KARACHI: Music history was made at the Expo Centre on Saturday night as Ali Azmat and Umair Jaswal locked horns to battle it out in front of a crowd that comprised music enthusiasts and die-hard fans of soft-rock.

Officially titled as Red Bull Soundclash, the gig was no ordinary, everyday jam but a show-off between veteran rock star Ali Azmat, formerly associated with the rock band Junoon, and the vibrant new Coke Studio sensation Umair Jaswal. In many ways, it set new trends in Pakistan’s music industry, first and foremost by reviving Karachi’s live music scene. Those who were a part of Saturday’s trailblazing event will testify to the fact that some fabulous music was not only played out during the night, but a commitment to music and the business of its creation was reiterated by all those present on stage as well as the audience.

After days and weeks of hyped up and make-believe ‘tension’ played out in the print as well as electronic media as well as social media and bloggers, Ali Azmat and Umair Jaswal finally faced off by clashing on stage as fans took to social media to support their favourite rocker while tickets had reportedly been sold out a week before the event.

For Karachiites, who are always on the search for such live music avenues, the event did not disappoint and it started with a drum solo by Pakistan’s finest: Gumby and Ahad. Ahmed Ali Butt then took charge and invited Ali Azmat and Umair Jaswal to kick off Soundclash in Pakistan with a warm-up in which both rockers sang three songs each, charging up the crowd for what lay ahead. The first round was titled The Cover in which DJ Faisal Baig played a famous track each for Azmat and Jaswal, and then both had to play a cover version of that song in their unique style. The round started with Azmat and at the end of it Ahmed Ali Butt asked the crowd for their preference. It turned out that the score level gauged by the ‘applause meter’ was high for both.

Moving on to round two, The Takeover, Azmat played one of his hits, and smack in the middle Jaswal took over, singing it in his own style. The applause meter again favoured both the artists equally. In round three, The Clash, both played their own songs in different styles and fans could be seen dancing, cheering and rooting for their favourite artist to win. Again the applause meter levelled the score for both artists.

In the final round, The Wild Card, Ali Azmat and Umair Jaswal were asked to ask a musician of their choice to collaborate on stage. Jaswal chose Faraz Anwar and Azmat opted for Mekaal Hasan. Fans were in for a surprise here as no one had any idea of who would be the wild card entry of Jaswal and Azmat. So when Ahmed Ali Butt asked the audience for their response, the result gauged by the applause meter favoured both. At this moment, Ali Azmat asked Umair Jaswal to join him on stage to end the ‘tension’ between them and praised Jaswal and the Pakistani music scene as a whole. For his part, Umair Jaswal embraced Azmat and appreciated the contribution to music made by the living legend. And so Soundclash ended with both rockers charging up the crowd with the iconic Jazba Junoon. The concept of two stages with the crowd in the middle introduced served as an innovative concept as far as live music goes, and one that set a benchmark in Pakistani’s music industry. Well played.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2016