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Stringin’ along since '88
ISLAMABAD: Bilal Maqsood and Faisal Kapadia, collectively Strings, seated in the office of their studio are perhaps amongst the most engaging musicians of Pakistan with well-thought-out responses and incredible comprehension of the industry and its evolution over the years. Whilst one can hear the drums from the jam-space, they’re relaxed, playing off of each other’s vibe and keen to talk about keeping their sound alive, together.
PHOTO: FILE
The Express Tribune sat down with the two maestros as they look back at their illustrious career, the peaks and valleys and coming out of an arduous stretch at Coke Studio as producers to commemorate three decades of excellence this year with returning to touring after a ten-year hiatus as the hit act that they always have been and releasing eight originals to go with it; the first to come out being Sajni. Excerpts from our conversation follow:
ET: First and foremost, congratulations on your incredible benchmark. What inspires you and keeps you going?
Faisal Kapadia (FK): Thirty years, surely, a huge milestone. I think the band has taken very different directions in these three decades, especially the last four years when we were consumed with Coke Studio, and now we’ve come to realise that had that not happened, the enthusiasm in us, as a band, wouldn’t have been there. The different gaps in our lifespan, especially after our first two albums brought even more enthusiasm with it. I think to avoid a stagnant life, it was important. Now, Strings seems like a brand-new band with a lot of energy and eagerness to be on-stage and play for fans.
ET: What can you tell us about the eight-singles you plan on releasing to celebrate and what can one expect?
Bilal Maqsood (BM): Faisal and I were debating on whether we should release an album or singles. Faisal wanted a compiled body of work, something people could listen to from the very beginning to the end, but again, who has that kind of time now? You’d listen to one song or maybe two, the others you’d probably play if they pop up on your timeline. That’s how it is; you don’t click unless it’s on your newsfeed, which is why we decided to make singles; one to come out every month.
You work on them extensively, release videos and give it as much importance as an album put together. With albums, what’s always happened is that you give four or five songs your all, but then the rest of them end up as fillers instead and you’re not able to work on them. They’ll be Side-B, though that doesn’t exist anymore; with singles, you’re able to give each one of them due time. It’s a newer approach to an album, but it would only be complete by the end of the year. You’ll hear the last song in December and the album, with its official cover and artwork would be come out then.
FK: I think that’s the struggle that we’ve always had to face. In our last album, Koi Aanay Wala Hai (2008), there were a couple of songs which we personally felt were very interesting, Sonay Du and Keh Dia, but we weren’t able to shoot videos for them and they didn’t reach people the way they should have, which is entirely because it wasn’t known they existed. As Bilal said, the mechanics are such that each song of ours will get that kind of importance now.
ET: Before the conversation around women in popular culture hit mainstream, ‘Dhaani’ dealt with empowerment. How important is it for influential musicians like yourself to consciously include social commentaries in their artistic landscape?
BM: Social issues and causes are important as long as they come from within. There’s no point of doing something to remain relevant. Strings made songs only when we felt it was needed, like Main Bhi Dekhoon Ga. Dhaani wasn’t like that initially, but its video was conceptualised as such by Jami (Mehmood), but we agreed with him and wanted to take it in that direction. There’s synergy and a great working relationship with him. Like Strings and Anwar Maqsood are a team, so are Strings and Jami.
We bounce off of ideas from one another. This time as well, our second song, Urr Jaoon will touch upon a very pertinent cause of juvenile, child maids who we get to see everywhere, at restaurants with aunties or pushing prams at malls, so we’ve developed a video on what they go through. Again, that’s not what the song itself was about, but after Jami and we discussed it, it really moved us and we believed in his vision.
FK: It comes with time and maturity I believe. After our album, Duur (2000) came out, people would ask us about how all rock-bands are raising social issues, but we would always tell them how ours were very happy, love-songs. But then, we made Beirut and Ab Khud Kuch Kerna Paray Ga, and other tracks, which came out dramatically and during that timeframe, maybe we weren’t able to create those love-songs we once identified with alone. With age, one realises that apart from being just a singer or musician, you have a human responsibility to address certain subjects if you have power to.
ET: You were amongst the very first Pakistani musicians to work internationally, in Hollywood and across the border, bagging multiple accolades. How important do you deem the trade of talent?
FK: I think whenever somebody from any country or profession gains recognition or appreciation outside, around the world; it brings a lot to that country and people who look up to you. When we saw Nusrat Fateh Ali or Reshma doing a song for an Indian film, which was a completely alienated thought at the time, but when somebody does it, it definitely encourages you to follow suit in a way. So when we did all of that, I’m sure a lot of people saw a way and felt they could do it if we could. This collectively brings the morale of the entire nation up. Even if somebody from IT gets an international contract, others would work-hard.
