Sibling Rivalry

THE local guitar picker, got his guitar picking thumb, as soon as the shareef had cleared the square, they began to wail. That punk rock an...

THE local guitar picker, got his guitar picking thumb, as soon as the shareef had cleared the square, they began to wail.

That punk rock anthem of the 8217;80s, Rock The Casbah, holds true for all Pakistani musicians who lived through the stifling Zia-ul-Haq regime, which came down hard on artistes, and the Nawaz Sharif era when Pakistan8217;s only TV channel banned all music programmes. But despite their shared history, Pakistani pop stars Strings and Fuzon hate each other8217;s guts.

Recently, both bands were in town to perform at a music awards show. And since the boys clearly don8217;t like being in the same frame, they performed separately, of course. 8220;We don8217;t want to be treated like seniors. There might be differences in the way we perceive music,8221; said Strings8217; vocalist Faisal Kapadia when told we wanted to meet the bands together. While Strings are suave old hands, Fuzon, which made a dynamite debut in 2002 with Saagar, are brash Jacks-in-the-box.

When they did finally sit down together, a blast of animosity reminiscent of an Indo-Pak one-dayer filled the lobby of a Mumbai luxury hotel. After edgy handshakes, the bands settled down for a chat that was punctuated by hard glares every time one of the Strings was interrupted.

A discussion about Pakistani music almost turned into a slanging match when Fuzon vocalist Shafqat Amanat Ali pointed out, 8216;8216;You8217;ve made songs to sell them.8217;8217; Then he sheepishly shook Kapadia8217;s hand to soften the blow. The saleability issue8217;s contentious because, for instance, both have Bollywood dreams. In fact, Strings and Fuzon are scheduled to tune up for two forthcoming films from the Bhatt camp. But a brief ceasefire is born when both bare their war wounds.

8216;8216;There was a ban on music during Sharif8217;s time and there was absolutely no music on PTV, the only TV channel at that time,8217;8217; explains Strings8217; lead guitarist Bilal Maqsood.

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There were no women on TV either, phaansi lag jati thi Syed Mohammed
Imran Momina

He barely completes his sentence, and Shallum Asher Xavier, Fuzon8217;s lead stringer, exclaims, 8216;8216;Oh God, musicians were not allowed to wear jeans on TV.8217;8217;

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Immu aka Syed Mohammed Imran Momina, Fuzon8217;s 33-year-old keyboard player, pipes in with a look of horror, 8216;8216;There were no women on TV either, phaansi lag jati thi You could be hung for it.8217;8217;

8216;8216;After Zia8217;s regime ended in 1988, musicians started flourishing,8217;8217; says Kapadia. 8216;8216;Today, pop is the staple diet on PTV,8217;8217; he continues in a deep baritone. In fact, Herald, an influential political magazine, even had musicians on its cover for the 2005 new year issue.

8216;8216;Today musicians are to Pakistan what Bollywood is to India,8217;8217; says Maqsood. Strings, which has been around since 1989, and tasted success four years ago with Duur, is one of the biggest names in Pakistan today. Does that mean the climb to the top8217;s been easier for younger bands?

8216;8216;A struggle is a struggle,8217;8217; says Ali, vehemently dismissing the idea that Strings probably paved the way for its successors. And Kapadia butts in, 8216;8216;The struggle has been in phases, but it8217;s Junoon which was really in the thick of it for seven or eight years.8217;8217;

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The greatest impetus for Pakistani musicians has been complete control over all aspects of making an album. Unlike here where record labels control an artiste8217;s work, in Pakistan they simply handle distribution.

Of course, another reason why pop8217;s on top is because Pakistani film music, in Immu8217;s words, 8216;8216;sucks8217;8217;. And that8217;s another thing they all agree on.