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'Everybody wants peace'
Along with spreading their music, Strings is in India to ensure that they blow away misconceptions about Pakistan, and take back tales of love and friendship to their country.
"Everybody wants peace," says Maqsood. "We don't know who controls the media, but one thing we know for sure: we love you guys and in return, and you love us as much."
He explains that the main centres for shows in Pakistan are Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. "Second in line are Multan, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi. We get more concerts in the first three."
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Both musicians pooh-pooh the notion that music is frowned upon in Pakistan. "There are plenty of rock and pop bands and we all have our niche markets," says Kapadia. "Just as people look up to Bollywood stars in India, people look up to pop stars in Pakistan. It is we who get corporate endorsements, not film stars as you have in India."
Pop music, says Kapadia, is Pakistan's major cultural export. And piracy, for all its evils, may actually have done them good, he adds with a laugh. "Times have changed. All over the world piracy really means the Internet -- the Kazaas and the Napsters. Big music companies are suffering. The approach of an artiste is now to get revenue from concerts. If a song is distributed all over the world through the Internet, it is better for the artiste. Wherever he goes to perform, there are fans there. You can't have distribution networks so strong that your music reaches your fans in all these countries. Reaching out to fans is very important, as album sales have gone down all over the world. Now artistes concentrate more on concerts and performances." Strings tours the US once every 15 or 16 months and throws in a tour of the UK and other European countries like Denmark and Norway. The band also tours the United Arab Emirates a couple of times a year, as well as India and Pakistan. "In India and Pakistan, it's a different scene," says Kapadia. "There are so many different concerts, and you're always busy." Strings can be reached at www.stringsonline.net
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