Tag: music

No future for metal in the Maldives, says band

Representing the Maldives in the global music arena, Sacred Legacy is a metal band with a vision to conquer, writes Hansini Munasinghe for Sri Lanka’s Sunday Times.

“As they sit around a coffee table, the brutality they unleashed on stage recently at High Voltage seems momentarily forgotten, yet the eager gleams in their eyes betray their passion.

Formed in 2006 by Shayd, the lead guitarist and the “key person” of the band, Sacred Legacy have so far released two albums of remarkable quality, Sacred Legacy (2006) and Apocalypse (2007) and have been invited to concerts in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.Their albums are available through 30 online stores.

“There is no future for metal in the Maldives. So we are aiming at taking our music to the international level,” explains Shayd, adding that the international community is surprised to hear of the existence of metal music in the Maldives.

“Every step we take is a challenge,” adds Wadde, the drummer of the band, elaborating on the limitations of the underground metal scene.

Read more

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First sound quality workshop held for local musicians

It was an unusual scene. Some of the most popular musicians, DJ and audio artists mingled with amateur musicians doing a rhythm exercise.

The stomping of foot and sound of clapping hands were punctuated only by the sound of kass kass, a versatile rattle that originated in West Africa, used as a form of percussive expression, played by French musician Johann Berby who led the exercise.

At his prompting the rhythm changes again. Berby along with Theo Croix is conducting a sound workshop in conjunction with Alliance Française and Island Music.

Once the exercise is over all the participants sit back for what seems like music lesson interposed with life lessons.

“If you feel the rhythm its easy to play, you are the instrument,” says Berby. Strumming his guitar to emphasis his point, Johann says one can speak with ones instrument “music is a mirror of what you are, you can even impart good energy to a sick person by playing for him.”

Before calling on a participant to play the drum, while Croix played violin and he took up the bass guitar, he says “Play for everyone, share your music and knowledge.”

Making better sound

It is Berby’s concept of sharing musical knowledge that proved to be a catalyst for the first ever-sound workshop to be held in the Maldives.

The workshop of three days started on September 19 with 80 participants, and is aimed at improving the sound quality of music in Maldives.

“After performing in Maldives last year with the famous Cameroonian singer Blick Blassy, Berby proposed to us to hold a sound workshop here,” says Pauline, the directrice of Alliance Française Male’ (AFM).

Berby a talented bassist who tours with different musicians, followed up on his offer by sending a proposal, and offering to do the workshop for free. Seeing there was a need for such a workshop AFM organized it.

“Lets just say getting the sound right was difficult,” says Berby of his live performance with Blick Blassy last year in Artificial Beach. According to him good musicians can make the music sound better if the sound base is good.

A sentiment echoed by Island Music. “We had been thinking for a long time of holding a sound workshop, and this initiative by Johann and AFM came at the right time for us,” says Azmi Jaleel, Chief Operating Officer of Island Music (IM).

As a company that also has a sound reinforcement arm in addition to being distributors of music instruments in Maldives, IM had faced difficulties with live shows.

“It is difficult doing sound for a live show, when musicians also lack basic knowledge about it. We also have learnt lot of things from the workshop as has the musicians which will definitely improve this industry.”

Lack of guidance

Fathimath Fezleen, owner, singer and bassist of Detune band, says the workshop “had filled a void in the industry.”

The band, a regular performer at upmarket resorts, lacked a guiding figure on sound says Fezleen. “We don’t know the right path in making sounds as we don’t have someone telling us. This workshop has given us crucial knowledge.”

Recognising the need for such a workshop, Detune part-sponsored the workshop along with Lintel, Bandos, Mookai, Bowers & Wilkings and Beamon.

Both Fezleen and Jaleel pointed out that the workshop also allowed musicians to mingle on an even platform.

“It’s a very diverse group here, apart from musicians we also have people from TV and radio stations, and also individual producers and enthusiasts of music,” says Jaleel.

One such individual is rising hip-hop music producer Mohamed Yasif (Yes E). Despite having produced two local hit video songs, ‘Parteys’ and the catchy number ‘Reethi Kudhin,’ Yasif acutely feels the need to learn more.

“I learn via Internet, buy music courses off it and follow them.” However he laments that these courses allow for very little practical knowhow.

