FAISAL KAPADIA ON TURNING TO SYNTH-POP AND HIS FAVORITE INDIAN INDIE ACTS

ONE HALF OF LEGENDARY PAKISTANI POP-ROCK DUO STRINGS, KAPADIA TALKS ABOUT EVERYTHING FROM ‘COKE STUDIO’ TO HIS SOLO ALBUM ‘ZINDAGI JAHAAN LE JAAYE’ AND A POTENTIAL COLLABORATION WITH ANKUR TEWARI, KARSH KALE AND ARNOB

- Anurag Tagat

When Pakistani pop veteran Faisal Kapadia and his Strings co-founder Bilal Maqsood put an end to the band in 2021, it was a 33-year chapter in music that was being closed. Kapadia says over a Zoom call that he just didn’t want to pursue music anymore.

He explains the thought from about three years ago, “I knew Bilal would like to do some production work, but I thought for myself that I’d had my share. I did whatever I was passionate about, so I’m just gonna take time off.” Soon enough, while on vacation, he received a call from Xulfi, the Pakistani rock veteran and super-producer known for his work with bands like Entity Paradigm and Call. Kapadia was asked to be part of Coke Studio Season 14, which was being produced by Xulfi.

The allure, according to Kapadia, was not just that Strings had themselves produced and shaped the music of Coke Studio between 2013 and 2017, but also now getting a chance to work with nextgen artists like rap duo Young Stunners and producer-singer Abdullah Siddiqui. “It excited me, it was something out of my comfort zone, collaborating with rappers,” Kapadia says. It led to “Phir Milenge” featuring Young Stunners, with Xulfi and Siddiqui taking on production roles for Coke Studio. Currently, the song stands at over 10 million streams on Spotify and 19 million views on YouTube.

Even when Strings were coexisting alongside the new alternative movement of hip-hop and pop in Pakistan, Kapadia admits that they were “in our own zone” as artists and only dived deep into the newer artists and musical styles ruling streaming platforms after working on “Phir Milenge.” He says the project sparked a burning desire to make music again, but not to be relevant as an old-timer.

It led to his debut solo album