Since parting ways (amicably) with Coke Studio last October after producing four seasons, music group Strings, featuring Bilal Maqsood and Faisal Kapadia, has been busy.
Strings playing a show at the Mohatta Palace in Karachi this past Sunday.
MusicMix
In between playing live shows across multiple cities, Pakistan’s longest standing music group is recording new material.
Since parting ways (amicably) with Coke Studio last October after producing four seasons, music group Strings, featuring Bilal Maqsood and Faisal Kapadia, has been busy.
As they celebrate their 30 years of existence in 2018, the band has many elaborate plans in store, beginning with their return to live music and to the recording studio as well.
In November 2017, the band took the stage at the Mohatta Palace at the launch of the Emerging Pakistan initiative that was launched by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. Strings performed at the event and at one point were joined by Momina Mustehsan. They followed it up with a solid performance at the Coke Food and Music Festival in Lahore at the Royal Palm and another show at Packages Mall, also in Lahore.
Anwar Maqsood and Bilal Maqsood working on the lyrics for a new Strings single.
In December, the group teamed up with Salt Arts and put up a phenomenal, nostalgia-inducing performance at the Beach Luxury Hotel, which we were fortunate to witness and one that proved this is a band that is capable of moving people with their enduring songs, beautiful melodies and enormous stage presence.
The Salt Arts gig was followed by another live performance at Packages Mall in Lahore.
Entering 2018, the band is continuing its live performing streak, having played shows at the IBA in Karachi, LUMS and the Coke Food Festival in Lahore and another one at the Mohatta Palace in Karachi this past Sunday.
While the back-to-back shows are giving fans a chance to see the band at the top of its game after many moons of hiatus, they have also been sharing pictures that confirm that work on new material is well underway.
Sharing images on their social media accounts in 2018, the group shared one image of Bilal Maqsood with father and longtime Strings lyricist Anwar Maqsood. The image was accompanied with the tag ‘lyrics for a new song’.
Another image, shared from the studio featured mixing equipment and baklava along with the words: “Song one done. Mixing song number two. Baklava panned 70% right.”
All this means that new material is being worked upon, which is great news because Strings haven’t released a new song in years.
Apart from this development, the band’s original members Faisal Kapadia and Bilal Maqsood have a new and improved live line-up that now includes Bradley D’Souza and Haider Ali along with earlier players Adeel Ali and Aahad Niyani.
In a January interview with The National, Bilal Maqsood, while reflecting on the band’s creative process and the camaraderie they share noted, “We made our band when we were 17 to 18, and since then, we kind of grew up with our own sound. Even today, whatever I make Faisal happens to agree with it. He lets me know if something’s wrong, but we rarely ever disagree, because our tastes are so similar.”
With the success of their comeback shows and new songs beings worked upon in the studio, the good news is that the glorious days of Strings are far from over. Set to play at the Coke Food and Music Festival in Karachi this March, watch out for the band as it continues to forge new ground.
