Ranjha Updates and Backstory
Jonny (Gibson ES-125), Shye (Vocal, Tanpura), Aamir (trumpet), Nafees (Qawwali Vocal), and Ehtisham (Dholak) playing Shemesh.
We've now updated Jonny's pages to include details from the recent Ranjha and Shemesh music videos. These include updates to his Ebony Frost Tele Plus, Gibson ES-125, Hofner 182, Ampeg PF-50T, Fender Precision, and more.
Both songs are singles from the album Ranjha, a new collaboration between Jonny, Shye Ben Tzur, and the Rajasthan Express. The title is likely a reference a classical Punjabi folk tragedy. The Rajasthan Express themselves are an expansive group. Aamir Bhiyani primarily plays trumpet in Jazz-influenced wedding bands and parades, and doubled on euphonium and other brass for Ranjha. Zakir Ali Qawwal, Nafees Khan Ajmeri, and Ehtisham Khan Ajmeri are all from the Qawwali tradition, a form of harmonium-driven Sufi Islamic devotional music (the three have also performed together outside of this project). Nathulal Solanki plays Nagara, a large kettle-style drum which he describes as "loud and mostly played in temples". He comes from a Hindu tradition, and said "we are all one group together, Hindus and Muslims… we are so proud that people know our music. And we are so happy" (indiewire).
Qawwali singers Zakir and Nafees singing on Ranjha. Zakir also plays harmonium. Zakir sings into a Beyerdynamic M88, while Nafees appears to sing into a Shure SM58. The small diaphragm condenser on the Harmonium is harder to identify.
Zakir Ali Qawwal previously sang with his brother, Zaki Ali Qawwal. Sadly, Zaki passed away on November 13, 2021. According to Shye, "[w]hile we were rehearsing, after a meal and a cigarette he departed on to another journey."
The videos were filmed at Jonny's home studio in Oxfordshire, which can be seen as a successor to Radiohead's shared "Butts Furlong" studio (which was sold and converted to a home). Some details inherited from the Radiohead studio include the wooden podiums used for the headphone mixers and the large blue acoustic panels. The Smile's albums Wall of Eyes and Cutouts were partially recorded at the studio.
The filming most likely took place in April or May of 2022. That was after the Smile's first live shows at London's Magazine, but before their first full tour that summer. As such, the photos give added insight into the gear that was likely favored during the recording of The Smile's albums as well. For example, Jonny didn't perform with his 1960s Hofner 182 until 2024, but we now know he was recording with it two years prior.
The API 2488 mixing desk at Jonny's Oxfordshire studio (not Nigel's API 2488), with an array of Sam Petts-Davies's polaroids of members of the Rajasthan Express. The monitors are ProAc Studio 100 speakers.
(Left) Another angle of the same scene — this one shared to Sam Petts-Davies's Instagram account on May 3, 2022. Sam engineered and mixed the sessions, and co-produced the album with Jonny. Junun was one of Sam's first engineering credits, so its cool to see he's taken an even greater role in its sequel.
(Right) Aamir Bhiyani, trumpeter of the Rajasthan Express, posted this selfie in front of Jonny's API 2488 to his Instagram on April 29, 2022. It was part of a series of posts promoting (as you might guess from the caption) a show in London. Presumably, he used the trip to the UK as an opportunity to perform as well.
Aamir gives a cue while playing trumpet on Ranjha. The mic is a very rare Melodium 42B ribbon microphone, made in 1940s France (the recent 42Bn reissue looks similar, but lacks the brass ring on the mic's mount). Jonny's Hammond M102 organ can be seen behind him.
A closeup of Zakir playing harmonium on Ranjha.
A closeup of Nathu lal playing a pair of Nagara drums on Ranjha. The microphone is a (likely vintage) Neumann U47.
A shot of Ehtisham Khan Ajmeri playing a Dholak drum on Ranjha. The mic on the left head of the drum looks to be a Neumann U47, while the vocal mic looks like a Beyerdynamic M88 (this one with a grey grill, rather than the black grill on the one used by Zakir). The large shape behind him on the left is the open case of Jonny's Tanpura.