“We, the new producers on the scene, have no one to turn to for questions.” Yasif says even if he pays studios to record, he still faces difficulties. “We have to do our own mixing and such, hence need more knowledge.”

Yasif says this workshop would make him a better producer and his next production will rectify the mistakes he made in the past. “Even if our songs are a big hit here, if you hold up against international music scene it will fall short, as we lack technical know-how.”

In the absence of good music schools, workshops like this are a lifesaver according to Yasif.

Unique and better

Croix, a violinist and sound engineer says he found the participants very receptive. “There were lots of questions they most probably had no one to ask before.”

The workshop had both physical and theory lessons, and included aspects on how to make sound better in live shows and in studios.

Berby is all praises for Maldivian music veteran Faidh, who was the focal point in organizing the workshop. “We asked Faidh to teach in the workshop with us, but he declined.”

Berby hopes to come back and conduct more workshops, amid plans to hold them in other Asian and African countries that do not have music schools.

“Next time I would like to do a workshop, on music of different continents.” He advises Maldivian musicians to dip into their culture and roots for inspiration, to make unique music.

Amid a debate between participants and Croix on how good MP3 songs could sound, Jaleel says IM also believes this is the start of many more workshops.

“Next we will do a more detailed workshop instead of a general one.”

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Eid ul-Fitr celebrated in the Maldives

The Maldives celebrated Eid ul-Fitr this week with prayer by day and parties by night. After a month of fasting for Ramadan, residents appear to be enjoying the capital island’s festive, social atmosphere.

The Islamic Ministry announced that Tuesday, August 30 was Eid ul-Fitr this year, and Male’ residents woke early on Tuesday morning to the sounds of heavy metal playing near the tsunami memorial. By late morning, the music had stopped and people were moving among houses and shops and a relaxed holiday atmosphere settled over the usually bustling city.

As ordered by the government, all private vehicles were parked and quiet between 3:30pm and 10:30pm. The traffic ordinance made it possible for residents to walk comfortably in the streets on a day when most of Male’ comes out for a stroll or to see the festivities.

The Islamic Ministry extended prayer space from the Islamic Center to Jetty 1 on Male’s northern side. Women could pray in extended space between the Dhiraagu head office to the Friday Mosque Minaret. Men were allowed to occupy all other areas.

Many Male residents traveled to home islands for Eid this year. But those who stayed enjoyed a range of sports, music and cultural activities.

Lagoons Sports Club organised “Maali Neshun” and “Bodumas Beynun”, Maldivian sporting events, on Boduthakurufaanu Magu and Ameenee Magu on Tuesday afternoon.

In “Maali Neshun”, masked participants dressed in ash and palm leaves walked Male’s roads and frightened parade onlookers in jest.

Two fishermen in “Bodumas Beynun” used magic, or fanditha, to catch a large woven fish.

In the evening, Male’s youth and married couples were to be found in hoards at the live music show in the Raalhugandu area, which was sponsored by local telecommunications company Dhiraagu.

Local bands such as 1knightstand, Harubee, and MNDF Cops Band took the stage alongside solo artists like Unoosha and Easa. The concert, which featured a range of musical tastes from soft rock to metal, rap and ska, began around 10 pm and continued past 2 in the morning.

Just around the corner near Bodufungandu Magu, palm tree road blocks protected a street rave featuring drums and traditional dancers. Young people and families were seen, and heard, celebrating into the late hours of the night.

The five-day period of Eid continues through Sunday. Although business is expected to return to its normal, pre-Ramadan state on Monday, Maldivians are looking forward to a second, longer Eid celebration before the end of the year.

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Local artist creates first Maldivian jazz album, presents to President

The Maldives’ first contemporary jazz album has been presented to President Mohamed Nasheed by Maldivian artist Shameem Mohamed (Shambe).

The album, Feshun, is an arrangement of guitar, saxophone, drums and bass. It also features Maldivian vocalist Mariyam Rifga Rasheed. The group of six musicians, who studied at the International College of Music, in Malaysia, worked on the music collaboratively, said Shambe.

“I created the main idea, but kept the freedom for each and every person to add their own ideas to the composition.”

