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Musical Notes

- This has been Strings' year all the way; they made their first international appearance as UNICEF Pakistan National Ambassadors for HIV and AIDS at the UN Secretariat just a couple of weeks ago - where they rubbed shoulders with UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, Bill Roedy, President of MTV Networks International and many other dignitaries. Strings performed that evening at the Secretariat and spoke about the importance of the awareness of the deadly disease. "Although the HIV prevalence rate in Pakistan is still low, it is crucial that we as ambassadors continue to spread prevention messages amongst children and youth so that we keep the epidemic at bay," said Faisal. While Bilal added, "Pakistan is a very conservative society. There's a lot of stigma attached to it [HIV/AIDS]. People don't want to talk about it. We need to come out and talk about it." Strings were also among the eight Pakistani artists who performed at the Wembley Arena for the South Asia Relief Fund to raise money for earthquake relief. When it comes to putting Pakistan on the map, Strings seem to be the natural successors to Junoon.

However, honestly, we can't wait for them to wrap up with riding the success of Dhaani, which was released almost three years ago in 2003. With 2006 around the corner, it's been a while since they gave their fans something new to look forward to. Now they have followed up 'Kahani Mohabbat Ki' with another video to a song from the same album called 'Mera Bichra Yaar'. Nice song guys. Not great, but nice and the same can be said for the video that has been directed by young and upcoming director, Umar Anwar. The video is a single shot one, but this is no Jami-esque 'Chal Dil Meray'. It all happens in one frame. The set is of a messed up room with a couch in the middle that Faisal and Bilal lounge out on in random positions. The video is very simple, but apart from interesting lighting there is nothing much to write home about. And quite frankly, Strings seem to be stuck in the Dhaani frame of mind and it's about time they changed tracks and got on with life, music and lilting melodies.

Courtesy: Instep, NOS, The News International [13th of November 2005]]