Musicarian – “Friendship sees no East or West”

The title of this track goes to the heart of the music experience I’ve known over the last 8 years on the Net. The great thing about being on Soundclick is that you are connected with musicians (who are usually people ) from all over the world and while friendship might be a strong name for it – as it implies commitment that it is hard to create or come by in a virtual world – I certainly enjoy the friendly associations I’ve accumulated over the years. Salmon Anwer, the mastermind behind Musicarian, has been around for quite some time and has – though not for some time now – frequently sent me tracks. They have the characteristic of blending eastern and western influences and that makes them interesting and flavorful. Moreover, they are characterized by a combining electronic music and live guitar music.

This particular track is light and airy in feel, clean and well-ordered in its overall impact. There is nothing that jars the ear or seems out of place. Various ornate guitar licks, play off each other or trace each other, as the guitar has at least two tracks, one of which is more acoustic sounding and the other more obviously electric. Accompanying these there are various soft synth sounds, some distinct some anomalous. The overall impression of the track is that it is very pleasant, precise and appealing. The guitar work is masterful and pin point correct, which is one of the reason why Salmon is able to merge his live work with the electronic so successfully. I have no idea how much fiddling with the waves is necessary to make the blend that successful, but I do know that it involves excellent playing. That’s very much present.

So, thank you, Musicarian for sharing your work and I would encourage people to give it a listen.

Blessings,

Cam

Artist: Musicarian
Title: Friendship sees no East or West
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At this stage of the game, I know a great many musicians from Asian countries such as India and Pakistan (home of Musiciarian) and all of them - to a man or woman - hold as much fascination in Western music as I do in Eastern music. Don't know about you but I consider that a wonderful thing, something to be cherished. Musicarian obviously thinks much the same thing because here's a track saying pretty much the same kind of thing. Friendship sees no East or West is 'a guitar instrumental for the Friends around the globe' and musicarian certainly has a few of them including this reviewer. I first met this amazing fluid jazz fusion guitarist in 2004 and loved what he was doing then but suddenly he went AWOL, turning up last year with a blindingly good fusion peice called Get Your Soul Reborn (November 2008) showing that he had lost none of the spark and gained much in the way of production nous.

Essentially Friendship etc is a track about the many friends Salman Anwer (aka Musicarian) has made on Facebook but that could well be extended to the wider musical community he has been part of over the years. I can't put my hand on my heart and swear that I am a big fan of jazz fusion because I'm not. Most of it bores me to tears, when it isn't enraging me with its insipid vapidity. Mind you, I do like a tasty guitarist regardless of the genre they choose to work in, and Musicarian is a rare one. Musicarian, rare one? Geddit??? Moving right along because there is nothing to see there, I have compared this artist to Santana, Clapton and even Kephas and all of those comparisons hold water.

Except the bit that Salman brings from his own roots...

What singles out this plank spanker for the millions of others around is the way he puts his solos together, stitching Western and Eastern scales together seamlessly - all encased in a shiny, completely unobtrusive backing track. The venerable Mike-K and I have had a long standing conversation about music like this, and my seemingly endless dislike of it. Nonetheless, quality shines through - as Mike so often proves - and good ideas and faultless playing and production will win me over every time. While not being as sonically inventive as Jeff Beck in the same field, Musicarian never fails to keep me entranced while listening to those fingers working their own particular magic.

Splendid jazz fusion guitar instrumental with a touch of the East. Highly Recommended.

Steve Gilmore

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Artist: Musicarian
Title: Get Your Soul Reborn
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Its been a dogs age since I last heard anything by Pakistani based guitarist Salman Anwer (aka Musicarian). Consulting my creaky filing system I notice that the last track I reviewed of his was That's Life (October 2004). For a while during that year this guy was everywhere and then suddenly poof! Four years roll by (but who's counting?) and up he pops again. Now many regular readers will be aware of my love affair with Indian music in general, and indeed many Indian musicians and there is a very good reason for that. In my time at Soundclick I have met some extremely talented musicians from the sub-continent, one of which is the previously lost in action Musicarian.

One of the main reasons I like and respect these musicians is because they are professional to their very core. When it says Jazz Fusion on the label, that's exactly what you are going to get but a thousand miles away from the pallid, lifeless pap that often masquerades as fusion. Musicarian gets his chops in early (as a producer) because the intro will blow you away and it is perfect for the track that follows. Even stretched out at a princely six minutes plus, Get Your Soul Reborn is a slice of guitar heaven that have your jaw on the floor. His music has life, energy, bite and a stupendously clear, deep mix that had my jaw dropping from the getgo.

If Mike K hasn't already spotted this then the man is getting old because THIS is right up his street, in every way I can think of. So, I think it would be fair to say that Musicarian has something in common with fluid, dexterous, emotional geetar players like Kephas, Salman brings a unique slant to the whole affair. For a guitar instrumental to really sway me it has to have fire in its belly and emotion pouring out of every note. Now I don't know whether its because of current events in India or because this really is as good as I think that I am so biased towards it. It might also be that the central message of the song is 'against all the killing in the world. A message to stop killing'. At this moment in time, its an apt reminder that - no matter where we come from - we are all simply human.

First class Jazz Fusion, first class guitarist. MUST HAVE.

Steve Gilmore

Listening to: Get Your Soul Reborn

Performer/composer: Musicarian

Genre: Jazz : Jazz Fusion

link to Listen: http://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player.cfm?songid=5897301&q=hi&newref=1

What a Great Piece !!!!!!!

