Saturday, February 23, 2008

Interview of "The Rising" band...


http://www.thepost.com.pk/ent_red.aspx

Published on 23-Feb-2008

:: The Rising ::
By Ahmad Babar
The Rising is a relatively new band with loads of talent and potential. The band comprises Faizan Zaidi on vocals, Arafat Mazhar on compositions, keyboards and lyrics, Junaid Syed on guitars and Sohail Qureshi on bass. All band members are in their early 20s and bring their own unique flavor to the band. Each has his own taste in music and it all blends beautifully. While Faizan and Junaid are pursuing their studies, Arafat is running his own business and Sohail is working in a reputed multinational.

The band first appeared on the underground scene with their single titled Jhoot in August 2005. The song was well received and the band followed it up with their next track Mein Aaj Uroon in 2006 which was produced by Xulfi. The song is about everything and everyone and basically speaks of freedom. It is a soft melody and takes the listener into the depths of thought and desires.

The band’s first video, of Mein Aaj Uroon hit the TV channels in October 2007. The video was directed by Xulfi and presented a subtle theme was sort of a performance based video. Though I am personally of the opinion that the band could have done much more with the video especially given the quality of the song, nonetheless it provided them with a safe launch pad.

The band has interesting views on different issues currently prevalent in the music industry. Following is what they have to say:

On bands/artists going to India:
The band as a whole was of the belief that there is no harm in discovering new markets and that they themselves have a long way to go and a lot more to learn, before they will venture into markets such as India.

On the Underground Music scene:
“It’s not what it used to be.’

—- In fact that seems to be the general belief all around.

Artists/bands appearing in advertisements:
Given that the industry doesn’t pay very well, the band told us that it was sort of necessary for them to do ads in order to earn money, but it should be done without the corporations dictating terms.

Music Piracy:
“A great toll if used properly.”

Music Labels:
Things are improving but the main concentration is on the big names; more support needs to be given to young talent.

On bands breaking up:
According to the band, the main reasons for bands breaking up were weak roots and the dynamics of the band, coupled with problems in coping with fame.

On role of female models in videos:
The boys remarked, “In its current form it’s silly. It takes away the whole point of the video.”

Talking about their future plans, the band is working hard on their album which is being self-produced and self-financed by the band members at their own studio. Currently the band is experimenting with different things in order to give the best possible feel to the video.

There is no doubt that the band has a very promising future and will InshAllah will be making headway in the music industry.

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