Pakistan’s pop-rock sensation Stings are all excited about coming to Dubai after a gap of nearly two years. They will be in town to perform at Sangam, an event at Dubai Tennis Stadium in this month featuring an amazing line-up from the subcontinent artists including top Bollywood singer Shaan, the percussion-driven Pakistan band Overload and Dubai band 2live.
It’s going to be a memorable gig for Strings. “This will be the first concert to promote our new album Koi Aanay Wala Hai, said lead singer Faisal Kapadia, who along with guitarist Bilal Maqsood make up Strings. Incidentally, the band kicked off its first ever international tour from the UAE way back in 1992.
Strings play mellow romantic songs. “Our music comes straight from the heart which is one main reason why everyone enjoys our songs.”
So what plans do they have for the Dubai gig? “We will be playing songs from our new album. It’s got some great music. We have a huge fan following in Dubai and we will not disappoint them. We’re also thinking about doing two concerts a year in the UAE because of the huge response we’ve had from our fans,” said Faisal.
Besides the concert and their new album, Strings also have another reason to be excited. It’s the endorsement deal with the legendary American guitar makers Gibson. “It’s been our greatest achievement. I can’t tell you how honoured we feel to be put on an endorsement list which features the who’s who of the music industry like Slash and Jimmy Page,” said the deep-voiced Faisal.
Talking about his baritone voice, Faisal said that pitching low has never been a deterrent for him. In fact it’s this unique quality in his voice that sets him apart. “It all happened after I started taking classical music lessons. I learnt the finer points of music and became more aware of my vocal range. I then started giving the lower octave more prominence,” he said.
Guitarist Bilal creates the music for Strings while his father Anwar - the renowned Pakistani writer and actor - pens the lyrics. The duo then fine tune the melodies, fit in the lyrics and get the songs ready for the final cut.
Strings are also quite popular in India where they’ve performed for a number of gigs all over the country. They’ve also scored songs for the Bollywood movies Zinda and Shootout At Lokhanwala.
“We got into film music after we were approached to do the track Na Jaane Kyon for the Hollwood blockbuster Spider-Man 2. After this, we recieved plenty of offers to compose songs for movies,” said Faisal.
“Initially, we were reluctant to do Bollywood movies as it meant moving away from our style. But when filmmaker Sanjay Gupta approached us for his movie, he told us that he wanted the Strings sound and this is what excited us.”
“Doing film music is good for a band. Everyone in the subcontinent listens to movie songs so you get greater exposure,” he said.
Faisal’s favourite western bands:
U2, Coldplay, Radiohead, Aerosmith.
His favourite Bollywood singers:
Kishore Kumar, Hariharan and Sonu Nigam
His favourite Indian composer: RD Burman
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