Ok I sure as heck am arguing with myself about this cymbal crash and taps....I wanna say it is just a hair to loud and I do say a hair but I am not sure...So maybe you could take a listen and see what you think....

Besides that I have not even another single to pick on or to complain about...LOL I like to complain when I find things wrong lol...

Not the case here though.....So you did this all on some cheap stuff eghh..
Well I can hear that you know what them processors are built for and also how to use them...

The timing on this piece is just absoulutley splended.... You collage of instruments is well executed and crossed over very well also....
I would say that I found it very interesting to hear you instruments that you had accentting you other instruments....Yep I caught them....Just that hint of that instrument in the backround so light you can almost barely hear it but yet when it does come on it sounds like it is in mega stereo and this adds yet another gracefull touch of the composer....

For working with as I took it "low end equip" I would have to say that this piece is great 360 degrees around

Well done

Your mixdown is at yet another level all of your instruments and sound where right and I do mean right where they should have been...I could only imagine if I had downloaded this and then listened... "I might of just had to grab one of my studio monitors and have me a dance...LOL

Not many get these ratings but those who do well deserve them
10 out of 10

* I Won't Let You Cry by Musicarian: A track to lift the spirits of almost anyone listening, with snappy guitar play and deft finger movement. With a hint of spanish flavoring and joyous instruments, how could anyone not listen without bouncing around with a grin? : ) A very fun track to listen to.

This is a very interesting tune and progression. It feels almost like a Neil Sedaka track, or a long lost "Happy Birthday" or something. It's a little sugary for my tastes, but many will find it appealing. I like it around the 1:50 mark, with the middle 8, where your guitar abilities really shine through, and the progression takes a nice interesting twist. Production wise, this is perfect. I really can't find fault with this very much, except for possibly a lack of dynamics, after the intro, and barring a few stops and starts, there really isn't much there - some quiet sections, maybe free, with just guitar to build-up tension, then back into the main would be nice.

Good, solid work.

Flamenco - wee - Happy mood music - you're right - this is for summer, I would like to dance with some lady with this one - hey where are they! Really chill mood and swengy too - lice flamenco should be. This sounds somehow familiar - like all good songs. keep them comeing!

Hey Musicarian, you don't muck around....this jumps straight at you. Love the summery feel. Lovely sounding guitar, beautifully played. A really feel-good composition. I love the really fluid guitar lines that start at about 1:30. The harmony guitar part adds another dimension to the track. I'm not sure about the "flute" lines (if it's a flute)....they sound a little cheesy and cliched to me. I'd either work on some alternative lines on the flute or maybe just leave it out. The guitar work stands on its own in my view. A delightful track. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Cheers
_________________
Self Tort

Now this is music! I like the breaks. You have rests in just the right places. Great production. This is very listenable. I am honored to listen to this track! You would fit in well at http://board.wraymusic.com . Hope to see you there.

-Wray

experimentation is the new black gave a score of 7.12 / 10. Comments were:
Man, this is so extremely cheesy. A wind sample and a guitar doing that waiting-in-line-when-calling-the-phone-company-bit. Wonderful. Yeah, really. When an art form passes a frontier, whether or not in the "right" (tasteful) direction, the result's most of the times at least somewhat interesting. This track's also well recorded so I can't see why anyone shouldn't download it.

Scoring: Songcraft: 6.5, Recording: 8, Freshness: 7, Musicianship: 7, XFactor: 7

Joops gave a score of 4.87 / 10. Comments were:
Musicarian has his guitar chops flowing on FANTASY. A better performance than a previous effort submitted. The guitars have a life of their own separate from the music bed. Switching between nylon and electric voices the guitar sings from beginning to end. Well played and phrased, my one comment would be the continuous riffing grows slightly tiring by end as there is no room to breathe, no silences to balance it all out. The music bed is basic a nd plain and does little more than keep tempo and fill in some gaps. The ocean samples are trite and way over used in this type of music. Fantasy my not be my dream but its well worth a listen.

Scoring: Songcraft: 5, Recording: 6, Freshness: 4, Musicianship: 6.5, XFactor: 4.5

jive4005 gave a score of 5.37 / 10. Comments were:
Nice idea. Sweet tune. Got a hook... I like that. I'd get rid of that 'clap' thingy in there... sounds fake. Nice modulation in the middle. Guit tone sounds a bit too flat when playing those spainish style riffs. Elec was cool!! Tune wanders a bit but comes back soon enough. I'd like to hear this done with a mariachi band backing. Cool song. Peace, Slick

Scoring: Songcraft: 6, Recording: 4.5, Freshness: 5, Musicianship: 5, XFactor: 6

Falcon gave a score of 6.87 / 10. Comments were:
when improvising a tip is to keep on the 8th notes and keep the speed up without stops. The recording of this song is awsome and the music is awsome and everything is just plain awsome.

Scoring: Songcraft: 6, Recording: 8, Freshness: 7, Musicianship: 7, XFactor: 6.5

Flenty Allzag gave a score of 3 / 10. Comments were:
umm. cheese. Jazz/latin/bluesy style guitar (nicely played) over terribly cheesy synth beats. ugh, i though the claps and synth toms were the worst until I heard the synth cheering (or is it ocean sounds?) It seems as though Musicarian is a talented guitar player.. he even mixes styles from clean tones to santana-sounding distortion to chorus leads.. but add that to the awful background sounds and it all sounds lifeless...emotionless...empty.

