LAHORE: A two-day Lahore Music Meet concluded yesterday on a very positive note. The event featured sessions in which musicians, singers and composers all urged to people engaged in the music industry to work together to take it to new heights. The event was also marked with enthralling performances by underground bands.

There were 15 sessions yesterday. The Day 2 of LMM started with session titled ‘Simpler Sampling with Danial Arthur Panjwaneey in discussion with Ziyaad Habib as moderator. A number of sessions were reshuffled on Day 2 due to which people had to face a lot of inconvenience. Sessions include ‘Animating Music’ Syed Mustafa, Arium Elahi, Alamash Sever were panelists with Sheryar Baig as moderator, ‘Flaunting the flute’, ‘Below the Bassline’, ‘The Stupid Happiness Theory of making tunes’, ‘The desert journey’, ‘The composers guide to the big screen’, ‘The Show must go on\ with Natasha Humera Ejaz, Sara Haider were as panelists . The session was moderated by Imran Shahid.

Vocalist Javed Bashir had an interactive session with audience titled ‘Saaz-eAndaaz: Surr Miloo’. The LMM ended with enthralling performance by Javed Bashir at Hall 1.

There were 9 performances of underground bands including MU, Mohammad Aizaz, Mehdi Maloof, Patati Tabeer, Shajie, Hathi, Saakin, Tonight, Us, Jaubi and  Noah’s Heark at Hall 2.

Ahmer Naqvi who is the moving force behind the Patari moderated the session ‘Patari Tabeer’ with Abid Brohi who hails from Sibbi and Lyaari Rappers (Danial and Abdullah) as panelists.

Ahmer described the Patari as a ‘Doodh Jalebi’ awesome platform for discovering and streaming Pakistani music.

Danial is rapper from Lyari in Karachi. He told the audience that before joining the Patari he served in Pakistan national football team. “We got in contact with Ahmer Naqvi and made some of the awesome songs which could not have reached the world without the help of Patari project,” he said.

Danial said that before the Patari reached Lyari they had made some songs but kept it to the underground music band in the premises of Lyari. “I used to listen to all kinds of music but then I realized that Lyari had everything but no rapper voice which could represent the voice of Lyari to the world,” Danial said.

“Rap means real artist power which represents the real voice of the people as Andre Romelle aka Dr Dre and Snoop Dog who made rap songs to represent their native and indigenous issues of their community to the world.

“I chose rap songs to highlight the issues of Lyari and positive image of Lyari at the same time.

“The ghettos are present worldwide and Lyari is not different than a ghetto which got fame through gangsters and gangs but we are also talented Pakistanis. Lyrari used to be call mini Brazil. All government needs is to promote the local talent.

“I used to Lewa dance during my performances, which is a kind of Samba dance of Brazil. It was invented 350 years ago when Karachi was Kolachi and people from Africa called Mugarman had interaction with local people and new dance type was formed, Lewa,” he said.

Danial said he was very much inspired with discipline of Lahore. “During a security check the people of some law enforcement agencies did not believe that I was Pakistani. They thought I looked like a Columbian warlord agent. Then they checked my NIC and let me go. Some other people here also could not believe that I am a Pakistani! It was unique experience in Lahore,” a laughing Danial told the audience. 

Songs of Lyari

Abid Brohi became people sensation as he has already thousands of fans on internet. His internet hit song is ‘The Sibbi Song’. Patari singers gave splendid performance on The Sibbi Song (Abid Brohi), Players of Lyari, Jugni (Nazar Gill & Farhan Zameer) and received huge applause from jam packed audience at Alhamra Hall II of Lahore Arts Council. 

Meesha Shafi on her struggle in music industry

One of the most awaited sessions of Lahore Music Meet Day 2 was with renowned singer Meesha Shafi titled ‘Made Meesha Shafi’ in which she highlighted her journey in the field of Pakistani music industry.

Meesha said the first time she came on stage was at Alhamra in Lahore just because of her mother who theatre actor. “I started my singing career with the band Overload but left in 2011. I was selected for the film without audition. Mira Nair invited me to meet her when she was in Lahore scouting for actors. At that time I didn't even know what I was going to meet her for but once the role was offered to me, I did not hesitate in taking it up. Opportunity comes, and I've been very lucky with that,” she said.

About his experience in Coke Studio she said it was just for a phone which changed her whole life and after that day her songs became hits all over the world.

“I achieved popularity for my collaboration with Arif Lohar on Coke Studio Season 3, with the song Jugni. The single with Lohar gathered over 20 million plus views on Youtube which was after then used in several films.

“It was a big opportunity to sing with Arif Lohar because he usually sings accompanied by a native musical instrument resembling tongs and his folk music is representative of traditional folk heritage of Punjab. So, I think collaboration with such talented artists is always an achievement and learning process in music,” she was of the view.  

She ended the session by telling her experience in the film Manto. “When I was given the opportunity to sing “Mehram Dilan De Mahi”, I sat down with co-singer to compose and tried to come up with a haunting tune and vocal. I sang the song after studying Saadaat Hasan Manto short fiction story which was about the communal violence in 1947,” she said

In conversion with Rehan Bashir

The session “ Story Telling through dance: The Kathak”  at Hall 1 highlighted the journey of the versatile Rehan Bashir- Kathak performer, visual artist and fashion designer at House of Kamiar Rokni.

Speaking about his experience in Kathak dance he said that these words Kathak as a performing art survived as an oral tradition, learnt and innovated from one generation to another verbally and through practice. “I have learnt a lot from my Guru Nahid Siddiqui and to be her student is a big achievement,” he said.

About his inspirations through painting, he said the purpose of watching a dance or looking at the painting is to experience a mood a kind of enjoyment which is self forgetful and transporting.

“The classical dance forms of Pakistan are the ones which combine music, dance, poetry, stories, acting and much more. Therefore, along with being aesthetically appealing the classical dance forms are the prestigious cultural heritage of our country which is always neglected and never promoted,” he said.  

About Kathak dance, he said that he had to focus on a better posture, create awareness about alignment, flexibility, strength and building up on stamina to learn this art.

“The wonderful thing about Nahid Siddiqui is that her style has evolved such a great deal into art that is the reason she has been recognized and acclaimed internationally. She always used to say everyone can easily copy things but it is actually the creativity which makes you shine. For me this art is a study into the power of energy and it has developed into a very sophisticated system of footwork and rhythmic patterns,” he explained.

Kathak leans heavily on the elements of technique and tatkar is the fundamental footwork from which all other foot sounds and compositions are created.

He ended the session by saying the best part with his teacher Nahid Siddiqui’s every movement including posture and expression becomes a luminous and transcendental experience.