Rendezvous
Omran Shafique
Meet talented musician, composer, guitarist; Omran Shafique, a member of the band Mauj. Having lived most of his life abroad, he decided to move to Pakistan and pursue his creative interests in music. Read on to learn more about his experiences, current projects and future plans...
Please introduce yourself to our readers:
I’m a musician. Although I play a variety of instruments, the guitar has always been my favorite. I play with several different projects – Mauj, Kostal, co-VEN – along with doing session work with guys like Ali Azmat and Rohail Hyatt.
Tell us a bit about your background - where you grew up, your education and family?
I was born in the Middle East, Bahrain to be precise, and moved to Texas when I was 18. After 15 years I decided to move back to Pakistan to pursue music as a career.
You went to school here in the US, why did you decide to go back to Pakistan and pursue music?
I’ve never lived in Pakistan actually. I used to visit Pakistan during the summers and that’s where I met a lot of the like-minded guys that I still play with today. It was rare to find Pakistani guys who were into the same sort of music as I was and thought along similar lines. So I sought that out. Also, I’ve always connected with the music scene in Pakistan. Even from the Nazia Hasan days, I always thought the pop/rock scene in Pakistan was interesting. I like the fact that our culture and language was incorporated in a western musical format. I’m not an eastern classical elitist and, although I appreciate it, I like to mix it up with English rock and Bollywood masala music.
I am a creative being and working in a cubicle in Corporate America was not really for me. It sounded like a good idea to get an album released here and play with my old friends.
When did you decide to form your own band Mauj? Who are the other members of the band? What singles or songs have you produced?
Mauj started around 2001. It was basically me and Mohsin Atif – the bass player and co-lyricist. There were other guys who came and went but that was the core unit. Once I moved to Pakistan, however, the line-up changed. Atif couldn’t come to Pakistan so I started jamming with my old friends. Sameer Ahmed plays bass, Hamza Jafri plays guitar, and Sikandar Mufti plays drums in the band. These are the same guys that I play in another project with. Co-VEN is the same group of guys but with a composer. Hamza is the main force behind co-VEN and we follow his lead. In Mauj, I am the main composer and the guys follow my lead. I think eventually it will all be a jumbled mess.
What is your role in the band? What reviews has the band had so far?
I am the main composer, guitarist and singer. I’m really not into singing that much – I just try to get my point across and serve the music. I come up with the concept of the song and then sit with somebody to flesh out the urdu lyrics. My Urdu is horrendous, so I need someone with a better poetic sense to sit with me. That’s where Atif played a big part on the Mauj album.
Tell us about your song Pehaliyan. Who came up with the concept and lyrics?
It started with the intro lick. I had the music figured out but we were stuck the words. Atif and I wrote some forced and unnatural lyrics intially but it was just not fitting right. We decided we wanted to have the song be about someone confounded by mixed signals. A guy who is puzzled. At some point, and I have a habit of this, I was humming the melody out loud and the main the chorus refrain popped into my head ‘wooh, ranjha tere bin, youn tarpa raat aur din’. Soon after, I convinced Atif to rewrite the lyrics around this idea.
Besides Mauj, you also play with a band called Coven, tell us about that.
Co-VEN is the same group of guys as Mauj: Hamza, Sameer, Sikandar and I, only with a different composer. Hamza is the main force behind co-VEN and we follow his lead. In Mauj, I am the main composer and the guys follow my lead. I think eventually it will all be a jumbled mess!
You recently toured with Ali Azmat in the US, how was that experience and what cities did you tour?
It is always great to play with Ali, and quite surreal at times. I grew up watching this guy and Junoon, and there I am onstage with Brian and Ali playing songs that I used to cover in Mauj. But the shows went great and we all a blast – can’t wait to play some more shows in the US!
What do you think of the music scene in Pakistan? It has been producing singers and musicians a dime a dozen, do you think Pakistan has great talent or do people just have many opportunities to come on TV and sing?
There is immense talent here – unfortunately, a lot of deserving people never get the chance get noticed and a lot of undeserving people are on TV way too much. The problem is, since the 80’s, there has not been any cultivation of the arts in Pakistan. Since everyone has to eke out an existence here – the music business side of things are undeveloped. Everyone is fighting for scraps that the big dogs leave behind. On top of that, with the country in turmoil as it is, it’s unlikely this environment is going to change any time soon.
A lot of our singers cross the border to release their singles and albums; do you think our singers are better appreciated over there more so than in our own country?
I don’t think so, Pakistani artists are sometimes so desperate to get to India they practically give away their music and work for free. India may appreciate our musicians and artists but it appreciates the economics even more. Instead having to pay crores to an Indian music director, they can get a Pakistani artist to work for peanuts and thank them for it at the same time.
I don’t think they appreciate our singers any more than we do, but for some reason getting a song released in an Indian movie earns you more respect in Pakistan. I suppose it’s some sort of inferiority complex in play.
What are your future plans, do you plan to continue with the music scene or pursue something else?
I will do this for as long as I can. I love to play music, but things can get quite crazy and I can imagine the day when I decide to pack it in for quieter pastures.
Lastly, what is your message to the readers of The Saturday Post?
Why so serious?
Source:
http://www.thesaturdaypost.com/rende...n_shafique.htm
Latest Interview: Rendezvous with Omran Shafique
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