptual considerations that have led to this decision by the band:
Firstly a continued ‘dry’ period of almost over a year and a half for the band, characterized specifically by the closing of CD manufacturing factories and the October 8th Earthquake and its repercussions, created financial stresses strong enough for Gumby to resort to session playing with other acts. The band had absolutely no problem with this. It was with the passage of time, as noori started re-emerging into the music scene, that complications arose; specifically in terms of conflicts in performance dates. In quite a few instances noori had to let go off concerts because of the unavailability of Gumby – due to his prior engagement with other non-noori gigs.
This however, is only a practical anomaly that could be sorted out with time. At another and much more significant level, a divergence has emerged between the objectives of the band and those of Gumby.
For Ali Noor and Ali Hamza, pursuing pop-music was never entirely driven by the need to become musicians and musicians alone – had that been the goal, they would much rather have pursued Indian Classical Music. noori, apart from making music, is known to be personally involved in video-making, web-designing, creating media campaigns and related activities through which they can reach out to their audience. It is this entire ‘package deal’ offered by this profession that appealed to the two brothers. And hence the purpose behind forming noori was to share ideas using the different modes of communication offered by pop-music to their best potential.
For Gumby, on the other hand, it was simply noori’s music that attracted him to join the band. Prior to this, Gumby had only been a session player. With noori he got a chance to showcase his talents and be noticed a lot more than he had with his previous ventures. He had by default become a representative of the noori philosophy.
Today it seems that Gumby is more interested in working with a variety of musicians and exploring different forms of music as a solo contributor. Though this realization came through the hard circumstances noori had to face and the consequent need for Gumby to re-explore different arenas, it certainly clarified, for him, his professional objectives.
Secondly, it seems that Gumby’s allegiance to noori had only been in terms of the music these guys made. His sole concern has been to play drums for the band and his involvement in the many other aspects of noori’s work has been minimal.
This is where we must understand the reason why noori was formed. Though almost 99.9% of the ground work for noori has been done by Ali Noor, and in fact it were Gumby’s words that Ali Noor didn’t even have to make a band in the first place,
the sole drive behind the creation of noori was to develop a platform where people could come together and pursue the realization of ideas they commonly share i.e. what we can call
the noori philosophy. One can logically understand that for any ‘team’ to function properly it is a necessary condition that every member should believe in the ideas commonly shared.
Unfortunately it seems that Gumby never ascribed to the noori philosophy in the first place. At least it is very clear that he is not willing to commit himself to the band on a full time basis – something that seems like an obvious requirement for being a member of any band.
It is on this premise that noori has decided to part ways with Gumby. We respect him for having his own ideals and objectives, but we have failed to find a common ground with him.
Obviously there is an emotional disturbance as we have worked together for a period of almost 3 to 4 years; and in this time the three band members have come very close to each other. We did consider simply relieving Gumby from the status of a full time member and using him as session drummer alone, but we seriously feel that continuing to have a professional relationship with Gumby (at least for some time) might damage the friendship we have nurtured over these years of association.
We hope that, in the end, everything works out for the better!
We wish Gumby the best of luck in whatever he pursues and we hope he reaches the heights of success in time to come.
As far as noori is concerned the story has just begun…!!!
For absolute starters noori will be a two member band comprising Ali Noor and Ali Hamza. As far as live performances are concerned the band has already introduced a session guitarist and keyboardist; now a session drummer will be replacing the slot vacated by Gumby.
But all this is only a transition phase. noori is seriously considering to revamp the entire noori sound. A probable experimentation with ‘electronica’ is under consideration. If it succeeds it might lead to an eventual addition into the band line-up in the form of none other than our very own Mandana Zaidi! Yes, Mrs. Ali Noor has started training herself as a DJ artist… and if things work out we will have another rare Pakistani band with a female member!!
More news to come on this front so watch out!!!
In the very recent upcoming ventures there is firstly the launch of noori merchandise, followed by a new video release, a month long television campaign on THEMusik, another re-vamp of the noori website and a few very special surprises in the coming autumn…
Lastly but most importantly, we ask our fans not get disheartened at all. Don’t even think that noori is dying away! In fact consider these changes the foundations of a new beginning. A fresh start!
The noori philosophy isn’t just restricted to the members of noori. It is in the least, the property of noori members. noori is for everyone who believes in these ideals. It was created for more and more people to share and add to it!!!
In fact it is in these testing times that we require full support from all noori fans. So that one day, when noori delivers, every true noori fan will feel that he/she had something to contribute towards this rebirth….
God bless you all!
noori
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