Xulfi is the founder, mentor and recruiter for Nescafe Basement. PHOTO: FILE
The latter’s latest season is already out and the former has only begun airing from Saturday. With two fast-moving consumer goods giants pumping money into projects that are very similar in nature, comparisons are bound to be drawn.
However, Nescafé Basement producer and Call front man Xulfi makes no secret of the fact that comparisons mean nothing to him. “The two shows are totally different from each other, in terms of genre and style,” he told The Express Tribune.
“The entire concept of our show is to promote young talent. I believe there should be more opportunities and platforms for our young artists.”
He said healthy competition, in general, is good for the music industry and that he is glad people are finally talking about music. “I believe we need more initiatives like these,” Xulfi added.
In just four seasons, Nescafé Basement has uncovered a wealth of talent and shone the spotlight on artists who would otherwise have been lost in the shuffle. In fact, some of its discoveries, like guitarist and singer Rizwan Butt, have gone to work in Coke Studio as well.
Asked whether he feels his protégés moving on to other shows affects Nescafé Basement’s popularity, Xulfi disagreed. “That’s what we are supposed to do, isn’t it? Elevate the talent. I take it as a moment of pride for our show to have offered such talent to Pakistan.”
Thus far, Xulfi has mentored numerous artists and is always on the hunt for new blood. Naturally, even a seasoned musician like him has picked up a few new things along the way.
“One thing I’ve learnt is the importance of a great team. When we start working, the whole team is there and we are jamming and discussing and it takes a few days to finish a song. But there are so many ideas and so many different minds working at the same time that it all comes together in the right way,” he shared. “Another thing I have learnt is that if you give power to a person and inspire them, he or she can do anything they want. We must believe in our artists and inspire them, to help them produce great music.”
Apart from being compared to Coke Studio, the show has always been inclined towards covering popular songs, rather than composing its own, original tracks. Xulfi, however, believes it has a balance of both originals and covers.
“This season, we had six originals and eight covers. I think that’s not a bad ratio,” said the guitarist. “The reason is that people relate with covers more easily because they have heard the songs before. New music takes a while to settle in and engage listeners. So we try to keep a balance between the two.”
On this note, Nescafé Basement has also paid tribute to artists such as Faraz Anwar and the deceased Aaroh guitarist Haider Hashmi.
Xulfi said, “Generally, when we think of paying tributes, we talk about legends such as Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and others from the past generations. But I think we must also celebrate our living legends, to let the new generations know that ours also produced some amazing artists.”
According to Xulfi, these are people who made the Pakistani music industry what it is today. “I think today’s artists fight to work and promote their music, which makes them nothing less than warriors. They are legends in their own right and we must celebrate them all equally!”
In the meantime, Xulfi has also got his hands full with his band. As per him, Call reunited recently and has been working together ever since. “We have been performing together since last October – doing concerts and everything. Yes, we haven’t come up with singles or anything so far but we are back together.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 15th, 2016.
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