- Karavan
Infobox musical artist |
Name = Karavan
Img_capt =
Img_size = 250
Landscape = yes
Background = group_or_band
Origin =Karachi ,Sind ,Pakistan
Genre =Hard rock , heavy metal
Years_active = 1997–present
Label = Karavan catalog Ltd
Associated_acts =
URL =
Current_members =Assad Ahmed Tanseer Daar Sameer Ahmed Allan Smith
Past_members =Najam Sheraz Karavan is a Pakistani rock music band. It was formed in 1997 by former
Awaz guitaristAssad Ahmed [cite web |url=http://www.pakistanimusic.com/articles/karavan.html?PHPSESSID=7d606d492453a643ee336844a77e9ed2
title=Karavan - En Route To Success |accessdate=2007-10-05 |format= |work=PakistaniMusic.com ] , with the help of his friend Sameer Ahmed. The band have recorded 3 studio albums and 1 live album to date selling over a million copies in Pakistan alone. The band became an instant hit in the young population of the country due to their classic rock sound and explosive live shows. In 2005 they released an unplugged album on the internet via their website. It had over 150,000 downloads.History
Just like the image that the name evokes, Karavan has been a strange, intense andin a sense, wonderful trip. Strange because the weary traveler has, in effect, noconnection to the four individuals who play this subliminal music, other than yourexpected listener/performer relationship. Initially, it is distant; the listenerappreciating from afar the hypnotic blend of voice and instrumental versatility. Butas the journey continues, it turns all the more intense -- as the connection is made.How so? The listener realizes that that this is pop music – but with an edge. It hascharacter, flavour and meaning. These four guys speak in tongues, yet the languagetranslates instantly as you cue up your stereo. That is where the wonder ofrealization begins to take hold of the listener. This journey – in 4-minute intervals –lets you escape, lets you dream, and ultimately rock out to a guitar-fuelled Zenfrenzy. In short, you have joined this planet Karavan. This is Karavan’s linear history.
1997
JANUARY: Assad Ahmed (lead guitarist of Karavan), leaves a successful career withpop wunderkinds Awaz to work on an as yet untitled project with longtime friend andbassist Sameer Ahmed.
FEBRUARY: After a marathon audition session, which featured over 50 singers-inwaiting,the duo decides that Najam Sheraz is just the right voice for the project.
MAY: After settling on the moniker of Karavan, the trio make their national debut, asthe nation gets its first taste of Karavan at Channel V’s concert in Karachi, openingfor the late maestro, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
JUNE-AUGUST: Karavan record their debut album Rakh Aas at Assad’s homestudio.
NOVEMBER: Rakh Aas is released. The PTV bans the video for the premier single.The controversial ruling is apparently enforced because of the band sporting longhair and outlandish, loud clothes.
DECEMBER: Drummer Alan Smith marks his first appearance with the band; takenon to support the guys on tour with a live drum sound.
1998
JANUARY: Karavan kick off the New Year playing a sold out 3-night stand atKarachi’s famed PACC.
MARCH: The Rakh Aas video finally passes the censor board, and after a lengthywait, plays on the PTV network.
MAY: Najam plays his last show with Karavan at the Karachi Club. Interestingly, aband called Circle opens for Karavan that night, and on vocal duties for Circle is aguy called Tanseer Daar.
JUNE-OCTOBER: Now without a vocalist, the band starts auditioning singers.
DECEMBER: Tanseer Daar is selected as the new lead singer of Karavan.
1999
MARCH: Karavan are approached by Pepsi-Cola to record a song for the upcomingCricket World Cup album. Tanseer’s trial by fire.
JUNE: Umeedain released as a single from the World Cup album. Meanwhile,Tanseer makes his live debut with the band performing at the Pepsi World Cupconcert.
JULY-NOVEMBER: Karavan record their second full-length album, Safar.
DECEMBER 31ST: Safar is released. Beqarar is shipped to radio as the first single.
