Live at True Brew: The magic of live performances
In an effort to resuscitate the dying music industry of Pakistan, True Brew Records launched ‘Live at True Brew’ — a performance venue (or a concert venue) in the heart of Lahore to encourage live music in the city. The initiative was launched with a two-day concert which opened with performances by Jimmy Khan and the band Poor Rich Boy, comprising of Shehzad Noor, Zain Ahsan, Raavail Sattar, Zain Molvi, Danish Khwaja and Umer Khan.
“We want to revive the culture of live music in Lahore,” says Jamal Rahman, who started True Brew Records around two years ago. The city was once known for its live acts which have decreased due to security threats and lack of sponsorships. “There is no institutional support for this kind of thing. Public space is shrinking and event planners don’t want to take the risk. Had there been support, there would have been security in place, as well as proper funding and platforms for live performers,” adds the musician.
Blurring the divide
Rehman feels that live performances are more interesting as they break down the barriers between the performer and the audience. “These days, people produce music from their homes and upload it on to YouTube and that’s the only connection they have with the listeners,” says Rahman. “But music is meant to be heard in a live environment; that’s where you really make a connection with the audience.”
Hence, with Live at True Brew, Rahman, who is also a guitarist, hopes to fill this vacuum by having bands put on a show around four times a month. He explains that this initiative will also ensure that bands and musicians get paid for their performances from the concert sales. Rahman also adds that the live performances will be video recorded so that artists, audience and fans can watch the concerts on YouTube or other platforms later.
Inspiration
When asked what inspired him to take up the venture, Rahman admits that the concept for this came after his own experiences in the music industry. “Being a musician myself, it was frustrating when I wasn’t getting a chance to play every weekend,” adds Rahman, who has worked for musical acts such as Zeb and Haniya, Club Caramel, White City, Jimmy Khan and Malang Party.
He further adds that Live at True Brew, which is in collaboration with Propaganda and Ammach Productions, is an extension of the True Brew Studio, which started off from a small recording space but has now developed into a state of the art studio. “The idea of having a fully equipped music studio, in which artists can jam, allows for more creativity in the production process. I think the one thing that is necessary for any production house is to be innovative.”
Hence, the musician feels that with his latest ventures, upcoming musicians will get more opportunities to not only improve the quality of their recordings but also a chance to unleash their talent in live performances.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 3rd, 2012.
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What an awesome 2 nights at True Brew...amazing performances by PRB and Jimmy....great sound and a great effort put together by Jamal and Co. @ True Brew. Whole-heartedly agree with Bassam...we need much more of this...the musical talents of our artists here in Pakistan need to be given an active voice and given a lot more encouragement from the appreciative music lovers that we all are....well done True Brew...Well done Poor Rich Boy and Jimmy....reminded me of the good old days of the 90s, when the underground scene of Lahore was kicking butt!!!
Kudos to true brew. Tis a shame the comments of appreciation aren’t pouring in becuase we really do need need live venues.... not necessarily for hte musicians...but for listeners. I detest the fact that the only place we get exposed to new music is youtube. GIVE ME MORE. We need to show musicians that they can make money off their craft and more importantly that people are willing to pay for art. great performances all around and hopefully just the beginning.
Kudos to true brew. Tis a shame the comments of appreciation aren’t pouring in because we really need venues for people to express themselves. or for people to interact with music. We need to show musicians that they can make money off their art, and more importantly that people are willing to pay for art. I mean we've got such good music in Pakistan and we can showcase it to Pakistanis. Thats a *in shame. power to PRB. power to Jimmy. future joy is truly brewing.
Kudos to true brew. Tis a shame the comments of appreciation aren't pouring in. We need live venues. More of them. We need to show musicians that they can make money of their art, and more importantly that people are willing to pay music for art. It was a great performance by PRB and Jimmy.