Salman Ali
LAHORE
Nescafe Basement Season 4 was launched in the city the other day with great pomp and show. The launch arranged at X2 restaurant was well organised and entertaining. Nescafe Basement is considered to be the top music platform for the young musicians of Pakistan. The music show has introduced dozens of new singers and music artistes. Popular bands like Soch and Bayyan were introduced to the masses through this platform. Continuing with its tradition Nescafe Basement this season is introducing 45 new musicians, which is equal to the number of artistes the show has introduced in the last three seasons combined.
Under the mentorship of renowned musician Xulfi the show has gradually gained the popularity and recognition among the music lovers of Pakistan. The ceremony attended by number of celebrities like Noori, Bilal Lashari, Muneed Nawaz, Noman Javed and Nabeel Shaukat started with an orientation about the show. Xulfi spoke about the hard work his team and musicians put up in this show during this season and the previous ones. Highlight of the show was the music created by Nescafe Basement season 4 singers and musicians. As per Xulfi the music made in Nescafe Basement is not the effort one rather it is end result of contribution of all and this shows in the final product. After the introduction of this season’s artistes, two songs of episode 1 were presented.
About those two singles, they were awesome. Simple as that! Although both numbers were re-generated but done excellently. First song was famous “Jadu Ka Charagh” by Awaz band. The song originally a pop song with western music was re-arranged in brilliant Eastern and Western music fusion with violins and guitars playing with table, dholki and dhol. The second number was Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s “Kiwaen Mukhray tow” was outstandingly sung by a very young new talent Zeeshan Ali. He mixed the Raags and Sargams beautifully with pop music. The performance is worth listening to and may be the best one of this season.
The live performances were presented by the singers and musicians taking part in Season 4. Like the recorded songs the performances were phenomenal. The best performance of the night was defiantly by two young musicians Haroon and Sharoon with violin and guitar. They presented the theme of famous TV show Game of Thrones and it was performed flawlessly with complete harmony between both. Xulfi promises that a lot of inspiring stories will find a voice through this season. “I am proud to say that through Nescafe Basement, several talented musicians have found an opportunity to explore different avenues of music such as playing in bands, going across the border and singing for local productions. This season, not only will the audience get to hear some exceptional music but also see a lot of emotional and heart stirring stories from behind-the-scenes. The best thing about this platform is that it brings together young aspiring musicians of different backgrounds and bonds them with their mutual passion for music. We have the biggest line-up with 45 musicians this year which has given us the freedom to experiment even more. It won’t be wrong to say this is the most exciting season of Nescafe Basement I have worked on so far,” Xulfi said.
“I have been playing the bass for 6 years and have been a part of all previous seasons of Nescafe Basement. The show helped me start my career as a musician, and also meet several other talented musicians. I am super excited for the fourth season!” said HaiderAbbas, one of the musicians to be featured in Nescafe Basement 4.
Over all launch event was a treat for music lovers. Nescafe Basement Season 4 is being on aired on different Pakistani TV channels and this scribe’s prediction is that it will be the best one that is better than all its previous seasons. Kudos to Xulfi and to the young talented musicians for this great effort!