Scoring: Songcraft: 5, Recording: 7, Freshness: 0, Musicianship: 7, XFactor: 0

okay, this is a great track, that certainly lifts your spirits! it certainly put me in a better mood!

lovely guitar with an excellent pivotal re-emerging riff. great melodies excellent!
great use of midi sounds to accompany the guitar, great melodies, just the right amount of backing to support the guitar, perfect balance!

never a dull moment! my attention and interest was kept throughout, i played it 4 times to try and capture every detail in the track and thoroughly enjoyed each listen!

great production! fantastic arrangement! perfect balance! and of course you can really make the guitar talk and sing! respect!

excellent work!

stu

This is quality work again. Wonderful guitar sound. How do you record it? Suffering from Midi backingtrackitis again, but again made up for by the quality playing. Wonderful phrasing and great harmonies. I wish my guitar playing sounded so confident and assured. It's a bit too "jaunty" for me but thats just personal taste I guess. Ends a bit abruptly and I feel those drum breaks aren't working quite as well as they should.

Good stuff again. Who are your influences, just out of interest?

Take it easy.

J.P

i listened to 'jam for bread and butter' and its quite astounding! the lead guitar work is incredible! great riffs and amazing melodies! keep you interested all the way through, with not one dull moment!! amazing lead guitar! TOTAL respect. <your actual sound on your lead guitar, not the notes or style, but the tonal qualities reminded me instantly of mike oldfields guitar sound, but to be perfectly honest..you'd blow mike oldfield off the stage!!!!!
the accompanyment is however preset synth based but it is used in a highly effective way im all for using sequencers, synths, drum machines, i use them everyday. BUT id love to hear this track with a live accompaniment, real drums and real bass guitar mainly, it would be amazing!

i loved it!

Musicarian: Jam for Bread & Butter

Heard this a while back and I like it alot. Some of the backing instruments sound a bit bon tempi keyboard, but that is more than made up for by the lyrical quality of your guitar playing. Love the harmonies.

Production is spot on. My only criticism is that this track gives away it's best tricks too soon. There needs to be more of a sense of development in the arrangement.

Oh, and a couple of the keys riffs in the middle sound a bit off.

Keep up the good work.

J.P

jive4005 gave a score of 5.87 / 10. Comments were:
Good peppy tune. I find the playing better than the song. I really enjoyed the lead line... it is so much more thoughtfull than today's average guit-lead. Drums sounding kinda lame (it's the lack of tonal difference that takes away from the entire line. Most other things (bass, arrangement... are average and good while not exceptional. Studio editing was pretty good. Keep up those great licks. Peace & respect, Slick

Scoring: Songcraft: 5, Recording: 6.5, Freshness: 7, Musicianship: 8.5, XFactor: 5

PFTW gave a score of 5 / 10. Comments were:
"Jam for Bread & Butter" is a nice light musical snack by Musicarian. A fusion of Blues and Latin (as described on his site), although I hear more latin than anything else. The midi instrumentation and quantization is a little distracting and takes away any feel this song may have had if it were played byt live players, but the guitar work is really well done and the song does have some X-factor. Maybe not enough for anything more than some light online listening fare, but at least it's something...

Scoring: Songcraft: 5.5, Recording: 5.5, Freshness: 4, Musicianship: 7, XFactor: 5

experimentation is the new black gave a score of 5.62 / 10. Comments were:
Oh my, what's this then? Blues guitar on top of a wee to swift and wee to joyful Casio keyboard demo? Haha, cool. I'd really have liked there to be an abrasive vocal on top. You know, the Smokey bar type reeking of whiskey. Then the contrasts would have been astonishing. Anyway, a fun little number, this. I can't say it's good but it's certainly entertaining. Keep it up and please submit more tracks!

Scoring: Songcraft: 5, Recording: 6, Freshness: 4.5, Musicianship: 6, XFactor: 7

Christian Lowensprung gave a score of 7.2 / 10. Comments were:
Wow, yes, ok. A really nice song this one. What we have here is a nice twinkle with electric guitar, with some Hawaiian inspired rhythms, and good groove that supports the whole thing. A nice tune to sit through traffic, work, or do your everyday thing with a smile. Because this music will make you smile, if you ever are into this sort of thing. How can you not be?

Scoring: Songcraft: 7.5, Recording: 7.5, Freshness: 6.5, Vocals: 7, XFactor: 7.5

Joops gave a score of 3.37 / 10. Comments were:
JAM FOR BREAD & BUTTER is a jam, but more of a dry practice jam than a buttery jam youd want to jam along with. Out side the blaring level evils, the problem lies in mostly in the harshly mechanical backing track that offers absolutely no life. This is a dough that will not rise. The poorly constructed loop based music is like cruiseship karaoke or those cheap backing soundtracks you can buy to play your guitar over. You can hear the confidence in the guitar work, but it too matches the looped music in its mechanical nature. When I think jam, I think free flowing and spontaneous. This bread is crumbling under the weight of intention and deliberate control. No amount of sweet buttery playing will salvage the taste. Oh miss, theres a fly in my butter, can I get cereal instead.

