Crossroads - This is Facebook live video recording from 23rd April 2018 of an original composition collaboration between Afaq Mufti (Double Bass), Badar Akbar (Guitar 1) and Akbar Kazmi (Guitar 2), Dubai, UAE, April 2018. Refer below to the passage on this collaboration; thank you.
One fine afternoon, three musicians who had been friends for decades decided to catch up for an impromptu jam session. All three were at different crossroads of their lives, each with his individual ongoing challenges and past achievements.
Given their background as personal and musical friends, they typically felt at ease in each other’s company, however for some strange reason that day they seemed to be in different creative mindsets musically.
As they started playing their most recent creative collaboration, they realized their comfort zone was somewhat fragile; the bass player wanted the melodious chorus which he had written to be played repeatedly, the lead guitarist wanted more free style jamming with a bit of vocals while the accompanying guitarist simply wanted to jam on the chords he had arranged the night before.
Without reaching a common consensus and any desire to properly practice or plan the three dived in and began playing. All sought perfection however each envisioned an end product which did not seem to be in complete synchronization.
Regardless, despite their temporary mental artistic block, they continued their musical journey without caring about each other’s preferences.
Surprisingly, what should have been a chaotic rough ride turned out to be smooth, rich sounding and somewhat of a hypnotic collaboration; the music they created surpassed their expectations.
After finishing the FB live session, they realized that despite their temporary artistic disconnect that day and being at different stages of their lives with their own ups and downs, they managed to create a unique flowing melodious atmosphere.
Their individual struggles and conflicting preferences in the direction of this production became an anchor in finding a common ground and acted as a catalyst in creating this wholesome homogenous sound, which really was their key goal.
Later that evening, reflecting on that jam session and how it turned out better than their expectations, I realized that as artists we can find more strength in diversity than similarities. Rather than highlighting our differences and preferences, if somehow we use them for our benefit, we can sound more harmonious, unified and in synchronization.
Similarly on a broader social scale, as humans if we appreciate, respect and encourage each other’s differences, cultures and religions, we too can become a more rich, wholesome and harmonious society.
As a musician, I have learned more about team work by collaborating with other artists, different bands and orchestras covering diverse genres than in my twenty years in the corporate world which sadly most of the times has been underpinned with false corporate values and shallow logos. Similar to the notion of eating fruits of a hollow tree with the end goal solely being the financial bottom line, namely profits.
In complete contrast, here is an original composition titled “Crossroads” written by Afaq Mufti, Akbar Kazmi and Badar Akbar whose key genuine bottom line was to simply make the world a better, more honest, fruitful and harmonious place by using music as its roots and direction; no false values, no empty logos and no visible pretensions.
Written by Afaq Mufti, 17th May 2018.