Strings attached

The Pakistani band will record a song with Indian Ocean about Indo-Pak peace; will also perform in the city.

For Pakistani musicians Faisal Kapadia and Bilal Maqsood, Mumbai is “like home”. Their band, Strings, has performed all over India in the last two decades. So when they were approached for a two-city gig in Mumbai and Delhi, they didn’t think twice. “It’s the end of season for concerts. We are glad to squeeze in this performance before the monsoon,” says Kapadia in a telephonic interview from Karachi.

Next week, they will perform as part of Le Club Musique, a music club initiated by Lucky Morani and Bina Aziz. Kapadia says, “With every performance, we try and reinvent
ourselves by giving a fresh twist to existing songs. So Mumbai’s in for a surprise.”

Not the quickest when it comes to releasing albums, Kapadia confesses they like to take things at their own pace. “We prefer performing live more than sitting in a recording studio. We take four to five years to come out with an album.”

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Their upcoming record comes four years after their last, Koi Aanay Wala Hai. “Most of the songs were composed while we were touring. We’re still working on it, but it should be out this year,” he says, adding that they won’t be playing any new songs just yet.

Another feat to look out for is their collaboration with Indian folk rockers Indian Ocean. They last teamed up in December for the Aman Ki Asha concerts. This time, they unite for a similar cause.

About the single, Humse Bada Nahi Dekha, Kapadia says, “We’ve sent the song to Indian Ocean to put together their bit. The track is about peace between the two countries and should be ready by August.”

On the Bollywood front, the voices behind Zinda Hoon from the 2006 Sanjay Dutt starrer and Aakhri Alvida from Shootout At Lokhandwala (2007) are currently working on Sanjay Gupta’s Shootout At Wadala. “We haven’t started recording, but after hearing the plot, we have a rough idea of what to do,” says Kapadia.