Jamshoro
Jamshoro ( sd, ڄام شورو, ur, ) is a city and the capital of Jamshoro District, located in Sindh, Pakistan. It is located on the right bank of the Indus River, approximately northwest of Hyderabad and northeast from the provincial cap ...
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
, created by young musician
Saif Samejo
Saif Samejo (born 23 January 1984) is a musician and founder, lead vocalist and songwriter of the Pakistani Sufi folk band The Sketches. In May 2014 he opened the first music Aashram (School) in Hyderabad, Sindh named as "Lahooti Music Aashr ...
. "Sindhi melody is very charming; there is enormous flexibility of words" says Saif Samejo. Their motherland has always been a major inspiration which is portrayed in their work. The love for their language and culture is aimed to bring back the departed old identity and to produce quality work in order to sensitize the world in general and the youth in specific about the grace of
Sindhi language
Sindhi ( ; , ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about 30 million people in the Pakistani province of Sindh, where it has official status. It is also spoken by a further 1.7 million people in India, where it is a scheduled language, withou ...
.
Saif Samejo
Saif Samejo is founder and lead vocalist of the Pakistani Sufi/Folk/Rock band The Sketches.
In May 2014 he has opened the first music Aashram (School) in
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...
, Sindh named as "Lahooti Music Aashram".
With a consistency The Sketches climbed up the ladder of success in not just parts of Sindh but the entire Pakistan with popular hits; Nind Nashe Vich, Rano, Raat, Main Sufi Hoon, Meena.
Recently a new music album ''YOU ( sd, تون)'' and a new song ''Jogi'' was launched.
Saif collaborated with
Mai Dhai
Mai Dhai ( ur, مای دھائی) is a Pakistani classical singer hailing from Tharparkar, Sindh. She formed a folk-band called Mai Dhai Band composed of Jamal Shab, a harmonium player and dhol player, Muhammad Fakir. Mai and her band has p ...
to present the original Rajasthani flavor of music besides this he also intended to collaborate with other artist through Lahooti Music Ashram.
Lahooti Live Sessions
Lahooti Live Sessions launched by Saif Samejo in June 2013, is a weekly activity where different musicians from Sindh gather at Samejo's place to play live music.The audio and video of the performances is recorded and released on
social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
. Samejo himself is the front man of the Jamshoro-based rock band The Sketches, and the Lahooti Sessions are in the vein of something that he has wanted to do for a long time; cultural preservation in its most unadulterated form. Lahooti live sessions appears as a dream come true for him.
''"The aim was not only to record these musicians, but to do so in the highest possible audio-visual quality so that they can be presented in an equally good manner on social media,"'' Samejo adds.
Around 50 different
folk musicians
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
have been recorded and released as part of the Lahooti live sessions and most of them have never been exposed to the camera or the recording equipment before. Some prominent names include
Mai Dhai
Mai Dhai ( ur, مای دھائی) is a Pakistani classical singer hailing from Tharparkar, Sindh. She formed a folk-band called Mai Dhai Band composed of Jamal Shab, a harmonium player and dhol player, Muhammad Fakir. Mai and her band has p ...
Thatta
Thatta ( sd, ٺٽو; ) is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh. Thatta was the medieval capital of Sindh, and served as the seat of power for three successive dynasties. Thatta's historic significance has yielded several monuments in and ...
– Ali Mohammad and Feroz Roonjho, Manjhi Faqeer, Talib Talari, Mai Hanjoo and Mohammad Hassan.
Lahooti Music Aashram
The Lahooti School of music is an extension of the Lahooti Live Sessions that Saif started a year ago, with the intent of preserving indigenous instruments and instrumentalists. Lahooti music School named as Lahooti Music Aashram is the first proper music School in Hyderabad/Jamshoro inaugurated in May 2014.
The school offers a thirty-six-hour learning module in keyboards, guitars, bass guitars and drums amongst western instruments and chung, ''boreendo'', ''
shehnai
The ''shehnai'' is a musical instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end.flute and
dholak
The ''dholak'' is a two-headed hand drum, a folk percussion instrument. The instrument is about 45 cm in length and 27 cm in breadth and is widely used in '' qawwali'', '' kirtan'', ''lavani'' and '' bhangra''. The drum has two differ ...
/
tabla
A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబలఠ...
, along with other percussion instruments closer to home. Later on the students who show interest in the field of music production will also be provided with studio facilities to harness their skills.
Music
Albums
Dastkari
Their first album ‘Dastkari’ meaning ‘one’s own creation’ was released in 2010 with the Folk/Sufi/Rock songs in Sindhi, Saraiki and Urdu bearing a wide range of messages promoting peace, a rich cultural heritage, freedom of expression and love. The music created by The Sketches has proved the fact that "Music has no language", despite the fact that different languages have been used in their songs listeners from different age groups and backgrounds have appreciated each flavor that come out. The music blends so perfectly, creating novel symphonies that capture the soul.
YOتون
The Band released their second full-length album ''YOU ( sd, تون)'' in 2016. Since 2015, the band was busy working on their second album – this album. Saif says this album doesn't just reflect their musical journey but the spiritual growth of the artistes as well.
"These were the years of reflection, of contemplation, of growth," says Saif. "The world was only getting more divided, more isolated. If we were to find meaning of life we were find it here, in our everyday reality no matter how harsh that be. We couldn't wait for the world to get better. But once this realization struck us, we were suddenly able to appreciate the small joys of life with more gratitude. We were able to celebrate the brief moments of love and cherish them as long as they last. YOU, album is an effort to celebrate those moments, the moments of love and beatitude, that float by unnoticed in our everyday lives. YOU, is the celebration of everything that makes life, with all its brutality and transience, so precious."
Language
The main language is Sindhi but some songs are also in English and Urdu.
Singles
* Darawar (The Dravidians), this song is against the religious extremism
* Dastan Sassui, about the Sassue Punhoo
* Maujood,
* Bol Pakhee
* Nind Nashy vich
* Jogi, a Sufi song .
* Meena (English subtitle), was nominated for the Hum Awardsnote 1
Band Members
;Current members
*Saif Samejo – lead vocals, backing vocals (2003–present)
*Nomi Ali –
backing vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...
Lead guitars
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...
(2014–present)
*Roshan Sharma –
lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...
, rhythm guitar (2017–present)
;Session members
* Ajay Harry – drums (2016–present)
* Saif Abbas – bass (2017–present)
Timeline
See also
*
List of Pakistani music bands
The rise of musical bands in Pakistan began in the 1980s when cassettes first came into Pakistan bringing in a wave of Western rock music. Western-influenced rock music began to feature in underground concerts all across the country. In the 19 ...