Mekaal Hasan stands tall in the tight knit Pakistani rock scene which is eagerly awaiting Saptak, his band’s second album. EMI will release the album in India soon, so fans across the subcontinent will get a chance to judge how far the Mekaal Hasan Band has grown since its first album, Sampooran.

Hasan, who headlines his band, infuses Punjabi themes with Western Jazz influences. The band’s composition practically makes it a requirement. The lead singer is Javed Bashir, supported by the flutist Papu and by Hasan on guitar. Bashir and Papu come from a traditional folk and classical background, while Hasan brings Western jazz sensibilities – he was trained at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. {Read More…}

The ever reclusive Aamir Zaki recently resurfaced alongside Omran Shafique, Gumby, Khalid Khan and a few others in a summer jam gig. Think of Aamir Zaki, and the ability to make guitars dance, mourn and fly with a natural instinct and style isn’t the only thing that comes to mind. His super-hit cult favourite, a blast from the rollicking nineties, the single ‘Mera Pyar’ always finds a way to our hearts. After all, this was the song that brought Aamir from an extraordinaire session player into the minds of those who relied on good ol’ television for music. And it was then when we took another look at Aamir Zaki and decided that he was definitely something else. {Read More…}

Summer Jam was also plugged by numerous solos by Aamir, Momo and Gumby. These displays were a method through which the musicians communicated not only amongst themselves but also with their audience.

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They are the players who help create the sound that echoes out of Coke Studio and beams into our homes via television screens, radios and the Internet. These are men and women who may not be in the starry spotlight but without them Coke Studio would be incomplete. Instep gets to know the faces behind the sound…

By Maheen Sabeeh

Assad Ahmed (guitars)

Assad Ahmed is a new addition to the house band this year and what a fantastic call to make. His reputation precedes him as a rock guitar giant to be reckoned with but Assad is easily as at home making his acoustic guitar weep gently. ” {Read More…}

The King of Pop’s impact on our local music industry is undeniable – from dance moves to disco beats. Here, some of the top names in Pakistani pop revisit their relationship with Michael Jackson, the man and the music. (Interviews by Madeeha Syed. Photography by Rizwan-ul-Haq, Kohi Marri and Fayyaz Ahmed)

Salman Ahmed (Junoon)

My first Zen moment with Michael Jackson happened when he released ‘Beat It’. It included a searing double-tapping guitar solo from my 1980s heavy metal guitar hero Eddie Van Halen. {Read More…}

All I want to do is rock!
Musicians par excellence Gumby, Omran Shafique, Khalid Khan and others come together with the reclusive and legendary Aamir Zaki for a musical fiesta

Sara Zia Khan
Karachi

Sunday night, Karachi experienced something, which doesn’t happen a lot. A spontaneous, chilled out blues, rock jam session for a niche crowd at the Pakistan American Cultural Center (PACC). And that too with a man who can make guitars weep and dance, celebrate and mourn with explosive verve and nerve. When he plays live, its no ordinary day. The man is the guitar wizard Aamir Zaki. This night he was in the limelight and he proved why he needs to be there more often. {Read More…}

The legendary guitar player of Pakistan is back. Aamir Zaki performed on Sunday at PACC with Gumby, Omran Shafique, Yasir Qureshi of ADP and Khalid Khan. Singers Sheldon and Sara Memon also featured but this night was all about the guitars Omran Shafique, who swaggered onto the stage to face a horde of screaming fans, introduced Aamir on the stage. {Read More…}

Coke Studio and beyond: The wonderful world of Umber and Rohail Hyatt

Behind every successful man is a woman and Rohail Hyatt is the first to admit it, as he and his wife Umber let Instep in to their home and life at the height of Coke Studio fever.

By Maheen Sabeeh

Meet the producers

To the world at large, Coke Studio is the magnum opus genius of Rohail Hyatt. Featuring Pakistan’s biggest names in music, both from the Eastern classical/folk front and modern day pop giants while introducing new musicians into the mix who have hitherto remained unknown backing musicians at various concerts, the second season of Coke Studio is looking spectacular. {Read More…}

Madeeha Syed gets through high security for a backstage peek at the most elusive recording studio in town.

I drive several miles out of the main centre of the city, cross a bridge into an area dominated by warehouses and industrial mills and arrive at a venue marked only by a tiny sign. The only thing that gives the location away are the number of cars parked in front and the comings and goings of personnel with identity tags around their necks. {Read More…}

Forming a union for musicians is a noble initiative and one which has also been taken in the past [Association of Music Professionals of Pakistan (AMPP) formed in April 2006] albeit without any visible success.

There is again talk of a section of the musician community in Pakistan getting together to form another union — tentatively called the United Musicians of Pakistan (UMP). {Read More…}