Shambe, who majored in composition and contemporary jazz at the college, told Minivan News that after graduating from university he wanted to do something new for the Maldivian music industry. “I looked around and realised that the kind of music I was learning and composing wasn’t available in the Maldives. So I decided to put my mother tongue [Dhivehi] over a jazz fusion and call it Maldivian Jazz.”

Shambe said he had originally wanted to do the album with Maldivian musicians, but limited resources forced him to record in Malaysia.”There are some very good musicians in the Maldives,” he said, “but the recording studios here are not advanced enough to match the work being done by other groups today.”

The group began production for the album last October in Malaysia. They played a live concert on Malé in July, and have lately been on break for Ramadan. Shambe reports a good response from his home audience.

Shambe cited  the group Cosmo Squad as an inspiration, and said the album pulls from funk, latino, bossanova, samba and swing styles. He noted that because Dhivehi words are generally short, the group stretched them to create “a more laid back feel.”

“It may sound like it’s not clear, but that’s how it should be in order to feel like jazz. I think the effect will help make the music more accessible to audiences across the world,” said Shambe.

The group’s agent, Mohamed Bassm Adam, told Minivan News that Feshun is targeted for the tourism industry. He thinks the album could encourage other local artists who are interested in Western music styles.

The album has also drawn local attention. Shambe said he was surprised to see a good turnout at the presentation ceremony last night. “I was actually a bit nervous,” he said. The President’s Office reported that the album would refresh the Maldivian music market.

“The President is an admirer of all music genres, especially  jazz and the blues,” said President Mohamed Nasheed’s Press Secretary, Mohamed Zuhair.

Shambe said the group will be returning to Malaysia at the end of August to perform and promote the album. He said he would like to market it globally. “It will take some time to promote it, and I will need guidance and advice, but I hope that with time it will work out.”

Feshun is a product of the Maldives, and copyrighted under Universal Publishing Sdn Bhd (Malaysia). Artist Shameem Mohamed is signed under StarMount Records (Malaysia).

The album is available in music shops and online for rf200, and will soon be available in resorts priced from US$20.’

To listen to sample tracks, visit Feshun’s Facebook page

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Rock Paper Scissors to play in Olympus backyard on July 27

Well known local rock band ‘Rock Paper Scissors’ (RPS) are planning a music show with a slight difference.

The show to be held on July 27 at the Olympus backyard compound will be different to most music shows held in Male’, said band member Akif Rafeeq.

“We chose this venue because of its relative smaller size, we want to create a more intimate experience for our fans, and have a bit more crowd interaction,” he said.

The bands aims to have around 300 to 350 fans turn up for the show.

Another famous band in Male’ hugely popular with youth, ‘1 Knight Stand’ will also be playing on the night.

Rock Paper Scissors were formed in 2009 and are probably most well known for winning the 2009 Maldives Breakout Festival. The band has since played internationally including the 2010 O2 Arena showcase in the UK as well as headlining the 2010 Malaysian Breakout Festival.

Tickets will be available at Music World, Time Zone and at Olympus.

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Music: a front line of Dhivehi culture

Hundreds of young Maldivians descended on Sultans Park on Friday night for the launch of a music album by a young local artist.

Sitting in the dark shade of the trees at night, they cheered loudly as two young ladies strummed guitars to a soft melodic tune.

Music has been closely entwined with cultures around the world, from beyond the mists of time. Soaring orchestras and gentle flutes have enamoured mankind with their ability to convey, wordlessly, their deepest thoughts and most powerful emotions. So majestic is their beauty that, in many cultures, instruments like the lyre, the sitar and the harp have been associated with the divine, the heavenly.

The ancient traditions of song and dance in Dhivehi Raajje have evolved to a point where geographically disparate islands have formed their own subtly distinct styles that allow a keen ear to differentiate between, for instance, the Giraavaru tribe and their neighbouring islanders.

The accelerating beats of bodu beru drums have moved generations of Dhivehin to ecstasy and euphoria as they climaxed in a thrilling crescendo.

As it happens, the centuries old traditions that seem to be infused in the very genes of Maldivians are now facing a new kind of threat – a battle between cultural expression and religious dogmatism that has recently arrived on the Maldivian shores.

