Velo Sound Station remains unsurpassed in its endeavours to bring together original musical content that celebrates contemporary Pop culture and artfully mixes it with high fashion and drama to create audio-visual magic. With 152K subscribers on its associated YouTube channel and a speedily soaring fan following, the sharply executed musical show featuring exhilarating music performances by veteran and emerging artists dressed to the nines, has become the talk of the town.
Velo Sound Station, produced by Bilal Maqsood and co-directed by Bilal Maqsood and Yasir Jaswal released Episode 3 on Friday and music lovers were blown away by the audio-visual artistry of the performances yet again!
The episode featured a dramatically-produced tribute to 80s Pop era; a Big Band style number and a soulful romantic ballad, all in all creating what is pure high-octane energy!
Powerhouse vocalist and style icon Meesha Shafi, who is well-known for her individualistic and edgy fashion choices as well as being a force for female empowerment, is indeed an ideal performer for a dance club cover of Nazia Hassan’s 1982 pop hit ‘Boom Boom’. The singer with her cool attitude and moves, has made this cover a heartfelt tribute to 80s Pop music and a feminist ode of sisterhood to the late Pop icon who along with her brother, Zoheb Hassan was instrumental in introducing and cementing Pop music in Pakistan in the disco era of the 80s and beyond with other hits such as ‘Aap Jaisa Koi‘ and ‘Dosti’.
While talking about her original cover version of ‘Boom Boom’, Meesha said: “Recreating an iconic and evergreen hit song close to many music lover’s hearts is a big responsibility. Nazia Hassan is such a timeless icon. It wouldn’t be fair to try and emulate her. I did sit and re-watch all her videos to study the music and performances. A natural beauty with God’s many gifts. The entire effort is really a nod to her and her epic contribution to putting Pakistan on the map in the disco era.”
Meesha’s entrance on Velo’s stage made heartbeats race as she walked on stage with her face covered by a voluminous hood. She recited these evocative English lyrics in her powerful vocals while the words and animations waft down like clouds on the oversize LED screen behind her:
“Can you feel this force
This sweet design.
How our minds are together. How we are so aligned.
Felt the hush in the world.
Only sound I heard was the way you made my heart go BOOM BOOM.”
What stood out along with her power-packed performance was her dramatic attire that added more charisma to the song. Meesha’s look which brought the house down is influenced by loud, in-your-face 80’s fashion in terms of hair, make-up, jewellery and the statement Boom Boom jacket.
To complement her theatrical dance club version of ‘Boom Boom’ for Velo Sound Station, Meesha dressed up in a hooded boxing coat, embellished with bright neon geometric patches, designed by Ebtisam Ahmed. It was worn over a black top and stylish jogger pants offset with fishnet gloves and plastic jewellery. Turquoise eyeshadow, candy pink lips and voluminous 80s hairstyle completed the look. The BOOM BOOM coat designed by EB was styled by ace costume and wardrobe stylist, Mavi Kiyani. “The 80s in-your-face glam look is a way to express oneself and reach audiences,” Meesha said talking about her look.
Meesha also explained how Velo Sound Station helped to render the Disco era classics a contemporary vibe: “What we’ve done with the cover version is that we’ve turned it into a banging club track. We wanted this version to be just as irresistible as the original. Something that makes people want to get up and start dancing. It’s such an upbeat happy song.”
The cover version is more relaxed and has more drops than the original, though still rendered with soul and belting gusto by Meesha, making it a visual treat.
Read: Aima Baig’s smouldering look and sound ignite Velo Sound Station’s stage
Due to Velo Sound Station’s efforts to reflect contemporary Pop culture and introduce fresh new genres and individualistic modern sounds, the timeless hit song sounds contemporary with the cover versions’ distinctive Electro-Pop sound and beats. While the inclusion of two portions of English lyrics added a New Age style.
Executive Producer, Bilal Maqsood said about the impetus behind Meesha’s club version of ‘Boom Boom‘: “The music of the 80s is coming back in a big way! Velo Sound Station wanted to pay a tribute to 80s Pop music and use the 80s as a prompt of reference in the context of today.”
Meesha’s groovy rendition of ‘Boom Boom’ is a hit number that you wouldn’t want to miss. Watch the video here:
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