The show’s most empowering moment came when the all-girl band covered John Newman’s ‘Love Me Again’.
MusicMix
From revisiting classics to originals, it’s been an innovative year for Nescafe Basement.
Nescafe Basement, in its fourth season, is possibly having its best year. The televised music show spread across several episodes features young, aspiring musicians from all around the country and from a list of thousands, the participants for each season are shortlisted after auditioning.
Spearheaded by Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan aka Xulfi, who serves as mentor and producer, the show features a combination of originals as well as covers from various genres and artists. Speaking to Instep in a telephonic conversation, Xulfi revealed that covers help artists in learning the intricacy that lies within music.
Perhaps the show’s most empowering and significant moment came with the all-girl band whose cover rendition of John Newman’s ‘Love Me Again’ was miraculous. From the vocals to the ukelele to violin, every instrument featured a girl, making it one of the most important performances in modern music’s history. Featuring Anna Salman, Maria Fatima, Jannat Sohail, Maham Riaz, Arfa Chaudhary, Kristin Kinaria, Sanya Shahzad, Amal Nadeem, Mishal Faheem and Sumaira Waris, the song has been endorsed by several music names such as Haniya Aslam and Ali Zafar. And yes, John Newman took note of the cover and shared it on his social media account on Twitter.
Equally endearing is the performance by brothers Ahmed (8-year-old) and Muhmmad Afandi as they cover the national anthem and manage to steal our hearts with it.
In covers, there are plenty of choices. A rollicking version of Junoon’s classic hit, ‘Talaash’, a contemporary rendition of Attaullah Khan Essakhilvi’s ‘Kameez Teri Kali’ and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s ‘Gorak Dhanda’ represent three of the best performances of the show. Furthermore, the songs showcased here represent a modern-day reinterpretation and works, mostly. NFAK also looms in the background as ‘Tere Jeya Hor Disda’ which opened this year’s season also lingers.
In originals, Yasrah shines on ‘Forever’ while Sherry Kathak’s ‘Fanaa’ also stands out for its verve while Richie and Leo Twins leave a lasting impression with ‘Mein Hoon’.
If you head to Nescafe Basement’s soundcloud page, you can find a complete playlist of tunes from this season, a total of eleven songs that will possibly make you comeback more than once.
Ultimately, the show is also a sign that young people across the country, boys and girls, are interested in music and have the talent and perseverance that is required in this field to make it. And the show serves as a platform to those youngsters who may or may not have the necessary facilities. Under Xulf’s supervision (who also plays with Call, the band and is a former EP member), the participants not only learn about studio dynamics but also learn how to work with other musicians and in a professional studio set-up.