In March 2008, a gathering assembled at the Dharubaaruge Conference Centre, organised by Jamiyyathul Salaf, a religiously conservative NGO.

The backdrop on the stage had an image of a burning musical note crossed out with flames.

During the gathering, presumably held in opposition to the government’s support for cultural activities like song and dance, they released a video with 22 local lslamic clerics ruling that song and music were ‘haraam’, or forbidden in Islam.

The gathering was broken up by police, citing concerns over religious radicalisation.

Today, the first cleric to condemn music in that video montage, Adhaalath Party leader Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari, is the country’s cabinet Minister of Islamic Affairs.

Among other clerics in the same video were two members of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, staff members of the Centre for the Holy Qur’an, one member of the Human Rights Commission, and also a member of the MDP religious council.

Immanuel Kant, the 18th century German philosopher, suggested that one’s ability to appreciate beauty was closely tied with one’s ability to make moral judgments.

Grand symphonies of Mozart, Schubert and Bach have endured for centuries on the strength of their sheer brilliance, and the daunting complexity and elegance of their compositions that could evoke romance, passions and dark sorrows in mute observers.

However, during another sermon organised by Jamiyyathul-Salaf in 2010, titled ‘Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘N’ Roll’, preacher Abdur-Raheem Green called the attention of his audience to the music playing from the nearby Carnival stage, and alleged that the musicians playing at the venue were people with empty lives.

In his sermon, he equated music with hedonism and “worship of materialistic culture… the Qur’an of the shaithaan.”

When the Maldivian death metal band Nothnegal returned from a successful tour of Europe, what awaited them in the report of their story were several hostile comments that insisted music was forbidden in Islam, and the group’s activities were akin to ‘devil-worship’.

While the Maldivian music scene hasn’t quite come to a head-on collision with religious dogmatists the way it has in some other Islamic countries, there are some notable incidents where they have crossed paths.

Ali Rameez, arguably the biggest pop-star in the Maldives at the time, famously quit music in a very public manner, reportedly making a symbolic renunciation by dumping a large quantity of his CDs into the sea.

The lead singer of the popular music band Trio, that had recently represented the Maldives at International music events, quit music at the height of the band’s popularity and announced on his Facebook page that his decision was driven by religious considerations, as he was given to understand that music was forbidden to Muslims.

The cultural differences and the attitudes of talented musicians towards their religious duties are a fascinating study in contrast.

The famous Ghazal and Qawwali musical traditions of the subcontinent have a long and rich legacy of talented Muslim artistes, including internationally acclaimed Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

AR Rahman, the double Oscar and Grammy winning Indian musician is also known to be a very devout Muslim.

There appears to be no clear consensus on what is considered acceptable music and what is not.

The late Sheikh Ibn Baz, former grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, rejected all forms of popular music as ‘haram’, except during weddings where it was restricted to women folk.

While many conservative scholars make exemptions for devotional songs accompanied only by the beats of a daf (a frame drum resembling a tambourine), others consider even devotional music to be taboo.

Renowned Lebanese Islamic scholar Sheikh Ibrahim Ramadan Al-Mardini rejects such religious restrictions on music, saying no such prohibition existed in the Qur’an.

He also argues that the hadith often used to justify it were “very weak”.

Opposition religious leader, Dr Afrasheem Ali, said on national television in 2008 that the Prophet himself had sung. Former President Gayoom, also a religious scholar, asserted in a speech that singing and dancing were not incompatible with Islam.

Indeed, even the definition of the term ‘singing’ appears to be equally nebulous.

The stirring qualities of rhythm, melody and tenor have been used to great effect by famous qaris like Abdul Basit Abdul Samad – who became internationally known for his spell-binding recitations of that Qur’an that inspires many imitators.

Even after ‘renouncing music’, former pop-star Ali Rameez has sung several devotional songs, many of them quite popular.

So did Rock-star Cat Stevens, who embraced Islam at the peak of his career and gave up music. Upon conversion, he took on the name Yusuf Islam, and auctioned away all his guitars.

Elsewhere, Salman Ahmad, the lead singer of iconic Pakistani rock band Junoon and arguably the greatest rock star to emerge from the Muslim world, is appealing to youth in his terrorism-plagued country to take up the guitar and reject extremism.