Scoring: Songcraft: 5, Recording: 3.5, Freshness: 2.5, Musicianship: 6, XFactor: 2.5

I was hooked from the very first second of this track. Wowser. This is good stuff. Production is good. There's a lot going on in this track, but it all jives. I love the latin feel. This is a great jam and I have nothing negative to say about it. I'm adding this to my station, "WRAY POWER".

FINAL NOTES:
Highly recommended track!
_________________
-Wray

OK, here goes for Jam for BnB

Pros: Lead guitar has a wonderful tone, you play it exceedingly well, wtih a good ear, and great rhythm. Like the change when you shift into the blues scale, after the drum solo, around 1:50. Nice to see people modulating solos. Relatively good cohesion and sturcture, quick to recapture direction even if it is lost occasionally.

At the beginin i wanna fire up a fat splif very good damn i love it
good mixin ,good pace ,damn lil' bit like santana but is fresh as hell
nice brige all sounds great

Dr. Strangelove gave a score of 5.5 / 10. Comments were:
It's nice to be listening to something different. This song has a nice positive upbeat vibe although it does have a pretty high cheesiness factor. The guitar work is decent but the backing track needs to be improved with more realistic, less Casio keyboard type sounds.

Scoring: Songcraft: 5.5, Recording: 5.5, Freshness: 6, XFactor: 5

Agent Zero gave a score of 6.37 / 10. Comments were:
Wonderful music from Musicarian right here. Toe tap, head bob and enjoy. Grab this one and turn the volume up.

Scoring: Songcraft: 6, Recording: 5, Freshness: 6, XFactor: 8.5

Bin Lisnin gave a score of 7 / 10. Comments were:
Now THIS makes me wanna be sippin a margarita on a saturday night at a hot outside cabana surrounded by beautiful women dancin'. This is what I call inspired. Great Playing,Great Recording, Great Tune.

Scoring: Songcraft: 7, Recording: 7, Freshness: 7, XFactor: 7

Klaus Varley gave a score of 5.62 / 10. Comments were:
Latin is not the genre of my strong suit (that being grey to three piece), but this song sounds suspiciously like a Latin-Pop-Instrumental, which is my expertise! Theres something Chistmassy in this well-produced, synthesized-beat with flute and guitar that jingles my bells, you know what I mean? When the eggnog runs out, try a little Musicarian.

Scoring: Songcraft: 6, Recording: 8.5, Freshness: 4.5, XFactor: 3.5

The Captain gave a score of 7.62 / 10. Comments were:
"I won't let you cry" Is bouncy, up-tempo and happy; if music can keep away tears this should definitely help! The melody line is airy feeling; the main descriptive that came to me was good jump! Frankly, I so much prefer instrumentals that are primarily done with live instruments real guitar, piano or whatever to electronic instrumentals. As far as I can figure there are three reasons. First, human playing breathes its real. Secondly, theres a point in listening to and for performance. Thirdly, analogue sound is much more varied than electronic. The waves produced are fuller and more eccentric. This song has a nice rich sound to it. The flute provides a nice counterpoint for the layered guitar work. The percussion works. All in all, very well done.

Scoring: Songcraft: 7, Recording: 8.5, Freshness: 8, XFactor: 7

Musicarian - ( Salman )

I liked the Dark Days Bright Nights the best of the 2. It's obviously clear your ability to transpose all these pieces together is a talent in itself and you should be recognized for that but I do have one point to make with your works and that is the electronic sounding drums, and or drum machine. For some this is preferred but not for me.
Depending on taste I guess would be the preference and I understand you are solo and with that in mind it's done very well but you also say in your bio you look up to Carlos Santana and I can hear the influence of that in Dark Days...what would Carlos do for laying down his drum tracks?
Other than my preference of a more real drum sound the rest is very well done. You have the talent and experience and I'm sure the Cd you just released in Sept. is exceptional.

I won't let you cry...! CRISP guitar!!! Wow... extraordinary clean playing. The flute was a superb touch, with it's lilting tones to enhance such a vivacious and bouncy track. Ahh hahaha... a bit of the Caribbeans thrown in here... this totally feels like a vacation on the beach, of life, of fun and vitality, and throws you instantly in a happy, carefree mood. The panning and lightness on the drums were perfect... any more or less and I think it would've altered this mood music. Mood music... haha... that it is... for now, not only am I awake but I'm feeling spritzy with a mischevious grin on my face.

A great track!!!! ::adding to station now::

Musicarian hasn't had too much of a good time from me, and that isn't because he isn't good. He is, and has learned his craft (he's a guitarist) by doing sessions et al in his home town of Karachi, Pakistan. Nope I'm afraid my real problem with his music comes in the genre he has - so far - being working in. I like jazz, but there is a strain of jazz - the softer, more musak-y kind pioneered by Kenny G et al - that I cannot stand. Not because it doesn't have merit, I'm sure it does, just not for me. Therefore, it really is down to my own personal taste, which I know Musicarian understands. He must do, because he still comes back for more maulings from yours truly.

There is no doubt that Salman (aka Musicarian) is a good guitarist, and if that were ever in doubt this is the track that will put that argument to rest. That's Life is a much more rock oriented track than anything I've heard from this quarter before and I have to say I am enjoyed listening to it a lot. Again, that probably has more to do with it being couched in my own particular language allowing me to understand more what Salman was aiming for. It's guitar leads are definitely rock based, even if the backing tarck has more to do with the jazz genre we were discussing earlier.

