CONCERT:
A Rare Occurrence: 'Strings' - Still Pulling Hearts
Single acts and larger bands are the vogue in the music world today where duos remain a rarity especially in South Asia. Strings have managed to buck that trend, are staying different and successfully so, writes Ras H. Siddiqui.
(Above): Bilal Maqsood and Faisal Kapadia popularly known as “Strings”
It has been almost three years since the musical duo of Bilal Maqsood and Faisal Kapadia popularly known as “Strings” last visited us here in the United States. It seems that they have beaten the odds against twos in music and have stayed together for over a decade now.
Since rejuvenating themselves in 1999 Bilal and Faisal have been busy indulging in a number of positives. Their album Duur in the year 2000 and Dhaani in 2003 established their permanent presence on the Pakistani music scene. But it was their impact in and from India that launched them within the Desi diaspora worldwide.
A song they sang for the Bollywood movie, Zinda, in 2006, “Ye Hai Meri Kahani,” was on our minds and lips for quite some time in both India and Pakistan. The song’s haunting lyrics written by Bilal’s father the legendary Anwar Maqsood still move some listeners.
Over the years, Karachi-based Strings have played music with Hariharan, Euphoria and Indian Ocean from across the border (just to name a few) and in Pakistan with just about every big name including Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Ali Zafar, Shafqat Amanat Ali and Atif Aslam. Their performance at the Aman Ki Asha (a peace effort by the Times of India and Pakistan’s Jang Group) gathering in 2011 in Ahmedabad, India, alongside Indian Ocean was certainly a memorable one.
Strings represent South Asia’s Pop music genre. There is some infusion of classical trends but they have so far kept their music refreshingly light without overpowering the lyrics in their songs. But theirs is certainly not the diet version of pop. Neither Heavy Metal nor Bhangra, it is somewhat like fusion cuisine, made more delightful when the eastern ingredients or spices take over the western guitar and keyboard. Either way, it can be an enriching experience.
To conclude, Strings will be in California playing at least two concerts here in March. They will be performing at a charity event in San Jose on the ides of March for The Citizen’s Foundation, San Francisco Chapter on the ides of March. Their latest big hit is bound to be a major attraction there, a sad commentary on the current state of affairs in Pakistan. It offers much to ponder in its lyrics “Mein To Dekhoonga, Tum Bhi Dekhoge, Jab Roti Sasti Hogi , Aur Mehngi Hogi Jaan” (Translated from Urdu: “I will see and so shall you, a time when bread will be cheap and human life much more expensive”).
Strings will certainly be pulling on many heartstrings with this one.
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Ras Hafiz Siddiqui is a South Asian American writer. He lives in Sacramento, Calif.