Cat Stevens, aka Yusuf Islam, eventually returned to music. On the eve of his album’s re-release, he explained that he had stopped performing due to his misunderstanding of the Islamic faith.

“This issue of music in Islam is not as cut-and-dried as I was led to believe … I relied on hearsay, that was perhaps my mistake”, Yusuf said.

Salman Ahmad, too, pointed out that the verses of celebrated Sufi poet Rumi “promoted harmony, tolerance, peace, self-discovery, simplicity… really, the antithesis of the religious extremists protesting on the street.”

Arguing that both rock musicians and extremists had a common target – the youth, he has vowed to undertake a new kind of ‘jihad’, one that combats what he considers the destructive power of extremism and “murderous thugs masquerading as holy men” by providing the outlet of music.

Indeed, young rock bands in the Maldives have chosen to vent their angst against political violence with powerful thrash music. Judging by the crowds that throng their shows, the message has been received well.

Gentle plucks on guitar strings have in the past summoned millions of anti-war activists, raised millions in charity, and defined entire cultural eras.

Countries everywhere use the strength of music to put together stirring verses set to triumphal tunes played by military brass bands – a shared national anthem, to signify a shared nationhood.

Maldivian bands like Zero Degree Atoll have revived cultural identities by skilfully infusing the sounds of waves and conch shells along with modern guitar riffs and bodu beru percussion, accompanying, of course, their evocative Maldivian poetry.

If the music that mingled with the Maldivian sea breeze for centuries is to survive, one would do well to heed the advice of the young man on the stage at the Sultan Park last night, who exhorted his artist and musician colleagues to defy those who discourage and object to music, and remain steadfastly committed to creating wonderful new melodies; words that would clearly be music to our ancestors’ ears.

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Alliance Française hosts “new soul voice of Cameroon”, Blick Bassy

Blick Bassy surveyed the tray laden with shorteats and helped himself to some bajiya, gulha and masroshi, at the teashop in the carnival area. Around him fellow musicians John Grandcamp percussionist, Geimbakouyate who plays ngoni and the guitar and Johanbarby the bass guitarist, munched away, happily chatting with the Maldivian musicians who had turned up to their workshop an hour earlier.

“I don’t think it’s too hot, we are used to eating spicy,” says Bassy, referring to his Cameroonian roots when told the food might be too hot for him.

The singer, often hailed as the new soul voice of Cameroon, is in town to perform a music show on Friday night at the request of Alliance Française of Male, before heading off to Sri Lanka to perform there.

He had not known much about Maldives before coming here. “I just knew that Maldives was reputed to be the most beautiful place in the world.”

Bassy started his first band at the age of 17; the band played a fusion of African melodies, jazz and bossa nova. In 1996 he formed a new band called Macase, which had a successful run, releasing two albums in 10 years and winning a host of regional and international awards.

“I wanted to be able to do what I wanted to do,” says Bassy explaining his reasons for leaving the group after 10 years. “In groups you need consensus to do things, going solo is like taking another step, revealing who I am really.”

His first solo album Léman, was released in February 2009 under a Dutch label. The album has been well received in Europe. Bassy is the songwriter, singer, guitarist and percussionist of the album and it connects the music of Central and West Africa with bossa nova, jazz and soul.

“My second album in production now has contemporary African music. It’s a modern vision of Africa through my eyes.”

He explains how with the availability of internet young Africans listen to the same music as young American or English people.

“It’s traditional music colored by other types of music I hear, Brazilian jazz, old soul.”

Tradition is very important to Bassy who sings in his native language Bassa. Despite having lived in France for the last 5 years he says he envisages continuing singing in Bassa.

“Lots of reasons for this, foremost is that there are 250 tribes and languages in Cameroon, but our national language is English and French. If I talk to someone from another tribe we talk in French now to understand each other.”

He says Cameroonian native languages are in the danger of disappearing. “If you lose your language, you lose your culture, tradition and identity.”

Each language colours the music differently. “If you sing to the same tune, a song in two different languages it will sound different because each language’s intonations are different.”

His interest in the native sounds and music of a country is evident. He questions if there is a singular way of singing or music that is Maldivian, and says he has been told of Zero Degree Atoll and is looking forward to listening to it.

