Renowned Pakistani musician, producer and former bassist of the band Vital Signs, Shahi Hasan, performed LIVE on stage this weekend for close family and friends. The musician returned on stage after several years with throwback songs by his former band and included some original tracks as well. Shahi’s back up band included Royal Law on backing vocals and Yasin Farooqi on bass guitar. Following strict COVID SOPs which included masks and hand hygiene, the event was held at The District 19 Korangi in front of a close-knit circle from 7pm to 10pm. Featuring performances included Emaad Rehman, Asad Hafeez, and Aziz Kazi.
The venue for the event, District 19, is owned by the renowned director Asad Ul Haq and is a popular hotspot, that brings together rebellious creative minds! This gathering also marked the launch of District 19’s brand new space titled ‘DEMO’ – a small hub that caters to everything related to LIVE music. Thus, it is designed to offer curated LIVE music shows with established and indie musicians, LIVE streams, and jams among small audiences in hopes of producing as well as promoting new music. The setup for the event was specifically developed with all SOPs in mind, including keeping a 6 feet distance in an outdoor area where there was an ample amount of breathing room for guests.
The mood was set with an instrumental version of the classic Vital Signs song, Dil Dil Pakistan; followed by Namumkin, Ajnabi, Sanwali and several others. When asked what initiated his interest in singing LIVE in front of an audience, Shahi stated, “You know, a lot of people follow Vital Signs, we still have a huge following. I thought everyone’s grown up and grown older but we still have that following. It seems that kids have been listening to us through their parents, cousins, family but they don’t know us personally, especially the younger kids. The younger generations know our names but they don’t really know who we were and what all music we’ve created. This is a little effort I want to make, in order to reintroduce the songs, especially the ones that have gone into the background and no one knows about them.”
Shahi performed in front of a LIVE audience, taking on the role of a lead vocalist. The former bassist is also said to have taken specific vocal trainings prior to the event. When asked how he felt putting himself out there as the lead vocalist, he stated, “It’s not the first time I’m singing. I used to sing 2-3 songs when I was with Vital Signs. It’s a surprising thing when I tell the story. Initially, when we started out, I was supposed to be the main vocalist, but I wanted to play the guitar. I mean Junaid was a great friend and much better vocalist so we requested him to join us, so just before our first show he joined us and it was amazing. I never liked singing as much as guitar playing, but I’m picking it up now.”
After a successful preview of his set, Shahi Hasan is said to release more tracks in 2021, including a track titled ‘Tum Nay Kaha Tha’ which is about personal evolutions with elements of romance as well. More details about Shahi’s upcoming songs will be released at a later date.
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