Another thing that has failed to impress with me is the lightweight feel of the music; it's almost a little too close to 'lounge' music for my tastes - even on this track that tendency is followed through. Still, ultimately it isn't down to me to choose - obviously Salman is aware of what his audience requires and is - presumably - filling that requirement. Of course, it helps to have people like what you do OUTSIDE of your target audience but I may be in the minority of one who actually believes that. Personally I feel that gaining NEW listeners is what we should be about, not preaching to the already converted but I always was a cantankerous old sod so what do I know... If guitar instrumentals (with a light jazz base) do it for you, then you really shoud be checking out this excellent exponent of the genre.

Michael Frazier reviews more Musicarian

Twilight of Her Love - Salman, another nice, bright and friendly feeling peice of music. The guitar sounds a bit odd to me in this one - like it is a cent off pitch with the rest of the music. Song structure is well conceived and the changes are nice. Instrumentation is well designed and executed and the parts fit together nicely in this piece. Once again, the recording quality is very good - clean, clear and well mixed. Nice work.

United We Stand - I like the groove in the beginning of this one. Has a nice feel to it. As usual, Salman - recording is well done, song is well constructed and the interplay of the different parts is expecially nice in this tune. I like the flute/piccolo type sound - neat musical lines work well within the song's context. Good luck on your recent release and I'll be looking for your new works in the future. Michael

Michael Frazier reviews Musicarian

Hey Salman, I listened to 3 of your songs and yeah, you qualify for top notch. Excellent guitar playing, nice layering of keyboard sounds, solid recording quality and great changes. What more can music ask for?

Nature In Love A couple of suggestions 1 - bring the bird and ocean sounds down to or slightly below the volume level of the keyboard. I just think they need to be more subtle, 2 - check that opening line - makes one think of Billy Joel - Botlle of Red . . . . maybe skip a note, add hesitation or something to get away from that. The music itself is very well done. Reminds me of Earl Klugh and George Benson type flow. I love this stuff. Very free flowing, nice rhythm, peaceful. I like the way you have the keyboards filling in the background - tasty and not overdone. Nice melody and excellent guitar work. Solid recording - a very listenable piece.

I Won't Let You Cry - Love the flute sounds in this one and as above, excellent guitar work and recording. I would watch those breaks though - the sound is going dead in between some of the changes and I would opt for some ambient overhang from one part to another. The note from the ending phrase should naturally fade into the note beginning the new phrase. These spaces just seem a bit too cut off and abrupt, if that makes sense. The second guitar part is really nice. It is not overdone and I like the dimension and depth it adds to the song. Overall this is a delightful piece of music.

Dark Days Bright Nights - Nothing really new to say about this one - I like it. Watch those breaks as noted above. Overall great musicianship, composition, sound quality and mix. Another really enjoyable piece of music to these ears.

Generally speaking - you are a very talented musician and have some really nice music to share. Thanks for posting here - got you in the favorites so I'll be checking in now and then. Best of fortune to you. Michael.

Musicarian - I won't let you cry:

This is more of a Flamenco tune rather than Jazz but that's cool I quite like flamenco. I really like this song I must say it has a very uplifting/party kinda feel to it (what's the Spanish word for party that I'm thinking of?) the guitar is nothing overly complicated but it works really well. The keys that follow the guitar during the verse I think actually take just a little bit away from the song but not much. The only thing I didn't like was the sudden ending I wanted it to go on longer it only runs for 3:21. It actually reminds me a bit of something Armik would play. Overall very very good tune that you can boogie to 9 out of 10

“I Won’t let you Cry”

Is bouncy, up-tempo and happy; if music can keep away tears this should definitely help!

The melody line is airy feeling; the main descriptive that came to me was ‘good jump!’

Frankly, I so much prefer instrumentals that are primarily done with live instruments – real guitar, piano or whatever – to electronic instrumentals. As far as I can figure there are three reasons.

First, human playing breathes – it’s real. There are little irregularities that somehow comfort the ear. You play wonderfully well, IMHO; it’s not as if there are obvious flaws – there aren’t. What I refer to is subliminal, yet the ear picks up the tiny variations of pitch, timing and volume, all of which call out, ‘A real person is playing here!’

Secondly, there’s a point in listening to and for performance. Electronic music by its nature is flawlessly precise; human performance – both in its technical competence and emotional interpretation – is greatly varied. To my ear you play with considerable emotion; your joy in what you are doing communicates itself.

Thirdly, analogue sound is much more varied than electronic. The waves produced are fuller and more eccentric. Your song has a nice rich sound to it. When you have a strong analogue presence the patch or soundfont elements work so much better than they otherwise do.

The flute provides a nice counterpoint for the layered guitar work. The percussion works. All in all, very well done.

   +

Musicarian - Breaking the Curse

This song is basically one extended guitar solo, and the rest of the instrumentation feels like it is just there to back up the lead. Admittedly, I like that a lot better than songs that are just vocals with instruments to fill in as a backup... but it is a somewhat limited format. The lead goes from an almost Hawaiian sound to a more typical rock guitar (and at some points really reminds me of The Eagles) and the whole track really seems to flow, moving naturally from one section to another and conveying a lot of feeling for an instrumental.

The mixing is particularly good... at least I've played through it several times so far and not felt like there was any real sound quality issue. The drum synth works very well, I think, and I like the stereo effects that you used on the other synth/keyboard/whatever that is. occasionally the synth sounds a bit too 80's-ish to me, but maybe that's what you're going for. Not a bad track, but as I said it's really built around a guitar solo.