When a musician points out that Calbace the Cameroonian drum and boduberu (maldivian drum) have somewhat similar sounds he agrees.

“In Nigeria a drum like boduberu is played and the rhythm is similar to Maldivians.” The band also uses ngoni a guitar like instrument found in Mali and North Cameroon.

Playing traditional instruments is not difficult, he says:“It’s like any other instrument, if you practice its easy.”

Bassy can almost be called a revivalist; he has brought language and traditional elements along with him on his journey, and found a place for them in his music and the modern world.

“You have to be proud of where you come from; it’s a beautiful thing to have. The difference among people is what’s enriching, meeting Maldivians have been so interesting because people of the difference.”

He rues the fact that some youth try to copy the westerners. “You have to think of what you bring to a place, and what your identity is.”

Bassy’s music is a reflection of his philosophy on life itself. A mix of tradition and modern, shaped by his childhood spend in Cameroon and his travels around the globe as an adult.

Asked what kind of music he will be playing tomorrow night, Bassy’s answer is “beautiful music.”

Blick Bassy will perform at Artificial Beach on Friday October 15 from 9:00pm to 11:00pm.

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Fans and friends seek redemption for jailed reggae musician

The ten year sentence handed down to reggae artist Haisham for possession and use of less than one gram of cannabis is coming under increasing criticism for what many describe as its disproportionate severity.

The Criminal Court on Monday sentenced Haisham Mohamed Rashid, M. Loha, to five years for possession of cannabis and five years for use of the same drug. The sentences are to run consecutively.

Haisham was convicted after being found in possession of a bag which contained the cannabis. He also subsequently tested positive for the drug.

Possession or use of illegal drugs are offences under Section 4 of the Drugs Act 17/77 that carry a penalty of 10-15 years of imprisonment or banishment.

“It is ridiculous that someone should receive concurrent sentences for possession and for use. How can someone use a drug without first possessing it?”, Chairperson of local drugs NGO Journey, Ahmed Adam, told Minivan News.

Adam noted that such concurrent sentences have been increasing lately.

The proposed Drugs and Narcoticts Amendment Bill would combine the offences of possession and use, creating a single offence of ‘possession for the purpose of use’. It would remove the ambiguity in the current Act, and prevent the situation where a judge sentences an offender concurrently for both possession and use.

The new Bill also states that if a person is found with less than 25 grams of cannabis in any form, the courts should assume it was in their possession for the purpose of personal use. If the amount found on the person is less than half of the stipulated 25 grams, the sentence should not exceed six months. If it is more than 12.5g, the sentence can be longer than six months, but cannot exceed a year.

Haisham’s sentences, for being found with less than a gram of cannabis and for its use, is nine years and six months longer than what is proposed in the new Amendment Bill.

The Bill has been pending discussion at the Majlis since 2009. The Majlis is currently on its second recess of the year.

Fellow musicians hold Haisham in high esteem, and describe him as a creative force on the Maldivian music scene.

“It is very sad that someone like him should be jailed,” a 29-year-old musician, who wishes to remain anonymous, told Minivan News.

“It is a bad blow for the Maldivian music industry when such things happen. He works hard, he is trying to make a life for himself – then his freedom is taken away”, he added. “He should have been put on probation. At least then he could still work and make music.”

The issue has ignited the Maldivian blogosphere. Many commentators are drawing comparisons with the recent Criminal Court sentencing of former principal of Lale Youth International School, Turkish national Serkan Akar, who received a Rf 200 (US$14) fine for assaulting children.

In 2009 the Criminal Court sentenced a convicted serial paedophile to six years and in 2010 jailed an HIV positive paedophile, who had sex with two underage girls, to three years imprisonment.

Haisham is described by many as a gentle and charitable family man who “would not harm a soul”. Several have called for a musicians’ protest against Haisham’s imprisonment.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Haisham would serve two five year sentences concurrently. The sentences are to be served consecutively.

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15 Minutes with Fasy

Ahmed Faseeh is the Maldivian guitarist better known as ‘Fasy’. He kicked off his musical career in Malaysia while studying for an IT degree, a week after his arrival in Kuala Lumpur. He was soon performing with many famous Malaysian musicians, including Paul Ponnudorai, Amir Yussof, Rafique Rashid, and Purple Haze, and has since returned to help build the budding Maldivian music scene.

