Raahi sets off on its musical journey

Newfound band featuring Gumby, Omran Shafique, Sameer Ahmed and Ahsan Bari gears up for its first set of live shows.

KARACHI:

“With us, what you see is what you get,” says Louis J Pinto, popularly known as Gumby, as he announced his newfound band Raahi, featuring some of the most renowned artistes of the music industry. The four-member band, which comprises guitarist Omran ‘Momo’ Shafique, vocalist Ahsan Bari, bassist Sameer Ahmed and drummer Gumby, is set to make its debut with their first live performance at The Second Floor’s (T2F) event ‘Good Clean Fun’ on January 30.

Unlike other groups and artistes, Raahi has adopted an impromptu style of recording music, which makes their music both raw and fresh. “We don’t listen to a tune or chord and take two or three days to think about it to produce something. When we come to the studio, we are simply told to record our respective parts,” said Omran, former frontman of the band Mauj and Coke Studio band member.

On a recent visit to the band’s studio during a jamming session ahead of their first live gig, the band members spoke about how the group was formed and what they have in store for audiences. Gumby stated, “I got a [musical] project and asked Sameer (former Karavan member) and Ahsan (of Cornetto Music Icon fame) to be a part of it. Omran joined us after he visited my studio one day, while I was recording for musician Shuja Haider. He liked the idea of a band and got on board with the project.”



Gumby added that although the project didn’t materialise, the band members felt an instant connection between them and decided to continue making music in their own unique way. He shared that after having made music and performed for other musicians for many years, they felt now was the right time to make the music they want to. Commenting on the band’s style of music, Gumby held, “We’re not here to make experimental music as we know what we are doing. If we wanted to make experimental music, we wouldn’t have been releasing an album and performing live.”

Ahsan Bari

The drummer, who has been affiliated with platforms such as Coke Studio and Uth Records, said that all the band members have proven their mettle in the music industry as professionals. “We’ve been performing and making music for artistes, such as Meesha Shafi and Ali Azmat. Just from Coke Studio alone, Omran and I have 130 to 140 hits to our credit,” commented Gumby. “Ahsan and Sameer, too, have their own projects, such as Sounds of Kolachi. I knew Ahsan from before and liked his work with Sounds of Kolachi. He is a brilliant vocalist.”

Omran Shafique

The band shared that they will release an album and it is through live shows that they hope to earn money. On the question of whether concerts are a lucrative endeavour in Pakistan, they responded in the affirmative, referring to the recently-held Karachi Eat Food Festival. “At least, 10,000 people attended the festival each day, which is proof that people want to go out. I know that 65 to 75 per cent of the artistes in the industry would have quit if there were no live performances,” noted Gumby.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th,  2015.

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