Yesterday, today and tomorrow - that's ghazals for you!

Muhammad Zubair is Pakistan's rising talent. At just 22 years old, he strode ahead of grueling competition all the way to the grand finale of Asia's Singing Superstar broadcasted on Zee TV Middle East and Pakistan's own Geo channel in January 2016. The contest was open to all ages and thousands of hopefuls took part across the Middle East, Pakistan and India. A year on, I had the chance to listen to Muhammad at close quarters at a family function in Karachi and officially converted from someone who only listened to commercial music to someone with a great appreciation for ghazals.

For those less familiar, ghazals go back centuries to the time of Hafiz and Mirza Ghalib. Mostly written in Urdu or Persian, they are poetry personified and captivating with repetitive verses and traditional musical instruments like the harmonica and the tabla. Beauty is synonymous with a ghazal and true to it's Arabic origin - "talking to women".  Commons themes in a ghazal are love, devotion and wonder. As I observed the captivated room of men and women of different generations at this family function, I realized ghazals embody a level of spirituality that somehow have a hypnotic pull.

Muhammad's triumph at Asia's Singing Star rings even louder to me as he has a speech impediment, a result of a childhood illness. Amazingly enough, his powerful voice shows no signs of this, a hurdle he has overcome beautifully. In a televised interview, Muhammad proudly looks into the camera and says, "People often say you stutter - how can you possibly sing?". "Just watch me" he adds.  The world's doing just that! The famous composer, playback singer and judge of Asia's Singing Superstar, Shankar Mahadevan, called him a "young Mehdi Hassan", probably the best compliment he could have received.

The oldest of eight siblings, Muhammad was born in Karachi. His father is Ghulam Sabir Yusufi focused on naat's (poetry in praise of Allah), and his grandfather was Alhaj Khursheed Ahmed Khan, also not an uunfamiliar name. It is no coincidence perhaps that Muhammad decided to take the musical route. His musical aspirations started young where he sang national songs at school events. In 2008, he started to pursue music seriously. His teacher was Muhammad Hussain who he refers to as "saab" or "sir".

  
While ghazals can be considered a mature style for someone his age, Muhammad says that he had no interest in being a one-hit pop or rock wonder with a two or four year stunt. He realized early on that ghazals had longevity. I'll agree with him that Mehdi Hassan is relevant even today. Muhammad compares music to English and Maths, a subject that needs to be learned and nurtured properly. He has some tips for aspiring singers:

• Learn from an expert or "ustad"
• Practice every day
• Listen to experts who have already made their mark

His heroes in music include his father who taught him the basics as well as his "ustaad" and Mehdi Hassan. He draws his inspiration from folk music, namely Tufail Niazi's.

Asia's Singing Superstar is certainly a big feather in his cap, but he's not about to rest on his laurels. In a couple of months' time, we'll see more music from Muhammad, some original, others Mehdi Hassan covers with a touch of jazz for a contemporary sound.

I tried to dissect the ghazal and Muhammad was kind enough to explain the intricacies of a ghazal to me but I'll admit that they were lost on me and he may as well have been speaking Chinese. Don't think I should give up my day job any time soon. Some things are best left to the experts!

Follow Muhammad Zubair on Facebook and subscribe to his channel on YouTube.

Florence Nightingale

I was strolling in Ponte Vecchio, Florence, one summer evening when I heard the sound of music and followed it like the Curious George(ina) that I am. Before I realized it, I had joined a captivated crowd of locals and tourists who had formed a circle around the incredible performing duo, one of whom was Michael Amadi, an ultra talented pianist and singer. More about Michael later, as I want to let you guys know that I was a good audience and actually bought the duo's CD. Let's appreciate street performers shall we. I'll admit that more often than not I will enjoy street performers' art, good and bad, but only seldom be a true consumer, walking away when the cap goes around for donations as so many of us do. Note to self people: nothing in life is free.

Back to the lovely and talented Michael. He's just 24 and isn't currently in historical Florence but is pursuing songwriting at The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP) in the mad city of London. In just a year he has already developed a British twang, and truth be told, I myself have subconsciously added words like "bugger", "knackered", "chuffed" and "bloody" to my vocabulary from my London days.

