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The sound of the underground
Co-Ven enthralled a party of musicians, models and high profile
fans - all gathered at the Basement
Cafe for a vital dose of rock.
By Maheen Sabeeh
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Basement
Cafe rocks. Quite literally, as every other week the underground cafe
pulsates with groundbreaking sounds, rumbling out to the streets overhead.
Sometimes, it's in the form of a DJ night and at others, gigs that
feature relatively new bands coming into the music scene.
Recently, Rola (the venture of Uns Mufti) organized a gig of the Lahore-based
band Co-Ven at the Basement Cafe and gave Karachiites their first
formal introduction to this incredibly talented band. But this wasn't
an ordinary concert by any means. It was a night that musicians, models
and celebrities came to show their support to this young band. And
it was a night when music was served, shaken not stirred, with the
chatter of old friends and the hum of Co-Ven's music... |
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Ali
Azmat, Zeeshan Parwez, Fasi Zaka, Fariha and Shariq Chapra, Mohammed
Ali Jafri VJs Natasha, Dino and Anoushey, Munib Nawaz, Ayesha Toor,
models Rubya Chaudry, Nadir Feroze Khan and Taimur Khan and Joey (Yousuf
Paracha)...the list of music's who's who streaming in that night was
endless. Uns Mufti was acting as the perfect host for the evening,
pushing others to go forward to catch the band as soon as they came
on, greeting guests and taking care of the sound. After all, the Basement
isn't an ideal concert venue and fitting drums in that compact lounge-like
area was not an easy task. But they pulled it off superbly.
Soon, Co-Ven comprising of Hamza Ali Jafri (vocals, lead guitars),
Sikander Mufti (drums), Sameer Ahmed (of Mekaal Hasan Band fame on
bass) and Omran Shafiq (of Mauj on guitars) began their jam session.
Laughter and appreciation seeped through the air, as people moved
around from one end to the other, humming, shaking their heads or
simply lounging out and watching the guys play. |
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As
a band, Co-Ven is indeed impressive. They began with a series of
instrumentals that were not only a lot of fun but gelled well with
the ambience of the night. Sameer Ahmed was subtle with bass; Sikander
Mufti held the fort for drums superbly, Omran provided full support
to both of them and vocalist Hamza Jafri seriously impressed with
his husky vocals. It was a welcome sight to see Co-Ven on acoustic
guitars as opposed to electric ones that are all the rage. Co-Ven's
music is eclectic, it's moody yet fun and mostly it's melodic. When
Co-Ven launched into 'Sailing Fast', most people there were singing
along. This is a band that was facing some of the most talented
musicians around – Zeeshan Parwez, Rola man Uns Mufti, old
veteran Ali Azmat among others – but they did not lose their
temperament. They played track after track, showing versatility
on instruments, emotions in vocals, synergy as a band and the result
was people stayed on, watching and mingling all the way.
These events are very important for the growth of the scene. Big
concerts cater to masses but they don't make for the best place
for musicians to hang out and experience the scene in a new city,
such as was the case of Co-Ven.
All in all, Co-Ven proved to the selected invitees that even though
they maybe an English language band, they know their music well.
The fact that the right people showed up was a leap of faith, one
that will encourage this band to go forward. And that is not a bad
way to start off in the industry at all.
Kudos to Shahbaz Sumar and Uns Mufti for putting together this event.
One hopes to see more of these gigs in the future!
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