Asad Ahmed

Asad Ahmed (Urdu: اسد احمد)
Asad with his Minarik Shattered Mirror Inferno
Background information
Birth name	Asad Ahmed
Born	21 July 1971
Origin	Karachi, Pakistan
Genres	Hard rock, heavy metal
Occupation(s)	Musician, Songwriter, Record producer, Entrepreneur
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1988 – present
Associated acts	Karavan Awaz Vital Signs
Website	http://www.asadahmed.com

Asad Ahmed (born 21 July 1971 in Karachi) is a Pakistani guitarist. His first stint was forming The Barbarians. He has been a member of the famous pop trio Awaz, has played with Junoon, Vital Signs and is currently a founding member of the rock band Karavan.

Early life

His family moved to Dubai when he was quite young. His elder brother was a guitarist and when he left for college, he left his guitar back at home. Asad picked it up and was drawn into its whim. His family returned to Karachi in 1984.

Music career

Coke studio

Asad also plays in Coke Studio (Produced by Rohail Hyatt) and is one of the house band members from the last 5 seasons.

The Barbarians

Asad started his music career in 1987 with The Barbarians,^[1] which is regarded by many as Pakistan's first rock band.^[2] The band's first single "Yeh Zindagi Hai" (This is Life) set the foundation of Pakistani rock. They got their first big break when The Barbarians participated in "Rock vs. Rock" show at the Taj Mahal (Agrah, India) and won a prize of 20,000 Rupees. They released their only album, the self-titled "The Barbarians" in 1989, which did not fare well in the then rock-repellant Pakistani music industry. The Barbarians fell apart in 1990.

Junoon and Vital Signs

Asad did a gig with Salman Ahmad of Junoon at a party in 1991. On Salman's invitation, he hopped on board with Junoon and played bass with them for about a year. In a performance at Marriott Islamabad in November 1992, he met Haroon and Faakhir of Awaz and Rohail Hyatt of Vital Signs. This led to his performances on Vital Signs' Aitebar and Hum Tum .

Awaz

Awaz was formed in December 1992, by Haroon, Faakhir and Asad. The band went on to become the next best thing in Pakistani pop scene after Vital Signs. Awaz were highly skilled and talented musicians, producers and composers. The band's skill at composing and producing was often overlooked and the focus was on their good looks, glossy videos, catch songs and wild stage performances. Awaz was the first band from Pakistan to appear on MTV on 20 April 1992 with the song Janeman. Awaz released three albums. The first album was the self-titled album "Awaz", more commonly known as "Awaz 1". The second album was "Jadu Ka Chiraagh" and the third and last album was "Shola". After "Shola", the band fell apart due to the differences among the three and they went their ways. Haroon and Faakhir started their solo careers.

Karavan

In 1997, foreseeing a disintegrating Awaz, Asad established his own studio. Simultaneously, he joined hands with Sameer Ahmed to form Karavan, thus returning to his rock origins. They brought the already established solo singer Najam Sheraz as the first vocalist and Alan Smith as drummer to complete the line-up. In 1999, Najam Shiraz returned to his solo career, vacating the vocalist's slot for newcomer Tanseer Daar. Karavan released "Rakh Aas" in 1997, "Safar" in 1999 and "Gardish" in 2002. In 2005, The band issued an internet only Unplugged album which had over 100,000 downloads. Karavan released their fourth studio album, "Saara Jahan" in 2010. The band are currently compiling songs for their first greatest hits package to be released in 2011.

Session work

Over the years, Asad has done extensive session work contributing his guitar work and compositions to albums by Vital Signs, Ali Haider, Najam Sheraz, Haroon, Sajjad Ali and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan to name a few. These days plays guitar regularly on Coke Studio.

Discography

The Barabarians (EMI 1990)

Nusrat Hussain – Amrit (EMI 1992)

Awaz – Awaz (EMI 1993)

Vital Signs – Aitebar (EMI 1993)

Awaz – Jadu Ka Chiraagh (LIPS 1995)

Vital Signs – Hum Tum (VCI 1995)

Awaz – Shola (BMG/Crescendo 1996)

Karavan – Rakh Aas (VCI 1997)

Najam Sheraz – Roop nagar (LIPS 1999)

Pepsi world cup album (VCI 1999)

Karavan – Safar (EAGLE RECORDS 2000)

Haroon – Haroon Ki Awaz (BMN 2000)

Karavan – Gardish (DJ Gold 2002)

Sajjad Ali – Teri Yaad (SOUNDMASTER 2002)

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan – Paap (2003)

Haroon – Lagan (BMN 2003)

Karavan – Unplugged and unleased (Internet only release 2005)

Haroon – Haroon Ka Nasha (The Muzik Records 2007)

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan Charkha (Sa Re Ga Ma 2008)

Karavan – Saara Jahan (The Musik records 2010)

References

1. "Reflections – Profile: Assad Ahmed". PakiPop.com. Archived from the original on 19 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
2. "The Pioneers of Rock Music in Pakistan". RAW.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-06.