Minivan News: What were the earliest musical experiences that influenced you?

Fasy: I was four or five years old when I was introduced to music. As a young teenager, things like Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and other video tapes that people brought into the country had a big effect on me. They were just amazing. But before that I was already into music because Dad used to perform. He was in a band.They were originally known as Shooting Stars and then a few members changed and it became TT Bum Blues.

That band started in the late 60s and I was born in 1973. By 1978 the band was no longer playing. Dad used to play a lot of vinyl recordings at home, like Grease.

We started a band at school when I was in Grade 6, but before that I was in the school choir. My first instrument was the tambourine, but I got the chance to be in the band because I danced like Michael Jackson. My first performance was at a youth concert held at Olympus which went on for about seven nights. One night, our band was performing and I did breakdancing. It wasn’t a Michael Jackson act then, just a breakdancing routine.

As school went on, I stayed with the same band, and when the rhythm guitar player left I got to play the guitar. I was about thirteen. Dad had given me an acoustic guitar which I used to practise at home. After I starting with the band I just kept on playing.

Minivan News: What were major musical influences then?

Fasy: It started with the Beatles, but when I began playing with the band it was the time of the Scorpions and Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, those sort of people. They were the main influences.

Minivan News: You went off to Malaysia in 1996 to do an Information Technology course in Kuala Lumpur, and soon after you arrived you met musicians there like Viji, Tony Warren, Bala, Paul Ponnudorai, Amir Yusuf, Rafique Rashid, and the band Purple Haze.

Fasy: Yes, they were all well-known artists in Malaysia, working in bands. I was regularly performing with Viji. A week after I arrived in KL, I went to the pub and there was Viji playing with a drum machine and another guitar player and I went up to him during a break and said I played guitar and he invited me to come back for a jam session on Sunday when the pub was closed. And from that time on, we played together regularly until the end of 2006.

Minivan News: You completed your course in 2000 and then set up a production studio called DigitalTones with Rekha Raveenderan and your production debut album Sangkeertanam sold 50,000 copies. What happened then?

Fasy: The company produced another album in 2001, the first Tamil Hip-Hop album, Nil Gavvanee by Boomerangx. That was another hit and it followed through to India as well and created a revolution in Indian music. Which was amazing to see.

Minivan News: Why do you think Malaysia was the place where that sort of thing happened. What is it about Malaysia?

Fasy: I think it’s the mix of cultures – Chinese, Indian and Malay. And the openness they have there between the cultures. I mean we worked together with everyone, and when all cultures get together its exciting. Malaysia is a unique place.

Minivan News: You have a mixture of computer skills, production and performance abilities. How has that shaped your artistic career?

Fasy: It’s true, they’ve all had a part to play in my music, but the biggest influence has been Viji. He knows the best songs of the 60s. The music then was so alive, so real and so true. I learnt most through Viji. A couple of blues tracks that we did were just incredible… a guitar player should have to learn these things, because there is so much technique, feeling and meaning in those things.

With the digital stuff… to be honest the computer degree didn’t help that much with my music, but I can use a computer for music production. The skills came in handy when I needed to network studios and computer systems, installing different drivers and programs and hardware.

My first recording was actually done in Maldives on a spool deck, so I knew the analogue recording process before I started using digital. This gave me an understanding of the sort of sound I should get when I used digital. The analogue wave is a bit smaller, which is what we want for a recording. Digital is very wide, and to get the waved narrowed down to a nice audio level, the analogue knowledge was useful.

I did a lot of live concert sound work in Maldives as well. That helped a lot.

Minivan News: On your first album, Starrs, you do everything on it, and the same with the second solo album, Cruising.

Fasy: Yes, I programmed the drums and keyboard.

Minivan News: And then with the A Compilation album, other musicians appeared on some tracks.

Fasy: I took a couple of tracks from a live session in Maldives and another one we recorded in a studio in Malaysia with other musicians. It got to a point where I was finding that programming took me away from the feel of the music and it was turning me off. I would get an inspiration and sitting down to do the programming became so technical and tedious.. so I said to myself “I need to get a band”.

