India’s Euphoria and Pakistan’s Strings to faceoff at Red Bull Soundclash

The Indian band Euphoria and the Pakistani band Strings will face off in Dubai this weekend to an audience from both countries in an attempt to blur musical and political boundaries.

Members of the Indian band Euphoria will be performing at the Red Bull Soundclash. Courtesy RedBull Soundclash

A jovial rivalry between India and Pakistan is a common expat experience in the UAE. On Friday, this sparring will take on a new form with the second UAE edition of Red Bull Soundclash.

The Pakistani pop-rock group Strings and the Indian band Euphoria will vie for the crowd’s affections in a showdown that will take place on two facing stages.

“Dubai last year hosted a Red Bull Soundclash with Jordan’s Autostrad and Egypt’s Wust El Balad, and the atmosphere was simply electric,” says Alberto Chahoud, regional communication manager for Red Bull Middle East and Africa. “So we are excited about the prospects of watching musical rivalry with a distinctively Asian flair unfold in front of expatriates and music lovers.”

The two bands will bring their sounds, styles and influences together under one roof. After warming up with a couple of songs, each band will take to the stage and engage in a “musical conversation”. The following rounds are: The Cover, where each band will play their version of a cover of the same song; The Takeover, where they will perform two songs that will be taken over halfway through by the other band; The Clash (in which they will perform three original songs), and The Wild Card, which will feature a surprise guest artist.

“We have rocked across the globe for 16 years now, but I had never heard of a concept like this,” says Euphoria’s frontman Palash Sen, 49. “Ever since they asked us, it has been the most highly awaited gig for us this ­season for a thousand reasons, the biggest reason being the message of peace that this clash actually propagates.”

“You get tired of doing the same kind of stuff,” says Bilal Maqsood, 43, from Strings. “So when we heard about this, it was really interesting. We’ve worked with Euphoria several times – we even did a song together way back in 2003 – so we’ve got a good relationship with them. Our music is pretty much along the same lines, even though they’re more rock while we’re more pop. We’ll have to do extra preparation for this event. It’ll take us out of our comfort zone of playing 15 songs every gig. We’ll have to prepare a lot more for this show.”

“Concerts like these allow a band to explore various facets of their creativity and talent. Collaborating in this manner is groundbreaking and revolutionary,” adds Sen.

“We still have to decide which song we’re going to play, but it will be interesting to try and do our version, the way we feel we’d have done it if it’d been our song. Things like that make the whole experience more interesting,” says Maqsood.

Both Sen and Maqsood agree that Indian and Pakistani musicians coming together to perform serves a greater purpose than just music.

“Artists like Euphoria, Strings and Junoon [from Pakistan] have been spearheading the movement to bring peace to the subcontinent,” explains Sen. “We have come together on many occasions to tell the world that the problems are only between politicians and governance. People on both sides of the border want to coexist happily.”

“Music has been playing an important role when it comes to bridging the gap between these two countries,” says Maqsood.

“Pakistani and Indian musicians, when on the same stage, send out a message that blurs all cultural and racial boundaries. This can change the way people think. It’s an extremely positive vibe.”

• Red Bull Soundclash is on Friday, November 28, at the Dubai World Trade Centre. Tickets cost from Dh125. Call 04 299 5151 for bookings