There are two versions of this song one is an electric version and the other is an acoustic version.

The elctric version is highly synthesised and sounds like its come staight out of star wars which may b a good thing or a bad thing ill leave that up to you. However there is excellent interaction between the parts and the music has a driving tempo and is extremley catchy.
6/10

the acoustic version Is just as catchy, although feels a bit less overpowering, it still includes the same interaction between parts and driving tempo, but manages to feel more laid back, however the Harmonies come throu better an it is a more enjoyable listening experience
7/10

If this had been properly placed -- somewhere in rock, or maybe World- Fusion -- I would not have had the pleasure of listening to this very well played, well written instrumental song. Multiple guitar tracks with drums; stops oddly a third of the way through, restarts with somewhat different music, then makes its way back to the beginning music by the end.

Typical extended jazz/rock structure: chords change on the bar line, structured by verse/chorus, solos, etc. But well done, clear, strong recording; an instrumentalist, composer with good ideas.

Michael Frazier reviews Musicarian Salman Anwer

Spirit I liked this song. The saxy tone of the guitar fit very well with the material - better in a way that a real sax because of what you can do with the guitar notes - very nice. The song is well composed - has a well thought out structure and the musicianship is quite solid - on time with the beats and in pitch. The recording is well done, although, the vocal moves up and down a bit in the mix making it difficult to clearly make out all the lyrics - would be nice if they were posted as I like to follow along. I do catch the theme of the song and I like it as well - I like positive message music. It felt to me that the singing needed a bit more power to it on this piece - it was a little soft.

I Won't Let You Cry The melody is catchy - some people would say corny - but I like it. It is fresh and upbeat, though a tad familiar. Again the structure and musicianship are solid - you are a talented player and arranger. It has a bit of a Spanish feel in parts and kind of Jazzy in others - I like this mix of styles. The mix itself is well done and as in Spirit the different parts are on time with the beat and in tune. Always a plus with me. I like the flutey sounding part - I'm guessing you have one of thos electronic gizmos that make a guitar sound like anything. The tones you are getting are actually quite good, at least to these ears. The break felt a bit forced in this one - kind of like you felt you had to do it - like your signature, maybe. The harmony guitar part is very cool - that was the sweet spot of the song for me.

Best of fortune to you and keep pushing those positive vibes - the world needs all it can get right now. thanks for sharing.

musicarian | that's life

i haven't had the pleasure of reviewing one of musicarian's tracks for a while, and this is "that's life" is a big variation from the jazz "Twlight of her Love" which I listened to before.

Instrumental, but with lots of ornamentation to keep the listener occupied. Slap bass, power drums and electric guitar, this song has a very 80s american rock feel to it, and rock it does. some really nice guitar solos throughout, which is really a melody.

another one of those songs which would appeal to a wide range of people because it is so melodic, and i wouldn't mind hearing while i was on hold on the phone to keep me calm!

it has a deep sound, a sound with depth one might say. i can't really say anything more than "have you tried writing music for vocals?"

i enjoyed this track. not sure about the break after the little intro, that's all i can say!

melv's scoring system | musicarian
melodies (out of 20) 18
instrumental (out of 20) 17
structure (out of 20) 16
recording (out of 10) 8
originality (out of 10) 7
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total (out of 80) 66
total (out of 100) 83
unique factor rating out of 5   

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Artist: Musicarian
Title: Twilight Of Her Love
Link: here
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DAH DAH dah dah dee dee dee dah dee dee...

Oh no, silly me that's Sunshine Of Your Love...

I first came across Musicarian a while ago when he first started appearing on the Soundclick boards. I was interested because Salman is from Karachi, Pakistan and - at first - I thought I was in for a does of real world music. Nope, hope is dashed again but not too much because the music that Musicarian does write has a style and groove that works well in a jazzy stylee...

Twilight Of Her Love turns in a credible performance from Salman but - to be honest - to my ears pretty much all the sounds (bar the excellent geetar playing) was more than a little bland. Imagine, if you can a Kenny G track where the sax solo becomes a guitar solo and you wouldn't be that far away from this perky little number. Although I did like what Salman was doing - this is some pretty decent jazz lickin' from yer man - no matter what I did I couldn't get past the flacidity of the mix.

Limp is not the word.

At this stage of the game out of the two tracks I've reviewed I've come away with the same feeling; great player but an arrangement that is on the safe side of Muzak. Definitely something that could be played easily in the worlds elevators, but not somewhere I would hope Salman REALLY hopes to be. Maybe part of the reason for this is because Salman makes all this stuff in MIDI and that can tend to have a 'flattening' affect; although this is a bit too bland even for that flimsy excuse. And there lies the essential question here, I know this guy rocks as a player, all I can do now is wait until an arrangement comes along that allows him to do that properly.

Unless, of course, he just wants to be Pat Metheny copy.

Steve Gilmore

Song: Fantasy

Genre: Jazz -> Jazz Fusion

Never heard of this artist before and I am in great anticipation, as this is just one of my favorite genres. I have no idea who these guys (or this guy is) are. This should be interesting, to say the least. Oh yeah – the song’s title (expanded) reads: “Fantasy ::,,::A Painting by Jim”.

This song is 4:33 minutes short. Short, you ask? Yes – it is short compare to some of my jazz tunes.

The opening is definitely nice with the waves of the ocean. Great acoustic guitar playing the lead in a somewhat tango like beat. Do you get the feeling that this might be a short review?

