The air was pulsating with raw energy and even the birds took cue and began to chirp in frenzy as the evening set in at the Lahore’s iconic Haveli Barood Khana. Starting behind schedule than the stipulated time; the first ones to arrive at the venue were the local alumnus Noahs Heark and Tollcrane along with the master of the ceremony, The Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) team member, Nick Dwyer.

The Academy seeks to promote creativity in music while the main idea is to bring musicians from all over the world to find ways of expressing themselves with seasoned artists and collaborate on a single platform. It was heartening to observe that budding talent of the country is taking off in a spirited way albeit the flight is bit unhurried; the intention is to break the barriers and move out from self-created boundaries.

The info session invited a strong contingent of 30 musicians from Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. “This is my first visit to this part of the world but I consider myself very lucky to be at the place that I want to come for a long time,” said Nick Dwyer as he began the introductory info session. He recalled having met and heard Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on one of his tours when he was 16, which left a profound impact on his mind. “Since then I have made a number of friends from this country. The music emanating out of this country is mind-blowing. All eyes are on this nation, we all want hear the voice from Pakistan.”

Two Pakistanis have had the honour of representing Pakistan at RBMA’s Tollcrane Tokyo Session 2014 and Noahs Heark Paris Session 2015. Talha who represented Pakistan in 2014 from Tollcrane took the mike and explained the audience of what it feels like to play experimental electronic music how big is the music’s influence on the world. “I play guitar but I don’t limit myself to one specific instrument and also produce and like to play whatever is around me to get that sound out.”

While sharing his experiences, Talha mentioned that a lot of people were not expecting a musician to come from Pakistan and play all these songs and techno beats. “Our music scene is not well known out there but that’s exactly I was there to do and tell them about what’s happening in Karachi and I also played my friend’s music who are into music making to tell them the kind of stuff we are into. I realised that I was an ambassador of Pakistani music. What our music scene lacks is a lot of support from the people that matter in the end. Fans or listeners can support till a certain point and after a while you need some helping hands from sponsors to pull out big events. The RBMA open doors for young musicians who want to touch hearts with the genre that has not yet found its true worth.”

“We learn about the importance of teamwork, friendship and diverse cultures in such an environment and hopefully to know about what the Academy is looking for in terms of applicants. We seek to gain knowledge and to understand exactly how things work in this field globally. It inspires us in so many ways,” said Danial from a Karachi-based group called Alien Panda Jury.

The time is ripe for the underground talent to touch base with the best brains behind the international flavour of electronic dance music by learning about the applying process and selection criterion. In a way, it serves as an ideal exercise to hear about the mutual experiences and engage in a stimulating environment to renew the music scene with vigour. The ideal opportunity is for anyone to grab after all music is an expression of the self and Pakistan has the best to offer in terms of talent and aptitude. Let’s not forget that these musicians might not make it to the finals; all they need is the nudge in the right direction.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, March 6th, 2016