I formed a band in 2004 in Malaysia with a Maldivian bass player and an Indonesian drummer. The drummer had to go because his visa ran out and he was replaced by a Maldivian. There was more changing of bass players and drummers, and finally Ibbe became the drummer and he’s still with me now. Last year we got a UK bassist, Graham Simmonds.

Minivan News: 2006 was the year of FasyLive in Male, out of that you also made a DVD.

Fasy: Initially we weren’t thinking of a DVD. We rehearsed for that concert for a long time in Maldives after returning from Malaysia. There was a lot of anticipation around that concert. It was videoed and when we saw it, we realised it was something we should share with people so we decided to do a DVD. We were heavily involved in the editing. Then we had another concert to release the DVD… any excuse to play. That live broadcast concert was in the big studio at TV Maldives, and a ticket was the DVD. We sold about 400.

Minivan News: Do you find coming back to Maldives artistically inspirational?

Fasy: I love Maldives, I don’t see myself leaving Maldives and going away and forgetting about it. I might go and live in Malaysia for a while but Maldives will always be home for me, and coming back and doing something at home is something I treasure.

Minivan News: Are your songs inspired by what happens here?

Fasy: Lot of my songs are inspired by Maldivian experiences and what we have been going through, especially the 2007 Vengeance album.

Minivan News: In 2008 you did your first Dhivehi album, Silver, which was originally a live concert, and the first time you fused Bodu Beru drums with contemporary rock.

Fasy: Yes, the recording was mixed and mastered in Malaysia by Mohamed Faizal Ghazali at ProDG projects which I’m part of.

Minivan News: What have you been doing in Maldives lately?

Fasy: Organising a concert I’ll be engineering on 16 July – a concert sponsored by ‘Burn’, the drink made by Coca Cola.

Thermal and a Quarter from India will be playing, and Metalasia from Malaysia. From Maldives there’ll be Traphic Jam, a very revolutionary band who started to talk openly about the issues of the last regime and were banned from a lot of venues. They won the BreakOut festival competition last year and their bringing out a new album this month which has got some stuff about the current situation.

They are sort of “the voice of youth”. Also appearing on 16 July are TormentA, who had a recent album, and Sacred Legacy, who have three albums out already.

The second concert will be on 10 December, and I’ll be performing with another band from UK called Steranko.

FasyLive is keeping quiet for a while because we are too busy with BreakOut. FasyLive is still performing, we are due to play at a festival in the UK on 7 August at the Music for Life organised by Jar Music in collaboration with Sudbury council in Suffolk.

Ibbe and I are heavily involved in development of the music industry here in Maldives. There’s never been a proper music industry here, bands just play because they love it. There hasn’t been platforms to take bands through levels of development. Any new band here can find themselves playing at massive festivals, which destroys their discipline and mentality, and makes them hard to manage.

That’s why BreakOut has been set up. It provides stages of development with judges and fans deciding how they proceed. That’s what creates a band. If they are good enough, after a year they can get out of the country to perform, which is essential experience for a good band.

This year we decided to focus on BreakOut and get it running properly. Every year there’s so many people coming in, musicians and industry people. It’s been going now for three years. The first year wasn’t too bad. We paid for all bands going to and fro from UK and elswhere. We went into debt and that continued through 2009. But now we have help and good backing from Wataniya, ‘Rock’ energy drink made by an Australian company, and Coca Cola.

Venues are the main problem. We depend on the Carnival venue. Last year the toilets didn’t have a water pump, so we had to pay for that and fix it. No bulbs, power switches gone. And this year the place is even a bigger mess due to vandalism.

We had a BreakOut competition in Addu in April. The music scene changed there over just three days. At the start, most of the musicians were frightened that their parents would find out what they were doing. But when the parents saw them on TV, it was all OK. The parents were really happy. People started seeing music in a different way. When parents see their kids live on TV it changes their perspective entirely. It all becomes acceptable.

With BreakOut, we provide TV Maldives with original music and they give us TV slots. Our idea is to create enough interest in this festival that people are willing to fly in. We have trouble handling big acts at the moment. Hay Festival is coming over to this year in October – an arts literature and music festival. It attracts a lot of international interest, and important people attend these festivals.

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