Saagar (album)

Sea) is the debut album by the Pakistani pop rock band, Fuzön, released in January, 2002[1][2] by Amazing Productions/Empire Music Limited in Pakistan and by Virgin Records in India.

[6] Saagar is noteworthy for embedding elements of Hindustani classical ragas within pop rock and jazz compositions, and it is widely considered a pathbreaking album for the way it revolutionized Pakistani music in the 2000s.

[11][12] All three founding members of Fuzön — producer and keyboardist Imran (Emu) Momina, guitarist Shallum Asher Xavier, and lead vocalist Shafqat Amanat Ali — were propelled into fame across the subcontinent as a result of the unprecedented success of Saagar.

[13][14] The lead single of the album, "Aankhon Ke Saagar" as well as the songs "Khamaj" (also known as "Mora Saiyaan") and "Akhian" received significant airtime on music channels and FM radio stations in both India and Pakistan.

The songs in the album feature a common strain where aspects of Hindustani classical ragas are woven into pop melodies, combined with traditional Pakistani folk vocals and the Sufi rock style of singing.

[20] Lead vocalist Shafqat Amanat Ali stated in an interview: "with Mora Saiyaan...set in raag Khamaj, I introduced the contemporary audience to a thumri (evocative love poetry) that my elders had been singing for generations.

"[26] Reflecting on the legacy of the album, Rafay Mahmood of The Express Tribune (Pakistan) wrote: "For the first time, people witnessed a trained singer from a classical gharana (in this case Patiala) making perfect use of his vocal range to add depth to rock and roll riffs in arrangements.

"[27] The Express Tribune (Pakistan) wrote, "songs like “Khamaj” and “Teray Bina”...are rendered timeless and will be written in golden words in the history of Pakistani pop.