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Irtiqa (Urdu: ارتقاء, literal English translation: evolution) is the debut album by the Pakistani rock band, Entity Paradigm. It was originally slated for a 25 September 2003 release date, but was delayed to 1 October. Entity Paradigm released singles from Irtiqa which were "Hamesha", "Hamein Aazma", "Kahan Hai Tu", "Aghosh", "Waqt" and "Irtiqa III"; the videos for "Waqt" and "Irtiqa III" were directed by Xulfi himself.

Irtiqa
Studio album by Entity Paradigm
Released	October 1, 2003
Recorded	2002-2003 at Digital Fidelity Studios in Lahore, Pakistan
Genre	Hard rock, alternative metal, progressive rock
Length	55:39
Label	Lips Records, Rearts Records
Producer	Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan, Fawad Khan, Mekaal Hasan
Singles from Irtiqa
"Kahan Hai Tu" Released: 2003 "Hamein Aazma" Released: 2003 "Aghosh" Released: 2003 "Hamesha" Released: 2004 "Waqt" Released: 2004 "Irtiqa III" Released: 2005

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Desiest.com	7.3/10 link
Pakistani Music Channel	link
Ultimate-guitar	link

Singles like "Waqt", "Hamesha" and "Kahan Hai Tu" did well in the charts. Irtiqa was considered a critical and commercial success.

Concept

Irtiqa means 'progress' or 'evolution', and this album talks about progress in life. The cover of the album depicts a sketch of an unborn baby. The first track 'Irtiqa I' starts off the album with a soft voice of a newly born baby, indirectly pointing towards progress after birth. The songs that follow after are carefully composed and it seems that EP strictly means business. Songs like "Hamain Aazma" and "Kahan Hai Tu" sound somewhat similar as far as the beginning is concerned but as the tracks unfold either one follow their own unique blend of heavy guitar notes and drums. Most of the tracks do follow the heavy metal/progressive rock genre of music but a couple songs like "Waqt" and "Aghosh" take a slightly lighter tone while at the same time never losing their metallic touch.

On the whole "Irtiqa" is not just a music album, it's a concept, it's a theme and not many musicians in Pakistan making music is based on a specific theme or subject and be able to maintain that theme throughout the album but not just in a single song.

Track listing

All music composed & arranged by Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan, Fawad Khan & Ahmed Ali Butt.

Personnel

All information is taken from the CD.

Entity Paradigm

• Fawad Khan: lead vocals
• Waqar Ahmed Khan: drums
• Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan: lead guitar, vocals
• Ahmed Ali Butt: vocals, keyboard
• Salman Albert: rhythm, vocals, drums
• Sajjad Ali Khan: bass guitar
• Hassan Khalid: rhythm guitar

Production

• Produced by Mekaal Hasan, Fawad Khan & Zulfiqar J. Khan
• Recorded & Mixed at Digital Fidelity Studios, Lahore, Punjab
• Guitar sound engineer: Mekaal Hasan, Fawad Khan & Zulfiqar
• Drums reprogrammed: Fawad Khan
• Drums sound engineer: Fawad Khan & Zulfiqar J. Khan
• Assisted by Mekaal Hasan
• Photography: Usman Saeed
• Art direction & design: Safwat Saleem
• Album art: Tania Danish
• Inlay illustrations: Safwat Saleem

External links

• Irtiqa at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
• Guitar Tabs for Entity Paradigm
• Official website

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