Karavan is a Pakistani rock music
band. It was formed in 1997 by former Awaz guitarist Assad Ahmed,
with the help of his friend Sameer Ahmed. The band have recorded 3
studio albums and 1 live album to date selling over a million copies
in Pakistan alone. The band became an instant hit in the young
population of the country due to their classic rock sound and
explosive live shows. In 2005 they released an unplugged album on
the internet via their website. It had over 150,000 downloads.
Assad Ahmed (All electric and acoustic guitars, backing
vocals):
On the surface he is the man responsible for Karavans slick big
guitar sound. But behind the amplifiers, mixing boards and smoke
machines, Assad Ahmed seems like an individual possessed by one
ambition alone to make his band an international force to be
reckoned with. This brooding front man minces no words and never
hesitates to call a spade a spade. Veering back to Assad, the man is
battle weary veteran of the Pakistani music scene. Assad has played
either in a supporting role or as a full on band member, with the
A-list of Pakistani pop singers and rockers. The Vital Signs, Junoon,
Najam Shiraz, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Awaz have all been stations
on the journey Assad began formally in 1987 and is continuing till
this day –Karavan. The need to escape from the humdrum bubblegum
world of commercial Pakistani pop necessitated the creation of
Karavan.
Tanseer Daar (Lead and backing vocals):
This schoolboy rocker fantasy is exactly what transpired with
Tanseer Daar, lead singer of Karavan. Coming out of several failed
projects such as Arsh and Circle, as well as having worked with Ali
Haider, Fakhr-E-Alam and Schehzad Mughal, Tanseer had a grand
opportunity to fill the vocal slot for Karavan, as Najam Sheraz had
just vacated the hotseat. Along with coming up with the melodies,
Tanseer also plays keyboards, while contributing lyrics or lyrical
ideas to the hired guns that end up penning the words. Now that he
has been accepted both by the group and the fans, Tanseer can
concentrate and get down to business – making rollicking, original
Pakistani rock and roll!
Sameer Ahmed (Bass Guitar):
The bassist can carry the band, or the bassist can bury the band.
That might sound like a gross exaggeration, as most people would
rather lionize the flashy frontman, or the brooding guitarist. But
as important as these two leading components of the band are, it is
the rhythm section – the bassist and the drummer – that hold things
steady in the midst of the firestorm of a soaring guitar solo or
impassioned wail. They keep the rhythm going, keeping the action
grounded in reality while the others are flying high. Sameer Ahmed,
founding member and bassist of Karavan, has definitely carried the
band. His free flowing, thumping bass patterns mesh remarkably well
with Assad’s searing fretwork and Alan’s percussive mastery. With
his sublime, rumbling bass patterns and an attitude to match, Sameer
is confident about where the foursome are headed, as their stars are
definitely in motion.
History
Just like the image that the name evokes, Karavan has been a
strange, intense and in a sense, wonderful trip. Strange because the
weary traveler has, in effect, no connection to the four individuals
who play this subliminal music, other than your expected
listener/performer relationship. Initially, it is distant; the
listener appreciating from afar the hypnotic blend of voice and
instrumental versatility. But as the journey continues, it turns all
the more intense -- as the connection is made. How so? The listener
realizes that that this is pop music – but with an edge. It has
character, flavour and meaning. These four guys speak in tongues,
yet the language translates instantly as you cue up your stereo.
That is where the wonder of realization begins to take hold of the
listener. This journey – in 4-minute intervals – lets you escape,
lets you dream, and ultimately rock out to a guitar-fuelled Zen
frenzy. In short, you have joined this planet Karavan. This is
Karavan’s linear history.
1997
JANUARY: Assad Ahmed (lead guitarist of Karavan), leaves a
successful career with pop wunderkinds Awaz to work on an as yet
untitled project with longtime friend and bassist Sameer Ahmed.
FEBRUARY: After a marathon audition session, which featured over 50
singers-inwaiting, the duo decides that Najam Sheraz is just the
right voice for the project.
MAY: After settling on the moniker of Karavan, the trio make their
national debut, as the nation gets its first taste of Karavan at
Channel V’s concert in Karachi, opening for the late maestro, Nusrat
Fateh Ali Khan.
JUNE-AUGUST: Karavan record their debut album Rakh Aas at Assad’s
home studio.
NOVEMBER: Rakh Aas is released. The PTV bans the video for the
premier single. The controversial ruling is apparently enforced
because of the band sporting long hair and outlandish, loud clothes.
DECEMBER: Drummer Alan Smith marks his first appearance with the
band; taken on to support the guys on tour with a live drum sound.
1998
JANUARY: Karavan kick off the New Year playing a sold out 3-night
stand at Karachi’s famed PACC.
MARCH: The Rakh Aas video finally passes the censor board, and after
a lengthy wait, plays on the PTV network.
