Strings, Bilal Maqsood, Faisal Kapadia
Strings, Bilal Maqsood, Faisal Kapadia
Genres: world, guitar, Asian, duet, pakistani music
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About Strings, Bilal Maqsood, Faisal Kapadia
Strings is an internationally acclaimed Pakistani pop band comprising two members. The band was formed when four college students—Bilal Maqsood, Faisal Kapadia, Rafiq Wazir Ali and Kareem Bashir Bhoy—decided to form a band in 1988 in Karachi. In 1992, the quartet disbanded only to make a comeback with two of its members, Bilal and Faisal later in 2000. While the initial band was riding on the new wave of Pakistani pop music, the later formation ushered a new revival in the music industry of Pakistan. Kapadia and Maqsood followed in the footsteps of Junoon and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and took their act across the border to India only to realise they already were a recognised band in the country as remixes of one of their earliest songs were played in clubs. As ambassadors for Pakistani pop music, the duo set out to conduct concerts all over the world thenceforth. Acclaimed world over for their stringed rhythms, their songs are praised not only for being melodious but having a strong poetic sense to them. Penned by Anwar Maqsood, Bilal's father, the lyrics of their songs always carry a deep meaning with them. Anwar has been writing lyrics for the band since its re-formation. Where Kapadia is the lead vocalist for the band, Maqsood acts as the composer, guitarist and at times does vocals for a few songs. To play live at concerts, both the members have hired Adeel on the lead guitar, Shakir on the bass guitar, Haider on keyboards and Qaiser on drums, an entourage ensemble that travels with them to various international concerts at times. In June 2004, before they could record their next song, Najaney Kyun, Strings were approached by the heads at Columbia TriStar Films of India, a sister company to their record label company to include the song in the soundtrack of the Urdu version of the epic Hollywood blockbuster Spider-Man. With their massive presence in the Indian pop music scene, Strings were mistaken for an Indian band. Soon afterwards, they were approached by an Indian director shooting Zinda, a remake of the classic South Korean film Oldboy to do a soundtrack. Maqsood composed a song titled Yeh Hai Meri Kahani for the movie. For the video, the duo had to act alongside two A-list actors from Bollywood. It was here that the duo became good friends with John Abraham and Sanjay Dutt and would later appear in more ventures together. Late in 2007, Strings struck a deal with Gibson Guitar Corporation, becoming the first South Asian band in history to create a working relationship with the famed guitar manufacturers. According to the deal, Strings will exclusively use Gibson guitars during concerts, studio recordings and music videos. Furthermore, Strings will act as brand ambassadors to Gibson. In return, Gibson will sponsor the varied endeavours of the band and also provide concert halls and equipment as and when required. Strings is one of the few Pakistani bands/singers to achieve international fame. Their popularity is attributed to the significantly different approach to their music and lyrics. Other singers of international repute include the likes of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Junoon, Nazia Hassan and Vital Signs. Where Fateh Ali Khan was actively promoting Qawwali music and Junoon rock music, Strings approached their music with a little tint of Pakistani pop with classical music and combined with rhythms from stringed instruments. Junoon and Vital Signs had only been famous in the United States of America with a significant following in Europe, whereas String took their gigs to India, all over Asia and the Middle East, and the rest of the world making Pakistani pop music a truly remarkable genre. Even in areas like Nepal that are dominated by influence from their neighbouring India, Strings proved to be the most favourite band amongst crowds. So were they popular in Asia that they were given an award for being Asia's most favourite band at the MTV Asia Awards.
Taken from Last.fm
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