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There is always something that is worth streaming as you’re caught up, either by professional tasks, studying or simply procrastinating. If that stream includes a conversation between a former band that has played a determining role in pop music history, it is just more fascinating.
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aisal Kapadia and Bilal Maqsood parted ways approximately in the year 2021. An amicable decision, it never meant that the friendship the two men shared had also ended. Kapadia rose from the ashes like a phoenix during Coke Studio 14, collaborating with Young Stunners on an absolutely lovely song called ‘Phir Milenge’. It made us realise we still miss that husky voice, something that dawned on Kapadia as well and he decided to go with the flow including agreeing to sing for an upcoming Shoaib Mansoor film.
Bilal Maqsood carved out a solo career with songs like ‘Naya Naya’, ‘Zalima’, ‘Thak Sa Gaya Hoon’ and ‘Dheem Tana’. He also reinvented a jingle, released and sang children's rhymes and turned into a book as well that was launched at a literary festival. But even as both went their separate ways, Bilal Maqsood and Faisal Kapadia, remain friends.
We learned this and more watching the first episode of something called Visit Dubai, a city that is home to Faisal Kapadia where he has been residing with his family for years. During this visit to Dubai, made by Bilal Maqsood, they sat in a studio and spoke about their first gig, and also clarified that to both of them ending Strings was not a break-up or a split. It was concluded because it had run its course.
The channel is meant to promote Dubai tourism but the first episode not only sees the men being out and about, it also offers moments where they talk about everything from why a place is called Kite Beach to Kapadia telling Maqsood about how he should consider moving to Dubai.
The video goes back and forth to the studio as well as Maqsood and Kapadia at different venues talking about whatever they felt like in that moment.
That Kapadia thinks Maqsood should move to Dubai is a quiet observation on the realities of Pakistan and the myopic, intolerable society it has become. It isn’t something to hold against Kapadia but a sad moment because he is somewhat right.
However, it is cool to watch Strings – not exactly as musicians – but old-time buddies hanging out and doing fun things like jet skiing. The video is under 10 minutes so it’s easy to watch the once cherished band members putting rumours to rest about the conclusion of Strings and doing so in a manner that felt more organic than salacious gossip.
