KARACHI:
After a concoction of surprises and blunders in the third episode, this week’s episode of “Uth Records” was much more stable and memorable. The episode stood out for two main reasons — firstly, it featured the first and maybe the only female artist of the season and secondly, it was one of the grandest musical ensembles of the season. While the previous episodes focused more on showcasing young talent, this episode was more about producing quality music.
Sara Haider, who featured along with Ali Haider and Imam Hamdani (well-known for their performances in rock concerts), is a new name in the music industry but has slowly been making a mark in the underground music scene. Although, the singer has no prior experience with a rock band, Sara has been regularly performing at venues such as T2F and her vocal prowess in the “Uth Records” track “Tera Saath” is a testimony to the fact that she has not improved with time and effort.
Sara might not be as musically sound as Natasha Ejaz, the only female artist to feature last season, but she certainly has the potential of carving a niche for herself provided she gets a good producer in the future.
‘Tera Saath’
“Tera Saath”, a slow and soulful jazz number, has a grand feel to it due to the use of multiple instruments, which makes it stand out among all the tracks that have been produced this season. Although the lyrics were far from impressive, it’s the arrangement of the song that makes it a masterpiece. “Tera Saath” begins with basic percussions and acoustic guitars and later introduces the jazz, with the guitar solos coming right in the end. Although, it was due to Gumby’s genius that the song was delivered so beautifully, but to give credit where it’s due, Sara has also pulled off a difficult genre at a very early stage in her career. Additionally, Sara’s other team members — Haider and Hamdani — have given the song a very jazzy chord structure which works well here. Haider, who has previously been playing at rock concerts with his band Spoonful, proved what a versatile musician he is as his experiment with a slow number wasn’t a disappointment.
Sameer and Oisethon spice it up
What made the episode even more interesting was the collaboration with Sameer Ahmed, Pakistan’s ace bass player and Hildegunn Oisethon, Norway-based trumpet player. Ahmed, ex-member of the progressive rock band Karavan that split last year, has garnered a vast following for himself due his guitaring prowess and has played with almost all the live acts of Pakistan. Both Oisethon and Ahmed have added a lot to the song, making it one of the finest music collaborations of the season, and above all, one of the most enriching tracks.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 27th, 2012.
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