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Strings that bond
MANGALA RAMAMOORTHY
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Pakistani music band Mizmaar comes to India to promote its debut album.
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Crossing borders Members of the band Mizmaar.
Two’s company, three’s a crowd but in this case, it’s different. When Kashan Admani, Daniyal Badshah and Alfred D’mello come together, they only make good music. Mizmaar, as they are known, is the newest entrant in the world o
f music.
Out with their debut album, Sitara, the Pakistani band visits India to promote it. “This is actually our second album, but first one in India. Our first album came out in 2000 in Pakistan,” explains Kashan, the lead guitarist as well as the founder of the band.
What is that brings them here now that didn’t earlier? “When we started off, it wasn’t normal for bands to come to India to release their music. But the scene has changed now.”
Not the same
They refuse to be branded as just another band from across the border that has come to gain some commercial mileage in India.
“We definitely are here to sell our album but we are here to expose people to our music too. I feel our music is such that it will appeal to people from both the countries as we share common roots,” explains Kashan.
But what makes them different from the other bands that have already made waves here? “The ones who have heard our music will know better. Our sound is very simple yet melodious.”
Having started off originally as a rock outfit, their music blends rock with melody along with different musical instruments like the Arabian tubes and flute.
“It has some pop element in it but with a strong Eastern touch,” says the man who has also performed with a lot of other bands including Strings and on Raeth’s debut album.
Each of the 11 songs from their album, Kashan promises, is different.
“Our songs also have a lyrical depth as we have got the popular poet Sabir Zafar to do the lyrics. While ‘Barson’ is very melodious, there are other songs that have a strong ‘funk-rock’ element.”
Musical background
The band may be new but the band members are definitely not new to the field. All the three musicians are hardcore professionals who have been part of the music scenario in Pakistan for years together.
While Kashan has been professionally producing and recording music for a decade now, Alfred D’mello, who has been heavily influenced by the likes of Dave Weckle, Simon Philips and Mike Portnoy, began drumming at the age of nine and has played in various underground music shows.
Daniyal began singing during school days, with major influences from rock bands of the ’70s and ’80s like Whitesnake, Deep Purple as well as artistes like Mehdi Hassan and the late Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan before joining Mizmaar.
“Since all of us have worked with so many other bands, we knew what to do and what not when it came to doing things in our band. Similarly, all of us have different line of expertise, which give each of us a space in the band,” points out Kashan.
Interestingly, none of them any formal training in music and that’s because, “In Pakistan, we don’t have that culture of learning music formally.”
Bollywood is not on their radar currently but would only be too happy to be a part of it sometime.
As for now, living up to their band’s name that in Persian means ‘a stringed musical’, Mizmaar is here to strike the right chords.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
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