ET: You lent your expertise to the entire soundtrack of Jami’s Moor in 2015. With the cinematic revival of sorts, do you think opportunities for musicians to experiment have increased?
BM: I think Pakistani cinema is stuck in one particular genre currently. It needs to break-out of that. Jami’s film was very experimental, which is why we got a lot of space to play with a lot of different styles of music. But now with every film that’s coming out, you can place the same song in another one and people wouldn’t find out; it’s all that similar. Cinema needs to explore different spaces and only then would it serve beneficial. It’s based on a formula for now and if that continues, nobody would notice it after sometime.
ET: Your four-season run as producers of Coke Studio met with as much acclaim as criticism, where musicians spoke of the lack of inclusion and there were accusations of nepotism. What was your own experience like?
FK: The bigger the platform, the more responsibility you have, which only increases the criticism. We never realised before actually being a part of it that people loved the program so much and owned it in a way that they become very vocal about whatever they feel. With Coke Studio, we learnt that not everybody will like everything, people would have different opinions. Coca Cola wanted Strings to be the producers for the show, so we trusted our judgment and did whatever we thought was right. Yes, we heard about nepotism. We heard about Ali Sethi and Zaw Ali, but honestly, Ali is brilliant and we don’t get to see singers like him very often.
Zaw, we very clearly remember that when Sajjad Ali agreed to be a part of the season, he believed there must be a female singer in it as well and he told us that there was a newcomer who he’d like us to hear, but he never mentioned she was his daughter. We thought Zaw’s voice perfectly matched the song and it was actually much later, when she arrived at the rehearsals that we found out that Sajjad Ali was her father. There’s a lot that can be said, but it’s actually very different behind the scenes.
ET: In a rather thriving music industry, how important do you think corporate involvement is for musicians; is it financially viable to produce music without being backed by a brand?
FK: It’s very important; especially what Coke Studio’s done over the past decade. If there would have been no Coke Studio from 2008 to 2018, there would have been no music at all. We wouldn’t have had musicians like Ali Sethi or Nabeel Shauqat Ali and so many new musicians, or even the veterans who weren’t getting the kind of space they deserved. Corporate(s) need to sensitively invest because they must keep the creative department away from themselves and let artists flourish. Wherever there would be creative interference, the industry would see a downfall again.
ISLAMABAD: Bilal Maqsood and Faisal Kapadia, collectively Strings, seated in the office of their studio are perhaps amongst the most engaging musicians of Pakistan with well-thought-out responses and incredible comprehension of the industry and its evolution over the years. Whilst one can hear the drums from the jam-space, they’re relaxed, playing off of each other’s vibe and keen to talk about keeping their sound alive, together.
PHOTO: FILE
The Express Tribune sat down with the two maestros as they look back at their illustrious career, the peaks and valleys and coming out of an arduous stretch at Coke Studio as producers to commemorate three decades of excellence this year with returning to touring after a ten-year hiatus as the hit act that they always have been and releasing eight originals to go with it; the first to come out being Sajni. Excerpts from our conversation follow:
ET: First and foremost, congratulations on your incredible benchmark. What inspires you and keeps you going?
Faisal Kapadia (FK): Thirty years, surely, a huge milestone. I think the band has taken very different directions in these three decades, especially the last four years when we were consumed with Coke Studio, and now we’ve come to realise that had that not happened, the enthusiasm in us, as a band, wouldn’t have been there. The different gaps in our lifespan, especially after our first two albums brought even more enthusiasm with it. I think to avoid a stagnant life, it was important. Now, Strings seems like a brand-new band with a lot of energy and eagerness to be on-stage and play for fans.
ET: What can you tell us about the eight-singles you plan on releasing to celebrate and what can one expect?
Bilal Maqsood (BM): Faisal and I were debating on whether we should release an album or singles. Faisal wanted a compiled body of work, something people could listen to from the very beginning to the end, but again, who has that kind of time now? You’d listen to one song or maybe two, the others you’d probably play if they pop up on your timeline. That’s how it is; you don’t click unless it’s on your newsfeed, which is why we decided to make singles; one to come out every month.
You work on them extensively, release videos and give it as much importance as an album put together. With albums, what’s always happened is that you give four or five songs your all, but then the rest of them end up as fillers instead and you’re not able to work on them. They’ll be Side-B, though that doesn’t exist anymore; with singles, you’re able to give each one of them due time. It’s a newer approach to an album, but it would only be complete by the end of the year. You’ll hear the last song in December and the album, with its official cover and artwork would be come out then.
