Magical fusion: Weaving spring symphonies

East meets West in the soulful melodies rendered by a hybrid musical ensemble at the German embassy .

ISLAMABAD:

An eclectic mix of musical instruments filled the garden of the German embassy in Islamabad with mellow music, just as dusk descended on the garden’s pine trees.

The embassy hosted an outdoor concert in its scenic backyard to welcome the arrival of spring in the capital on Wednesday.

The concert featured a performance by Khaas Collaboration, a fusion-based musical troupe that includes Pakistani singers and musicians, Macedonian singer Ana Simonovska and German-Australian bass player “Sneaky” Pete Flierl, who is also a songwriter.

The group performed some re-mixed covers and several original collaborative numbers, fusing sounds from guitars with eastern instruments such as tabla and harmonium, mixing English lyrics with Urdu and Punjabi.

“Sneaky” Pete, who is a member of the Australian 8-piece band PlanB, and Simonovska, both of whom sang some verses in Urdu, supported Islamabad-based singer Waleed Ahmed on the vocals.

The highlight of the performance was the harmony with which the different musical instruments blended effortlessly to create a soulful, soft music. The musicians — Shairi and Yawar Bakshi on tabla and harmonium, Pete on guitars and Muchi Habibi on guitars and darbuka — made the fusion of the Western and classical sounds work perfectly.

While Simonovska shone with her vocal quality, Ahmed was unimpressive. His vocal range seemed limited for the musical arrangement and he ended up being barely audible above the music at times.

The only time Ahmed showed some spark was during the rap and Punjabi bits. But even then, the music’s laidback tempo did not attain the level of energy and vibrancy associated with rap music and Punjabi celebratory folk songs.

Overall, the crowd at the concert, entertained by Pete’s witty comments and jokes interspersed between the songs, said they enjoyed the performance.

Ursula Saarbeck, director of the DAAD Information Centre in Islamabad, said she liked the songs and the atmosphere at the concert.

“It was a very interesting mix of music,” said Saarbeck. “[It was] just what I had expected to hear.”

Other guests described the performance as “cool” and “entertaining.” Some in the crowd said they felt the collaborative songs, some of which addressed social themes, had lyrics with “symbolic” representations.

On the flip side, Ehtisham Karim and Sultan Ali, two self-defense trainers from Islamabad who sat through the performance, did not appear amused.

“The music was good, but the vocals could have been up a notch,” Karim said. “The singing lacked the x-factor.”

The outdoor concert was another wonderful arrangement by Dr Dan Tidten, head of Press and Cultural Section at the German embassy, who had also organised a successful piano concert for Wagner’s 200th birth anniversary in October.

Tidten said they were worried a slight rain might disrupt the musical evening, but fortunately, the weather turned clear in the afternoon, allowing for the outdoor event to go through unhindered.

The German Ambassador to Pakistan Dr Cyrill Nunn said there was no political agenda to the concert. “We just thought we have this nice garden and it will be a shame not to use it,” he said smilingly.

Members of the diplomatic community, German nationals living and working in Pakistan, Islamabad residents and representatives of the civil society attended the concert, which was sponsored by BMW importer Dewan Motors.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 18^th, 2014.