From Abba to Elvis Presley to Coltrane, Western music plays an influential role in Pakistani rock band Noori's music alongside strains from their native tradition. During a summer tour in America, we were able to sit down with the band's members — Ali Noor, Ali Hamza and John Louis 'Gumby' Pinto — at Asia Society New York to talk about their approach to music.

As it turns out, their musical influences came at an early age. Siblings Ali Noor and Ali Hamza grew up in a musical family and even went through the motions of learning classical music. Gumby sang in church choirs. But along the way, all three found inspiration in Western rock and roll. That inspiration, fused with elements from Pakistani music, is what gives Noori its unique sound.