MAY: Najam plays his last show with Karavan at the Karachi Club.
Interestingly, a band called Circle opens for Karavan that night,
and on vocal duties for Circle is a guy called Tanseer Daar.
JUNE-OCTOBER: Now without a vocalist, the band starts auditioning
singers.
DECEMBER: Tanseer Daar is selected as the new lead singer of Karavan.
1999
MARCH: Karavan are approached by Pepsi-Cola to record a song for the
upcoming Cricket World Cup album. Tanseer’s trial by fire.
JUNE: Umeedain released as a single from the World Cup album.
Meanwhile, Tanseer makes his live debut with the band performing at
the Pepsi World Cup concert.
JULY-NOVEMBER: Karavan record their second full-length album, Safar.
DECEMBER 31ST: Safar is released. Beqarar is shipped to radio as the
first single.
2000
JANUARY: Karavan tour extensively to support Safar.
APRIL: Karavan shoots Safar – A Visual Evolution – a 1-hour
rockumentary on the making of the album.
MAY: The rockumentary plays in 2 parts on PTV World. The global
satellite broadcast is carried to 36 countries, and over 40 million
people witness the beginning of a change in Pakistani musical
trends.
JUNE-DECEMBER: Karavan continue to tour behind Safar as sales of the
record start picking up.
2001
FEBRUARY: Rakh Aas and Safar are re-released with different covers
and new mixes.
JUNE: The band starts writing material for the new album, Gardish.
AUGUST: Karavan record Gardish in a barnstorming, 15-day session.
2002
JANUARY-FEBRUARY: The mix for Gardish is finished.
MARCH: Karavan shoot the video for Aagey Hi Aagey, which is the
debut single for Gardish.
APRIL: Aagey Hi Aagey makes its debut on the new music channel,
Indus Music.
MAY: With Aagey Hi Aagey a certified success, Karavan play for a
record-breaking 30,000 people at the Dreamworld Resort.
JUNE: The band plays new material for a crowd of 10,000 at the PAF
Museum in Karachi.
AUGUST: Gardish is released.
band. It was formed in 1997 by former Awaz guitarist Assad Ahmed,
with the help of his friend Sameer Ahmed. The band have recorded 3
studio albums and 1 live album to date selling over a million copies
in Pakistan alone. The band became an instant hit in the young
population of the country due to their classic rock sound and
explosive live shows. In 2005 they released an unplugged album on
the internet via their website. It had over 150,000 downloads.
Assad Ahmed (All electric and acoustic guitars, backing
vocals):
On the surface he is the man responsible for Karavans slick big
guitar sound. But behind the amplifiers, mixing boards and smoke
machines, Assad Ahmed seems like an individual possessed by one
ambition alone to make his band an international force to be
reckoned with. This brooding front man minces no words and never
hesitates to call a spade a spade. Veering back to Assad, the man is
battle weary veteran of the Pakistani music scene. Assad has played
either in a supporting role or as a full on band member, with the
A-list of Pakistani pop singers and rockers. The Vital Signs, Junoon,
Najam Shiraz, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Awaz have all been stations
on the journey Assad began formally in 1987 and is continuing till
this day –Karavan. The need to escape from the humdrum bubblegum
world of commercial Pakistani pop necessitated the creation of
Karavan.
Tanseer Daar (Lead and backing vocals):
This schoolboy rocker fantasy is exactly what transpired with
Tanseer Daar, lead singer of Karavan. Coming out of several failed
projects such as Arsh and Circle, as well as having worked with Ali
Haider, Fakhr-E-Alam and Schehzad Mughal, Tanseer had a grand
opportunity to fill the vocal slot for Karavan, as Najam Sheraz had
just vacated the hotseat. Along with coming up with the melodies,
Tanseer also plays keyboards, while contributing lyrics or lyrical
ideas to the hired guns that end up penning the words. Now that he
has been accepted both by the group and the fans, Tanseer can
concentrate and get down to business – making rollicking, original
Pakistani rock and roll!
Sameer Ahmed (Bass Guitar):
The bassist can carry the band, or the bassist can bury the band.
That might sound like a gross exaggeration, as most people would
rather lionize the flashy frontman, or the brooding guitarist. But
as important as these two leading components of the band are, it is
the rhythm section – the bassist and the drummer – that hold things
steady in the midst of the firestorm of a soaring guitar solo or
impassioned wail. They keep the rhythm going, keeping the action
grounded in reality while the others are flying high. Sameer Ahmed,
founding member and bassist of Karavan, has definitely carried the
band. His free flowing, thumping bass patterns mesh remarkably well
with Assad’s searing fretwork and Alan’s percussive mastery. With
his sublime, rumbling bass patterns and an attitude to match, Sameer
is confident about where the foursome are headed, as their stars are
definitely in motion.