I love the chord change at about 1:40. A very nice chord progression. The distorted guitar and subsequently guitars just thrill me to no end, to be honest. Nice little piano in the background, then back to the guitar with some nice licks. The e-guitars pretty much close out the tune, with some very nice and harmonious melody. Another appearance of the acoustic guitar and some more ocean sound and… the song is done… unfortunately.

Great mix, great tune!!! This song takes me all the way from the Baha Men, (featuring the main theme song of “My Father Is A Hero” – what a movie!) and Klippingtons all the way to Santana.

A very nice tune, indeed!!!

Mike

musicarian | twlight of her love

relaxing mexican/spanish feeling to this song which is very easy to the ears. if i was in a lift, i would be ecstatic to here this playing! - for everyone's taste.

very good melodies on guitar and piano, although the bass is not quite all there, might have something to do with the recording?

complex structure which uses several different sounds to allow the guitar to wander with its melodies.

melv's scoring system | musicarian
melodies (out of 20) 17
instrumental (out of 20) 18
structure (out of 20) 17
recording (out of 10) 9
originality (out of 10) 7
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total (out of 80) 68
total (percentage) 85

there is definitely a market for this kind of song - i'm sure a lot of people would enjoy your relaxing sounds!

TWILIGHT OF HER LOVE: Oh MAN... what beautiful guitar playing! WOW!!! Very nice arpeggio keyboard play. A LOT of movement in this piece, with a slight spanish flare. Mmmm... nicely executed key changes. I could envision this being played in so many places, from restaurant, to festival, to full featured movie with flashing scenes of a couple on several outings.
UNITED WE STAND: What a difference from Twilight! My GOSH this is a perfect piece! I gave you a "HOT" vote! I've never heard such a perfect interpretation of an event, emoting such accurate feelings and understanding for which it was intended. Your mix was flawless, with every instrument working together in harmony. Once again, very fast, and perfectly executed playing.

Such beautiful work! Thank you for sharing!

very nice (i love instrumentals) it is a rare thing for me to not have a clue what techniques are being used in a song but i think i would have to listen to it a couple of times to figure it out your articulation is good a very good sence of rhythm and an interesting tune it is a bit hard to hear what the lead is doing though and this is probably the first review ive done here where i cant see who your immediate influences are but all in all i liked it and i will have a listen to some more of your stuff when ive got time keep it up (sorry this is a short review but i just cant think of what to say i normally cant shut up) but it was good thanks peace and love and good happiness stuff

Hey Musicarian:

I begin by telling you that I have a prejudice AGAINST instrumentals. I think Beethoven’s Ode to Joy would get 5 - but not many pieces would! So, you understand this to be an uphill battle!

This piece builds quite nicely, from a quiet beginning of nice ornate guitar work – the main melody of which is mildly reminiscent of “The Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet” (the 1970’s song – not the Leonardo Dicaprio theme, if there even was one) – towards a fuller orchestration. I like some of the details you have included; the crash on the cymbals comes in well, sounding very much like the clash of waves.

You established your melody line - which is quite pretty - and then innovated, which is a key to creating good, memorable instrumental work – so the quintessential masters did, at any rate.

The production is very good; each element is well balanced and the work sounds quite clear.

In a sense I wish you hadn’t told me what inspired this song. I prefer the visions of my mind even to so fine a painting as the one that served as the catalyst for your song. Richard Straus used to do works that were evocative of pictures – like auditory canvases. (I forget what term is used, someone reading this might remember, but it eludes me at the moment.) Your song is like that. Without the picture – and I fully believe without the wave effects – it would yet be evocative of the sea.

I'm reminded of the bombast of the A-TEAM theme from the 80's or Steve Howe during his post YES, ASIA period.
Big sound, large in scope, solid tone, comendable technique.
Good effort.

DC

From the first funky drum dollop and the first Vai-esque note this song is HAPPY and that's the way Musicarian wants it. There's a message behind this and even the most hard hearted bastard might feel the twinge of possibilities. It's almost infectiously happy. There's a theme that is sort of repetitive, but it's rolled over and under in such a way that it never becomes boring.

This guy can play a guitar and there's something about hearing someone play a guitar and they are jsut loving it that gets me.. mainly because I suck at playing the guitar and I always dreamed of being a guitarist.. ah, well, enough of that.

At 2:47 it's short enough to not annoy people who aren't big on instrumentals.

Criticism: at 1:27 there is a synth that comes in that sounds out of place, not in tone or melody, but in style. Me, personally, I'd lose it. It's not terribly noticable, though, as a matter of fact I didn't notice it until the second listen through.

Quote:
"Forget about the colours, forget about the differences, races, nationalities, identities which we've made ourselves. Just remember the real identity that you're a Human at first."

Yeah. Thumbs up, Musicarian.

It is evident that you have been doing some sound-track stuff. This is a good piece, but I do have a few susgestions. They are purely my opinion and not being a devoted fan of instrumental music, it may differ from your own or that of many many many others (especially the electronica people).

First of all, I like the waves in the intro, but I would subdue them a little bit, and not use them as much maybe. I would lose the strings becasue they are just getting in the way. The rhytmh of the song is a bit jumpy and there needs to be a bit more diversity. I'm guessing the drums are machine driven. The bass is fine but gets a little worked up at times and seem to want to rely on the kick drum a little too much.