FK: I think that’s the struggle that we’ve always had to face. In our last album, Koi Aanay Wala Hai (2008), there were a couple of songs which we personally felt were very interesting, Sonay Du and Keh Dia, but we weren’t able to shoot videos for them and they didn’t reach people the way they should have, which is entirely because it wasn’t known they existed. As Bilal said, the mechanics are such that each song of ours will get that kind of importance now.
ET: Before the conversation around women in popular culture hit mainstream, ‘Dhaani’ dealt with empowerment. How important is it for influential musicians like yourself to consciously include social commentaries in their artistic landscape?
BM: Social issues and causes are important as long as they come from within. There’s no point of doing something to remain relevant. Strings made songs only when we felt it was needed, like Main Bhi Dekhoon Ga. Dhaani wasn’t like that initially, but its video was conceptualised as such by Jami (Mehmood), but we agreed with him and wanted to take it in that direction. There’s synergy and a great working relationship with him. Like Strings and Anwar Maqsood are a team, so are Strings and Jami.
We bounce off of ideas from one another. This time as well, our second song, Urr Jaoon will touch upon a very pertinent cause of juvenile, child maids who we get to see everywhere, at restaurants with aunties or pushing prams at malls, so we’ve developed a video on what they go through. Again, that’s not what the song itself was about, but after Jami and we discussed it, it really moved us and we believed in his vision.
FK: It comes with time and maturity I believe. After our album, Duur (2000) came out, people would ask us about how all rock-bands are raising social issues, but we would always tell them how ours were very happy, love-songs. But then, we made Beirut and Ab Khud Kuch Kerna Paray Ga, and other tracks, which came out dramatically and during that timeframe, maybe we weren’t able to create those love-songs we once identified with alone. With age, one realises that apart from being just a singer or musician, you have a human responsibility to address certain subjects if you have power to.
ET: You were amongst the very first Pakistani musicians to work internationally, in Hollywood and across the border, bagging multiple accolades. How important do you deem the trade of talent?
FK: I think whenever somebody from any country or profession gains recognition or appreciation outside, around the world; it brings a lot to that country and people who look up to you. When we saw Nusrat Fateh Ali or Reshma doing a song for an Indian film, which was a completely alienated thought at the time, but when somebody does it, it definitely encourages you to follow suit in a way. So when we did all of that, I’m sure a lot of people saw a way and felt they could do it if we could. This collectively brings the morale of the entire nation up. Even if somebody from IT gets an international contract, others would work-hard.
ET: You lent your expertise to the entire soundtrack of Jami’s Moor in 2015. With the cinematic revival of sorts, do you think opportunities for musicians to experiment have increased?
BM: I think Pakistani cinema is stuck in one particular genre currently. It needs to break-out of that. Jami’s film was very experimental, which is why we got a lot of space to play with a lot of different styles of music. But now with every film that’s coming out, you can place the same song in another one and people wouldn’t find out; it’s all that similar. Cinema needs to explore different spaces and only then would it serve beneficial. It’s based on a formula for now and if that continues, nobody would notice it after sometime.
ET: Your four-season run as producers of Coke Studio met with as much acclaim as criticism, where musicians spoke of the lack of inclusion and there were accusations of nepotism. What was your own experience like?
FK: The bigger the platform, the more responsibility you have, which only increases the criticism. We never realised before actually being a part of it that people loved the program so much and owned it in a way that they become very vocal about whatever they feel. With Coke Studio, we learnt that not everybody will like everything, people would have different opinions. Coca Cola wanted Strings to be the producers for the show, so we trusted our judgment and did whatever we thought was right. Yes, we heard about nepotism. We heard about Ali Sethi and Zaw Ali, but honestly, Ali is brilliant and we don’t get to see singers like him very often.
Zaw, we very clearly remember that when Sajjad Ali agreed to be a part of the season, he believed there must be a female singer in it as well and he told us that there was a newcomer who he’d like us to hear, but he never mentioned she was his daughter. We thought Zaw’s voice perfectly matched the song and it was actually much later, when she arrived at the rehearsals that we found out that Sajjad Ali was her father. There’s a lot that can be said, but it’s actually very different behind the scenes.
ET: In a rather thriving music industry, how important do you think corporate involvement is for musicians; is it financially viable to produce music without being backed by a brand?
FK: It’s very important; especially what Coke Studio’s done over the past decade. If there would have been no Coke Studio from 2008 to 2018, there would have been no music at all. We wouldn’t have had musicians like Ali Sethi or Nabeel Shauqat Ali and so many new musicians, or even the veterans who weren’t getting the kind of space they deserved. Corporate(s) need to sensitively invest because they must keep the creative department away from themselves and let artists flourish. Wherever there would be creative interference, the industry would see a downfall again.
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