close
Instep Today

Strings take Red Bull Sound Clash 2018 in terrific fashion

By Maheen Sabeeh
Fri, 12, 18

Ali Azmat, who won the 2016 clash against Umair Jaswal, mostly put up a good rock show but couldn’t surpass the musicianship displayed by Strings.

For the purpose of this gig, music group Strings were the underdogs. Let’s face it. Ali Azmat, along with his terrific band, won the last Red Bull Sound Clash Pakistan edition, circa 2016 with great ease. He is also quite the performer; some would say the country’s finest from the older lot and you never know what he’ll do onstage. He is backed on stage by the likes of Omran Shafique, Fahad Khan and Kamran Mannu Zafar – also some of the strongest musicians in the country.

Strings, while mastering the art of stage performance over the years, have always maintained a certain grace, and that too made its appearance this night.

Two of Pakistan’s oldest musicians, who continue to make music and still have the interest of a changing audience, Ali and Strings were supposed to defend two different genres: rock and pop, respectively.

But music group Strings managed to win not only by winning over the audience but by also displaying a strong musicianship, indicative of a prepared work ethic.

The gig, split into various rounds, included showcasing versatility by dabbling in various genres. DJ Faisal Baig would spin a track and you had to do a song in that genre. This is where Ali got it right and wrong.

He nailed a Bunny song to such a degree that now no one else should sing it except him, even Bunny. It was also most interesting to see the artists performing each other’s songs and reminding us that some tracks are sacred and no one should touch them.

Both belted out some of their big hits with Strings playing ‘Dhaani’, ‘Anjaane’, ‘Zinda Hoon’, ‘Sar Kiye Ye Pahar’, ‘Mera Bichra Yaar’ and Ali Azmat performing crowd favourites like ‘Rangeela’, ‘Yaar Bina’, ‘Mera Mahi’ and ‘Sayonee’ among others.

Strings have been more than a pop band now for some time. From the line-up to the albums, they know how to mix rock and pop - something they did on Koi Aanay Wala Hai and their newest album, 30. Ergo, for them, mixing pop and rock to a perfect degree was not as big a challenge as one thought it would be. After all, they have done it before. During one song, they played Dandiya, wearing the same jackets throughout the performance. It sounds amusing but it showed how far Strings have come as performers and how they can surprise fans and mostly endear them. The drum act was fantastic as well.

A night before, I found Xulfi and his crew telling me about how he was running the sound so it came as a genuine surprise that Ali Azmat in particular had sound issues, something Omran Shafique, the most expert guitarist in the country, had to point out while onstage.

It’s not that Ali didn’t represent rock well. ‘Mera Mahi’, ‘Sayonee’, ‘Rangeela’ and ‘Deewana’ in particular, stood out. But it was simply a case of greater, strong musicianship from Strings that had the scale tipping in their favour more than Ali Azmat’s. They outplayed Ali Azmat and kept the format in mind.

If Ali Azmat had Call as their surprise artist, Strings brought out Ahmed Jahanzeb, which was yet another move that was extremely surprising at first and made sense as he sang.

Strings had the audience though, as Bilal Maqsood belted out a beautiful, acoustic version of ‘Mera Bichra Yaar’.

When the word clash is in the name of the game, you do expect some exchange of words so most of Ali Azmat’s jokes were forgivable. However, the crying act and the jibe at Strings for their Coke Studio version of ‘Sayonee,’ before Ali sang the song, bordered on bad taste. Ali is notorious and people love him for it but even as Strings are far too graceful to respond in kind, to bring it up at this concert while he is re-uniting with Junoon, backed by a biscuit brand, was paradoxical and didn’t fly as a joke. Strings have not only parted ways with Coke Studio but remain his peers.

The industry, as dysfunctional as it may be, ultimately needs to support one another. The image of Call, Ahmed Jahanzeb, Strings and Ali Azmat, at the end of the gig, as they sang a tune together, is the image that the industry needs if it has a chance to grow.

There is room for Ali Azmat, who shone on Coke Studio this year and Strings, who are releasing singles/ music videos from their sixth studio album. In Pakistan’s fragile music scene, both are still capable.

As for Karachi, it came out for the industry icons and had a rollicking time - even if it was just ephemeral.