April 14, 2008	Monday	Rabi-us-Sani 7, 1429

KARACHI, April 13: Taal Karisma, an experimental fusion band comprising students of the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa), gave an upbeat performance at the Alliance Francaise late on Saturday night.

Although the audience had been thin because of the All Pakistan Music Conference taking place the same night at another venue, the spirit of the band members, Ahsan Bari (vocals, lead guitars), Zeeshan Pervaiz (bass guitar), Alan Simon (percussions), Gul Mohammad (sarangi) and Joshua Fernandes (drums) remained high.

The band kicked off with Joys of Sorrow, a melancholic tune with Urdu lyrics that had the bass pattern in five and six and the melody structure in 11 time signatures. Next came the groovy City of Lights, which fused the jazz, blues and classical scales. The bassist, Zeeshan, was particularly outstanding in the song as he not only improvised but maintained the harmony effortlessly.

Ebb and Flow employed the concept of parallel time signatures, giving an illusion of the dual nature of chords. Throughout the tracks, Ahsan made a conscious effort in not overstretching his vocals while simultaneously playing the lead guitar.

C’est la Vie, which means ‘that’s life’ in French, was the band’s most daring act. No musical instruments or vocals were employed for this track and each band-mate instead used his body as an instrument to create some snappy percussion beats.

Alan, who had been showcasing his talent at the tabla and djembe drums earlier, was at his most enthusiastic best in this number as he not only created rhythmic patterns by tapping his feet and thumping his chest, but also created some interesting popping sounds by slapping his cheeks.

The 15-year-old sarangi player, however, was the weakest link in the band and sounded monotonous in most tracks. Also, even though the drummer remained in sync with the band, his playing came across as safe and orthodox.