Here's a preview of Michael's vocals on the piano but make sure to scroll down for my 10 QUESTIONS WITH MICHAEL AMADI.

 



Hi Michael! Thanks for giving me a virtual tour of ICMP. That's one sick piano in the common area.  When did you realize you were musically inclined?

I was 5 years old when I started playing guitar. At elementary school I was that boy hiding not Spiderman comics but music books behind his school books, thinking of melody and songs. I was also the boy who preferred to stay home sat at the piano and write music rather than play outside. I totally see what's he's talking about.  I was the kid hiding Archie comics behind my school books, desperately wanting Archie to realize that Betty was the one for him, not the evil Veronica.

How did you get into street performing in Florence?
I remember it well. It was a Tuesday night when I was crossing Piazza della Repubblica and saw Claudio, the other half of the Florence duo you saw, performing. I went back every night to listen to Claudio with my friends. One day Claudio invited me to this studio for a breakfast conversation about music. There was no turning back from there. We started performing in Siena and from there moved on to Ponte Vecchio bridge. We spent the first year collaborating on projects in the studio and performed on the street for two summers every day after that.

You're taking a break from street performing. Tell me something about that part of your life.
The best thing was that it gave me a chance to meet lots of people from around the world, that was kind of amazing. Once, there was a teacher of graphic design from China who painted us performing. That was pretty special - we still have that painting in Florence. If I had to pick a worst, I'd say the music we performed was mostly the same and that felt a bit repetitive sometimes but the audience was always different. I always remember faces. I remember you. Note to self: no need to be flattered Naveen. He's probably being kind and when you were 24 Eminem still made music videos. 

How many phone numbers did you get in those two years performing in Florence?
Girls would leave their phone numbers on my keyboard every single night. You do the maths. Cheeky monkey! For the record, I wasn't one of them.

Can you make a living from street performing?
For me it wasn’t a job, I was making music. You guys buying our CD was a reward for me. I used that money to support projects like my education in London. My parents aren't funding this. 

 
You moved to London a year ago. How competitive is the music industry?
There are some huge and good artists in London.  In Florence I performed on the most famous bridge; it wouldn’t be possible to have the same opportunity here. I haven't performed in London yet but it might be cool at some point. The idea is a little scary. Peeps, keep an eye out for Michael in London's hot spots. He may just surprise you with something spectacular.



Who is your inspiration?
The piano is my main instrument and I'm trained in classical music. Elton John, John Legend, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Coldplay are up there for me. Funnily enough, people tell me that when they hear me play the piano, I remind them of Elton John and apparently I resemble John Legend. I'm not sure who my voice reminds them of. Michael has a point. No one obvious comes to my mind too. It's probably a good thing - sometimes it's best not to have comparisons.

What’s next?
My experience in Florence taught me that anything's possible. America is the dream. Until then I'm working on many interesting projects. I'm collaborating with different bands in London, some ex graduates of ICMP. In two months I'll be heading off to Spain. My friend who's a brilliant guitarist was approached by a manager to record a song for a drag queen event. I came on board as producer. Who would have thought I would be a producer and that too have Spanish drag queens perform to my music?!  

What advice would you give to someone joining the street performing scene? 
I have studied classical music and now songwriting. People shouldn't underestimate the grooming and hard work that happens behind the scenes. I remember being terrified the first time I performed on the bridge, I couldn’t look anyone in the eyes. It's true. I remember that anytime we cheered him on, Michael looked down grinning shyly.

Michael, when I get married will you sing at my wedding?  
YES. We can definitely arrange that.  Hurray! Finally a reason to get married.

Notes

Michael was born and raised in Florence. He's the middle child in a family of medicine practitioners. Not surprisingly, like most middle children, he took a route that would make him stand out. Fortunately, there was little convincing to be done as he remembers coming home at the age of eight to find that his parents had gifted him a piano wrapped in a giant red bow. While in Florence he took a break from piano for a year. His parents were the voice of encouragement and so he continued. When he's not writing music or performing or fishing (he's a country boy at heart), he watches movies and admits “I’m quite sad if I love the soundtrack and not the movie". Bless! 

Follow Michael on Instagram @amd.mch