The clean guitar lead sounds a bit thin to my ears. the playing is fine, and you're not repeating yourself much and that is good, but I think it could fatten up the feel if there were a little more double string strikes instead of the constant "Spegetti-string" runs. The dirty lead following it sounds good that way, but the clean tone needs some fattening. I liked the harmonized lead part more than the others because it was very "Gary Moore-ish". Bluesy without getting too emursed in it.

SONG RATING FROM 1-10:

Music:
(Composition) 6
(Application) 6

Overall Rating: 6

"Musician by Heart"
Writen by Saad Khalid.

There are many artists in Pakistan who are making it big right now although they have little expertise and talent for this; and there are number of those artists as well who have been blessed with the treasures of skill and genius but due to art-ignorant listeners aren't that much acknowledged as they deserve. But soon a time will come when music of formulism will be thrashed out and the music exploring unseen dimensions and discovering new lands of imagination will come forward.

Salman Anwer who’s also known as Musicarian, is one such musician who believes in genuineness and clearness. Being in the music field for almost a decade and working for main stream artists like Nadeem Jafri and Komal Rizvi, his music depicts the nature, and nature as we all know is pure. Expressing thoughts with music is not an easy thing to do but if it is passion, then there are no bounds and one's limitations turn into infinite opportunities. Salman Anwer is venturing into these opportunities to find his horizon. How far will he venture, it is yet to be seen, but the way he is going, one can say confidently that he will go much far ahead.

Whether it is 'Heart on fire' or 'I won't let you cry', the truthfulness of Salman's heart depicts in his music. Same can be said about his latest instrumental 'Fantasy' which is very special in many ways.

Fantasy is basically a soundtrack composed for a painting called 'Fanta-Sea' painted by one of the world's best painters Jim Warren. Jim Warren is an American and has been into painting for last 35 years. Always soothing to the soul, many of his paintings are used by greeting card websites. He has also painted the top album cover of the artist Bob Seger and is very well known among celebrities.

Being an art lover himself, Salman contacted Jim and both decided that Salman would compose a soundtrack for one of Jim's classics Fanta-Sea. Fanta-Sea is a mysterious painting depicting many moods and expressions. Like music, painting is a rich art and one creation can be subjected to many imaginations. For Salman, it is about a soul who might have died on this bay a very long time ago. Now the soul appears with the splashes of waves and wants to come back to life for its lover who is not there. No one knows about this, even the ships pass by the bay everyday and there are people in those ships busy with their lives and work, unaware of this love story which existed years before, no one knows what happens on the bay at sunset when the soul searches for its lover. The soul comes out, shows its pain and goes back. Only true lovers can only feel it but they don't know this, can't understand this. They just feel it because they are in love too, but still everyone is unaware of this soul and its pain except the sea.

Salman based his composition on the same imagination he conceived; a mixture of light jazz and soft rock, the instrumental coveys the conceived mysterious mood in a truly romantic and tragic feeling. The guitars are played in a way that the factor of mystery and tragedy can be clearly received by the listener, especially in the middle of the instrumental where Salman played special mysterious notes to enhance the emotions. The entire composition is played in a very delicate manner and melody is given due importance, so that the basic mood of the idea is very well transmitted to the listener.

So anyone who has any doubt, I guarantee that in Salman Anwer, you'll find one of the best Pakistani musicians, do check Fantasy and all of his instrumentals and you'll say to yourself, "Why I didn't listen to this man earlier?" Infect Salman Anwer is an asset and we must appreciate him; there are many like him who are not less than unsung heroes. We must discover these gems to avail their shine, and must not throw these gems into the darkness to waste them. This I think is necessary for the sake of better art and music in Pakistan. We must not get blind.

So there I was chewing the cud in the forums one night when I came across a post by this guy, by way of introduction. Two things caught my eye 1) he's a real musician (you know one who plays an instrument) and 2) he's from Pakistan. Both points ring true with me because - as you know - I am a big fan of the sounds of the subcontinent and hearing a musician from there is going to be worthwhile no matter what, right? Well, not always eh?, but you gotta give someone new a try sooner or later...

Reading from his interview page, Musicarian has been a session musician for several years and judging by the crsytal clear production of this track he's obviously picked up a trick or two while there. His interests lie, surprisingly enough, in western rock and jazz and being a guitarist his music is instrumental, delivered in the style made popular by a certain Kenny G. Soft jazz then, with the slightest dash of rock influence on the long (6:40) track. For my money, filling up 6 plus minutes of my time means you are either a very hot musician (and I mean scorchio) or you have an awesome arrangement to hand and - by my count - Musiciarian tries REAL hard but somehow just misses the boat.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not putting the track down, because - for its style and genre - its a very classy, sophisticated peice and fans of the whole soft jazz will undoubtedly enjoy it - as will many budding guitarists out there. However, despite all the attention lavished on the super duper mix, certain other gremlins swoop in to cloud an otherwise perfect picture. There are several timing issues apparent in the track, now whether that is my western ears listening to eastern musicians or something - as I say - is not right timing wise. Also the arrangement is, well, sprawling is about the best word I can use to describe it. It sounds as if a bunch of musicians were basically just jamming to a set pattern. Once again, a great thing with virtuosos, but not so hot when you have only one real lead instrument - the guitar. So basically, Dark Days, Bright Nights is a good introduction to this artist but I'm going to be checking further to see whether this is a one-off or not.

Steve Gilmore