2000
JANUARY: Karavan tour extensively to support Safar.
APRIL: Karavan shoots Safar – A Visual Evolution – a 1-hour rockumentary onthe making of the album.
MAY: The rockumentary plays in 2 parts on PTV World. The global satellite broadcastis carried to 36 countries, and over 40 million people witness the beginning of achange in Pakistani musical trends.
JUNE-DECEMBER: Karavan continue to tour behind Safar as sales of the recordstart picking up.
2001
FEBRUARY: Rakh Aas and Safar are re-released with different covers and newmixes.
JUNE: The band starts writing material for the new album, Gardish.
AUGUST: Karavan record Gardish in a barnstorming, 15-day session.
2002
JANUARY-FEBRUARY: The mix for Gardish is finished.
MARCH: Karavan shoot the video for Aagey Hi Aagey, which is the debut single forGardish.
APRIL: Aagey Hi Aagey makes its debut on the new music channel, Indus Music.
MAY: With Aagey Hi Aagey a certified success, Karavan play for a record-breaking30,000 people at the Dreamworld Resort.
JUNE: The band plays new material for a crowd of 10,000 at the PAF Museum inKarachi.
AUGUST: Gardish is released.
Bio
Assad Ahmed (All electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals):
On the surface he is the man responsible for Karavans slick big guitar sound. But behind the amplifiers, mixing boards and smoke machines, Assad Ahmed seems like an individual possessed by one ambition alone to make his band an international force to be reckoned with. This brooding front man minces no words and never hesitates to call a spade a spade. Veering back to Assad, the man is battle weary veteran of the Pakistani music scene. Assad has played either in a supporting role or as a full on band member, with the A-list of Pakistani pop singers and rockers. The Vital Signs, Junoon, Najam Shiraz, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Awaz have all been stations on the journey Assad began formally in 1987 and is continuing till this day –Karavan. The need to escape from the humdrum bubblegum world of commercial Pakistani pop necessitated the creation of Karavan.
Tanseer Daar (Lead and backing vocals):
This schoolboy rocker fantasy is exactly what transpired with Tanseer Daar, lead singer of Karavan.Coming out of several failed projects such as Arsh and Circle, as well as having worked with Ali Haider, Fakhr-E-Alam and Schehzad Mughal, Tanseer had a grand opportunity to fill the vocal slot for Karavan, as Najam Sheraz had just vacated the hotseat. Along with coming up with the melodies, Tanseer also plays keyboards, while contributing lyrics or lyrical ideas to the hired guns that end up penning the words. Now that he has been accepted both by the group and the fans, Tanseer canconcentrate and get down to business – making rollicking, original Pakistani rock androll!
Sameer Ahmed (Bass Guitar):
The bassist can carry the band, or the bassist can bury the band. That might sound like a gross exaggeration, as most people would rather lionize the flashy frontman, or the brooding guitarist. But as important as these two leading components of the band are, it is the rhythm section – the bassist and the drummer – that hold things steady in the midst of the firestorm of a soaring guitar solo or impassioned wail. They keep the rhythm going, keeping the action grounded in reality while the others are flying high. Sameer Ahmed, founding member and bassist of Karavan, has definitely carried the band. His free flowing, thumping bass patterns mesh remarkably well with Assad’s searing fretwork and Alan’s percussive mastery. With his sublime, rumbling bass patterns and an attitude to match, Sameer is confident about where the foursome are headed, as their stars are definitely in motion.
Band Members
#
Assad Ahmed (guitarist)
# Sameer Ahmed (bassist)
# Tanseer Daar (vocalist, keyboardist)
# Allan Smith (drummer)Najam Shiraz was the first vocalist before Tanseer Daar
Albums
# Rakh Aas (1997)
# Safar (1999)
# Gardish (2002)
# Unplugged (2005)Videos
Shor [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rLq-p7nOww]
Yeh Zindagi Hai [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnOOxug3xxE]
Aagey Hi Aagey [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EII3X5K6MfY]
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
