KARACHI: Patio of Alliance Française (French Cultural Centre) was the venue where music aficionados converged from all corners of the Metropolis to experience a unique fusion of French electronic music by Markus Oud and traditional qawwali by Shahzad Santoo Khan.
Speaking to Newspakistan.tv Markus Oud termed the tour as beautiful, amazing and energetic.
Noticing ‘big energy from the public’ he maintained that Pakistani audience had a big appetite for fusion music…electronic music that comes from French touch, mixed with Arabic instrument Oud (a pear-shaped instrument with eleven or thirteen strings) and the Qawwali.
He lamented that he wanted the audience to dance: “They are not dancing for the moment. I will come back (in future) and I hope they will stand up and dance with the band”.
Markus said that he did not know much about Indo-Pak Sub-Continent music: “I know – like everybody – Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan… (who is) very famous”.
He had learned to play classical guitar at an academy and got the hang of Oud by himself. Markus had performed at Karachi back in March 2015 too. He recalls that crowd was amazing and the weather was hot.
Does he feel comfortable coming to Pakistan despite the Media hype apropos problems of law and order situation here? “When I come to Pakistan my family says ‘Oh you are going to Pakistan? Be careful! Be careful… Shahzad (the qawwal) had been to France many times… once a taxi-driver in Karachi, learning that he was going to France exclaimed: ‘You are going to France? Be careful! Be careful!’
A relevant piece published earlier:
7th of April, 2016
French Electro-Cosmo-Pop-Band Markus performs at Alliance Française de Karachi
M. M. ALAM
KARACHI: The patio of Alliance Française (AFK – French Cultural Center) was the venue where music aficionados converged from all corners of the Metropolis on Thursday evening. The occasion was a mélange of French and Pakistani music performance. With the partnership of APMC and support of French Embassy Islamabad, AFK brought a unique performance of French cosmo-pop-band Markus with a Lahoriite qawwal Shahzad Santoo Khan. The concert was yet another milestone in the process of bringing Pakistani and Western musicians together. Through discussion, mutual understanding, tolerance, and sharing, these artists are building a strong musical universe in which Eastern and Western traditions dialogue with mutual respect and admiration. The soiree commenced with a “slam” performance based on texts written and sung by the students of the Alliance Française de Karachi. The evening featured “Markus”: Shahzad Santoo Khan: vocals, Marc Cormier: guitar, oud Xavier Pourcher: keyboards, programming, Régis Martel: drums, Guillaume Barré: sound engineering.
