Rocking ’em beyond borders

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Shkabang pose for a picture; Clinton Cerejo belts out one of his hits; Guwahati’s Digital Suicide are ready to explore an altern

Aiming to unite the whole South-Asian region through a youthful energy emanating through rock music, the South Asian Bands Festival is back in the national capital. The three-day festival, now in its sixth edition, will be celebrated from December 7 to 9. It will showcase different rock bands from all across South Asia.

Presented by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations in collaboration with the ministry of external affairs and Seher, the festival at the Purana Qila will feature 15 popular rock bands from across nine sub-continental countries, including Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Suresh Goel, director general, ICCR says: “South Asian Bands Festival is one of the most prominent and popular initiative of ICCR. The festival aims at articulating awareness about South-Asian regional cultural themes.”
While from India, they have famous Bollywood singer-composer Clinton Cerejo who has films like Vicky Donor, Saat Khoon Maaf, Wake Up Sid, Ishqiya and Rock On to his credit apart from Nasya, Tough on Tobacco, Shkabang, Digital Suicide etc from Pakistan, they have well-known band Noori as the highlight of the festival.
The bands that are making a debut in this festival are Souls from Bangladesh, Thriloka from Sri Lanka, E-SA & His Troupe from the Maldives, The Likens from Bhutan, Blaze from Burma and Jindabaad from Nepal.
The highlights of the festival:
Noori: Formed in 1996 by songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist, Ali Noor, and his younger brother Ali Hamza, is considered one of the pioneering forces behind what is dubbed at the “21st Century pop revolution of Pakistan”. Their sound is very much rock, but they love fusing all kinds of musical sensibilities, ranging from Sufi Folk to heavy rock anthems.
“It’s been ages since we have performed in front of a huge crowd. We are excited and under pressure at the same time. We are rehearsing very hard so that we can put up a good show,” says Hamza. They will be performing the major hit numbers from Coke Studio and also from two of their released albums — Suno Ke Main Hun Jawan and Peeli Patti Aur Raja Jani Ki Gol Dunya.
Hamza feels that these kinds of festivals should happen in every SAARC country as interactions between people from different backgrounds overlap and commonalities prevail over the differences.
District Unknown: The first metal band from war-torn Afghanistan has all its band members under the age of 24. Although they have been facing numerous challenges to their work, including threats from the government to stop their music or face more serious consequences, they have continued with their passion for music and only appear in public in disguise.
Nasya: The fusion rock band from Delhi is taking part in the festival for the first time. Playing a blend of Sufi, Haryanvi and Punjabi folk and rock influences, they are not a typical fusion band. Their sound is distinctly characteristic, finely balancing traditional Hindustani vocals with Western elements of jazz, blues and rock music.
“The South Asian Bands Festival is a great platform for every musician and we are excited to take part in it. We are going to release our first music album in February 2013, so we are going to sing our original songs from the album that many people have not heard before,” says band member Asish.
Digital Suicide: The alternative rock band from Guwahati had a long journey to make it to the concert. Because of insurgency, once they had to move out of Assam in order to save the future of the band. Now they have regrouped again and are doing gigs.
“We will be singing our own songs from our album, which is due to release in the coming few months. For us, music festivals are very important. As a band, these help you to meet and explore different kind of musicians and artists. In a sense, they help us to grow confidence,” says vocalist and guitarist Daniel.
Galeej Gurus: Described by the Rolling Stone magazine as one of “India’s Hottest Bands”, Galeej Gurus is the only band from Bengaluru to take part in the festival. They have been on the musical journey since 2000 and have played over 500 gigs within and outside the country. “We always love playing in festivals as it gives you the much-needed exposure and confidence. Although we have not performed much in Delhi, we think if the music is good, the crowd will definitely love it,” says band member Anant.
Shaair & Func: They are an alternative, electronic musical duo from Mumbai, arguably the most commercially successful indie bands in the country right now. Their music includes a heavy dose of experimentation within the popular and cutting edge genres of dance/electronic/and rock music, while retaining a world pop accessibility.
Festival director Sanjeev Bhargava is happy that the South Asian Bands Festival stands out as one most popular festivals of India. “It’s magical to see people from all ages throng to the majestic Purana Qila to enjoy the best of South Asian rock music. This year we are happy that the Delhi University and its students are also getting involved to be an integral part of this major public diplomacy initiative that has brought artists from South Asia closer than ever before.”