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Chords
of unity
Photo: K.Ramesh
Babu
Bilal
Maqsood, Faisal Kapadia and Ali Mustafa
Music is the sole art, which evokes nostalgia
for the future
— Ned Rorem
OVER THE past few decades, maestros Ghulam
Ali, Mehdi Hassan and Abida Parveen have found
a place in the hearts of many an Indian ghazal
enthusiast. And in recent years Nusrat Fateh
Ali, with his Sufi melodies, and Junoon along
with its metal offering have continued this
musical legacy from across the border. "As far
as art is concerned, or for that matter music,
Pakistani artistes have been well received in
India. Very few groups are doing rock music in
Pakistan today but they have been acknowledged
in India," says Faisal Kapadia, lead singer of
the popular Pakistani band `Strings' who were
in town recently for a concert. "It is
vice-versa. We have had Kishore Kumar and R.D.
Burman along with INXS and U2 for influences,"
adds Bilal Maqsood, music and songwriter for
the band.
`Strings' was the outcome of Faisal and
Bilal's passion for music--they started as a
college band but they never played covers.
Much like the Beatles they struck a chord with
the youth with their kind of music— one with
an attitude. "In 1989, when we started off, it
was considered wrong doing pop music. It was
the time when denims were banned. Noted pop
singers such as Alamgir left the country and
went to Canada," says Faisal.
It was during the same period that `Strings'
released Strings 1 in 1990 followed by Strings
2 and took this part of Asia by storm with
Sar kiye yeh pahar and the new age lullaby
or Lori.
They took a ten-year break to complete their
studies -- Faisal went to Indiana to study BBA
and Bilal his Communication & Design at the
Indus Valley School of Arts only to come back
with a bang with Duur in 2000, with two
new members on board— Ali Mustafa, earlier a
House DJ on keyboards and Adil, a live wire on
lead guitar. Duur was popular with the
youth for its path-breaking music matched by
soothing vocals of Faisal and Bilal. It ruled
Channel V and MTV when contemporary Adnan Sami
released Kabhi to nazar milao.
"It remained on the top of the charts for the
longest time— five months in Asia. But more
important is the fact that it has helped
listeners. We have received letters from our
fans stating that our songs have touched their
lives," says Bilal. It was for this very
reason that they were chosen to compose the
official anthem for Pakistan Hai koi hum
jaisa (HKHJ) for ICC World Cup 2003.
Looking back, Faisal says, " today we have
three music channels dedicated to pop music in
Pakistan. Pop culture is rocking back home. We
have corporate sponsorship for pop groups,
just like for films in India. We will be
releasing our new album Dhaani in
April. We have already shot four videos for
the same.
Watch out for the title track and Chaaye
chaaye." Dhaani, just like the
name, is a collection of refreshing
renditions. The album also includes numbers
sung with Hariharan (Bolo bolo) and
Sagarika (Pal).
"Music in both countries is primarily common,
eastern melody with influences from the West
that makes people relate to each other. I
guess music has been doing its part, of
bringing the countries together and
politically they are initiating the peace
process. We thought it was the right time to
begin the same on a cultural level. We, as
artistes, need to take an initiative.
We had Pooja Bhatt and Mahesh Bhatt visiting
Pakistan recently and people were happy to see
them in person. Indian films are popular in
Pakistan. It is common practise to hear Indian
film songs and watch Hindi films and we
consider only Hollywood flicks as foreign. In
fact we would be doing a concert in Dubai with
Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor this week,"
says Faisal Kapadia.
For now, much like the number Pal: Chahe
hum sabhi itna hi sundar kal, jaise tham gaya
hai aaj kal yeh pal (Just like the
pleasant present, we hope for a beautiful
tomorrow) is what millions of fans of Strings
would wish for in the coming years.
Courtesy:
The Hindu [3rd of Feburary,2004]
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