Swaras (Interview)

Band name: Swaras
Band members and their positions:
Asad Q. - Lead vocals & compositions Hassan Bokhari - Lead guitars,vocals, compositions & arrangement Salman Hussain - Bass guitars Talib Q. - Drums
One quote that inspires all of you:
‘’Let the music be without borders’’
Tell us a bit about yourself?
Swaras was formed on Sunday 7th, June 2009 & emerged from the genre of "World Fusion" our music is not just an amalgamation of the Classical Eastern and Rocking Western harmonies but also a synthesis of the world melodies like African Conga drums, Italian Violin, Spanish Guitars, Chinese folk flutes, Punjabi Dhol, Arabic Cello, Persian DAF etc.
Any inspirations?
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Habib Wali Mohammad, Kishore Kumar, Vital Signs, Junoon, Shafqat Amanat Ali, Abbas Premjee, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Tony Iommi, Metallica, Tool, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Sting, U2, Bryan Adams, Lenny Kravitz & Matt Dusk's music.
What are your plans for the near future?
Our album is ready for release; each song of the album will be accompanied by a video, some projects are in the Canadian and Indian film space, also producing new artists and bands in our brand new studio which we are really excited about.
If you were to describe yourself in one simple sentence, what would that be?
Just your regular next door guys who can rock you.

Who are your idols and why?
We don’t believe in idols but yes inspirations (see above), however they do change with time and music maturity but some stay solid.
Do you guys have any other hobbies besides, obviously, making music?
Music is not a hobby for us but a way of life.
What's your most embarrassing experience?
I lost my voice in one song on our first gig but Hassan covered it with his guitar solo. Thanks Hassan.

How do you handle mistakes during a performance?
All our performances are live and we normally jam/practice a lot before the actual gig but if mistakes happen we just take it with a pinch of salt and move on and try not to repeat them in our future gigs; however we always sync up after the gig to discuss what went right and what didn’t.
How often and for how long do you guys practice/jam?
Atleast from one to two-three times per week before a gig and for 1-2hours.
How long have you all known each other? How did you meet?
We all are friends but Talib and I (Asad) are cousins. I have known Hassan for almost 8-9 years and Salman for about one year.
Where have you performed? What are your favorite and least favorite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?
We have performed at a lot of places like Downtown Toronto, Celebration Square, DIL Ottawa and Tokyo, Japan to name a few. My favorite would be Tokyo though and least favorite..Well let’s leave at the most favorite J our upcoming gig is at the UTM along with Bilal Khan.
Which songs do you perform most frequently? Do you ever play any covers? Do you have a set play list?
We mostly do our own songs which are ‘Aag Kuch Aysi Lagi’, ‘Jo Tum Kaho’, Kya Khushi’ and ‘Khayal’ (you can also see their videos on youtube) but also include some covers like ‘Rhim Jhim Gire Sawan’ and ‘O re pia’ (rock version) but the set-list varies from gig to gig.

Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs? Do you think these topics will change over time?
We collaborate with serious poets and poetesses, our new track ‘Thora Thora’ is written by Mr. Imam Shamil who is a student of the legendary poet Mr. Juan Elia. There are no themes or topics as per say, if we feel that the poetry is good and meaningful and our music can do justice to it we compose it.
How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?
A lot, we learn new things every day, there is definitely more maturity to it now than before.
What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?
Come prepared and be serious about your music, it is better to be a first grade truck driver than a second grade musician and you have to work hard I mean really hard to achieve your dreams/goals!
Any last words?
Last words? We are not dying yet, hopefully.
Any links to your music, video, website, facebook page?
Here are some of the links to our music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Op3X6x_pBtQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj3nwlucYCc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtextmRKcZA
Website: www.musicofswaras.com
Fb: www.facebook.com/musicofswaras

Thoughts on lespectra.
Great website..you will go a long way. Keep it up!