''2'' is the second studio album by Pakistani

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

band Strings. Singles from the album included "Sar Kiye Yeh Pahar" and "Aaj Mein Khud He Se".

Release

In 1992, the band came up with a follow-up album titled ''2'', released by Shalimar Recording Company. Maqsood realising that the band needed more exposure, advised that a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

to be shot. He himself took charge of the direction of the video for the song, "Sar Kiye Yeh Pahar", and handed it to the STN to be aired on their show. The video was played for a minute on the channel in their hour-long show and with not many new videos from competing artists, Maqsood's directorial début was an instant success. This decision proved beneficial and "Sar Kiye Yeh Pahar" became a nationwide hit overnight. In its most primitive form, the video and the song created a phenomenon in the local

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, trai ...

and the band scored hits after another, played shows and enjoyed the lifestyle of the post-80s

pop star A pop icon is a celebrity, character, or object whose exposure in popular culture is regarded as constituting a defining characteristic of a given society or era. The usage of the term is largely subjective since there are no definitively object ...

s. The hype was short-lived as the quartet decided to disband considering it as a mutual decision amongst all the members. Soon afterwards, as the band disappeared from the local pop music scene their video of "Sar Kiye Yeh Pahar" aired on

MTV Asia MTV was a pan-Asian music pay-television channel which launched on 3 May 1995 as a standalone pay television channel. It was owned by Paramount Networks EMEAA. History MTV Asia was officially launched on 3 May 1995 as a 24-hour English-languag ...

and led the band to achieve success and worldwide fame. After disbanding, Maqsood joined an

art school An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, including fine art – especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. Art schools can offer elementary, secondary, post-sec ...

and later got himself a job in an

advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generall ...

as the creative director, while Kapadia travelled to the Houston, Texas to continue his business studies. Little is known of the other two members of the band but it is understood they continued their studies as well. The disbanding of the group came as a mutual decision amongst all the members.

Track listing

Personnel

All information is taken from the CD. Strings *

Faisal Kapadia Strings () was a Pakistani pop/rock band composed of two members, plus four live band members from Karachi, Pakistan. The band was initially formed by four college students—Bilal Maqsood (vocals and guitars), Faisal Kapadia (vocals), Rafi ...

– vocals, backing vocals *

Bilal Maqsood Bilal Maqsood ( Urdu: بلال مقصود) is a Pakistani guitarist, composer, and a founding member of Strings. He has also directed a number of music videos. For Bilal and his band Strings, success came in 1992 after the launch of the song '' ...

– vocals, lead guitars *

Rafiq Wazir Ali Strings () was a Pakistani pop/rock band composed of two members, plus four live band members from Karachi, Pakistan. The band was initially formed by four college students—Bilal Maqsood (vocals and guitars), Faisal Kapadia (vocals), Rafiq ...

– keyboard, synthesizer *

Kareem Bashir Bhoy Strings () was a Pakistani pop/rock band composed of two members, plus four live band members from Karachi, Pakistan. The band was initially formed by four college students—Bilal Maqsood (vocals and guitars), Faisal Kapadia (vocals), Rafiq ...

– bass guitars Production *Produced by Bilal Maqsood *Recorded & Mixed in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control 1992 albums Strings (band) albums Urdu-language albums