History
Just like the image that the name evokes, Karavan has been a
strange, intense and in a sense, wonderful trip. Strange because the
weary traveler has, in effect, no connection to the four individuals
who play this subliminal music, other than your expected
listener/performer relationship. Initially, it is distant; the
listener appreciating from afar the hypnotic blend of voice and
instrumental versatility. But as the journey continues, it turns all
the more intense -- as the connection is made. How so? The listener
realizes that that this is pop music – but with an edge. It has
character, flavour and meaning. These four guys speak in tongues,
yet the language translates instantly as you cue up your stereo.
That is where the wonder of realization begins to take hold of the
listener. This journey – in 4-minute intervals – lets you escape,
lets you dream, and ultimately rock out to a guitar-fuelled Zen
frenzy. In short, you have joined this planet Karavan. This is
Karavan’s linear history.
1997
JANUARY: Assad Ahmed (lead guitarist of Karavan), leaves a
successful career with pop wunderkinds Awaz to work on an as yet
untitled project with longtime friend and bassist Sameer Ahmed.
FEBRUARY: After a marathon audition session, which featured over 50
singers-inwaiting, the duo decides that Najam Sheraz is just the
right voice for the project.
MAY: After settling on the moniker of Karavan, the trio make their
national debut, as the nation gets its first taste of Karavan at
Channel V’s concert in Karachi, opening for the late maestro, Nusrat
Fateh Ali Khan.
JUNE-AUGUST: Karavan record their debut album Rakh Aas at Assad’s
home studio.
NOVEMBER: Rakh Aas is released. The PTV bans the video for the
premier single. The controversial ruling is apparently enforced
because of the band sporting long hair and outlandish, loud clothes.
DECEMBER: Drummer Alan Smith marks his first appearance with the
band; taken on to support the guys on tour with a live drum sound.
1998
JANUARY: Karavan kick off the New Year playing a sold out 3-night
stand at Karachi’s famed PACC.
MARCH: The Rakh Aas video finally passes the censor board, and after
a lengthy wait, plays on the PTV network.
MAY: Najam plays his last show with Karavan at the Karachi Club.
Interestingly, a band called Circle opens for Karavan that night,
and on vocal duties for Circle is a guy called Tanseer Daar.
JUNE-OCTOBER: Now without a vocalist, the band starts auditioning
singers.
DECEMBER: Tanseer Daar is selected as the new lead singer of Karavan.
1999
MARCH: Karavan are approached by Pepsi-Cola to record a song for the
upcoming Cricket World Cup album. Tanseer’s trial by fire.
JUNE: Umeedain released as a single from the World Cup album.
Meanwhile, Tanseer makes his live debut with the band performing at
the Pepsi World Cup concert.
JULY-NOVEMBER: Karavan record their second full-length album, Safar.
DECEMBER 31ST: Safar is released. Beqarar is shipped to radio as the
first single.
2000
JANUARY: Karavan tour extensively to support Safar.
APRIL: Karavan shoots Safar – A Visual Evolution – a 1-hour
rockumentary on the making of the album.
MAY: The rockumentary plays in 2 parts on PTV World. The global
satellite broadcast is carried to 36 countries, and over 40 million
people witness the beginning of a change in Pakistani musical
trends.
JUNE-DECEMBER: Karavan continue to tour behind Safar as sales of the
record start picking up.
2001
FEBRUARY: Rakh Aas and Safar are re-released with different covers
and new mixes.
JUNE: The band starts writing material for the new album, Gardish.
AUGUST: Karavan record Gardish in a barnstorming, 15-day session.
2002
JANUARY-FEBRUARY: The mix for Gardish is finished.
MARCH: Karavan shoot the video for Aagey Hi Aagey, which is the
debut single for Gardish.
APRIL: Aagey Hi Aagey makes its debut on the new music channel,
Indus Music.
MAY: With Aagey Hi Aagey a certified success, Karavan play for a
record-breaking 30,000 people at the Dreamworld Resort.
JUNE: The band plays new material for a crowd of 10,000 at the PAF
Museum in Karachi.
AUGUST: Gardish is released.
Album:
Karavan - Gardish
Intezaar.wma
Aaja
Mere.mp3
Agay Hi
Agay.wma
Beqarar.mp3
Dil Ki
Pyaas.mp3
Gardish.mp3
Irada.mp3
Man Kahe
Aaja.mp3
Mavarayee
Duniya.mp3
Rakh
Aas.mp3
Saadgi.mp3
Shoure.mp3
Yeh
Zindagi Hai.mp3
Album:
Karavan - Safar
Chehra.wma
Safar.wma
Tum Hee To
Ho.wma
Umeedain.wma
Faisla.wma
Jeena Hai
Kya.wma
In Makanon
Main.wma
Dil
mera.wma
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