Pakistan is home to some very real but unexplored talent, when it comes to music. In order to celebrate and support this very talent, this Sunday 17th Feb 2013, Walnut Studios, in collaboration with Levi’s® hosted a musical event which was webcast LIVE to thousands on facebook, via Ustream’s dedicated media servers. An exclusive crowd of 30 were also invited to the gig’s venue itself – the Levi’s® flagship store in Lahore – which filled up the cozy space well.
The event was opened by Zahid Umar, a talented and energetic vocalist, who jammed live with various musicians, followed by College Road whose rendition of Edward Maya’s popular number Stereo Love on the Harmonium was just brilliant and quite unique.Next on the performance area, came the very popular Abdullah Qureshi, who sang both English and Urdu numbers. Some other leading names in upcoming talent, such as Taha and Rohan, Gibran Saeed, and female artist Kanzaalso played at the gig, giving the crowd at the Levi’s storea great evening of music at a fabulous location. An excited SYMT [band] was seen in the crowd throughout the evening, supporting their fellow musicians who were performing on stage.
The event in its entirety was recorded live, using HD Audio capturing tools with music by Meekal Hassan, making it one of the most unique Pakistan based happenings on social media. Music lovers from Pakistan and around the world were able to attend this gig as it happened, with just a few clicks of their mouse, by logging onto www.facebook.com/stagemonks.
Following this event, Walnut Studios will also be releasing online music videos of the artists, after recording their music in the studio. Previously they have already released 32 tracks & videos, which led to over 1 million local and global views. The Music Latte concept will subsequently be entered into facebook’s Studio Awards [http://www.facebook-studio.com/awards/index] for consideration, through which facebook rewards ideas where people and social interactions are at the core. Furthermore, Walnut Studios will also be starting an online radio station sometime this year, which will be first of its kind initiated from Pakistan and will further help to bring local talent, global reach. In 2010 they have successfully begun the Pakistan Music Idol[ www.facebook.com/pakistanmusicidol ] – Pakistan’s first ever online Music Competition.
As an icon of youth culture, music has been subconsciously and consciously woven into the fabric of the Levi’s® brand for the last 100 years. Like the Levi’s® brand, great music is defined through originality, authenticity and youth spirit, values that similarly are best reflected by the youth they represent. Levi’s® want to make sure that these values never die, so through supporting initiatives such as Music Latte, Levi’s® is on a mission to support the bands and institutions that keep music alive, the world over.
ABOUT THE LEVI’S®BRAND
The Levi’s® brand epitomizes classic American style and effortless cool. Since their invention by Levi Strauss & Co. in 1873, Levi’s® jeans have become the most recognizable and imitated clothing in the world – capturing the imagination and loyalty of people for generations. Today, the Levi’s® brand portfolio continues to evolve through a relentless pioneering and innovative spirit that is unparalleled in the apparel industry. Our range of leading jeanswear and accessories are available in more than 110 countries, allowing individuals around the world to express their personal style. For more information about the Levi’s® brand, its products and stores, please visit levi.com.
ABOUT LEVI STRAUSS & CO.
Levi Strauss & Co. is one of the world’s largest brand-name apparel companies and a global leader in jeanswear. The company designs and markets jeans, casual wear and related accessories for men, women and children under the Levi’s®, Dockers®, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co.™, and Denizen® brands. Its products are sold in more than 110 countries worldwide through a combination of chain retailers, department stores, online sites, and a global footprint of more than 2,300 franchised and company-operated stores. Levi Strauss & Co.’s reported fiscal 2011 net revenues were $4.8 billion. For more information, go to http://levistrauss.com.
ABOUT MUSIC LATTE 2011
Challenge:
To set up a platform for the under appreciated musical talent in Pakistan, and provide them with a chance to prove themselves on a global scale and gain international recognition in a way that has never been done in Pakistan before.
Strategy:
Talent Acquisition: Walnut Studios scoured the local music scene, looking for raw talent waiting to be discovered. They went through band after band, artist after artist, looking for different kinds of acts, with the right amount of diversity, to ensure that the whole performance was a bouquet of different genres and not a monotonous marathon of different guys playing the same old songs. Their persistence paid off and finally they found their guys. Grooming all these artists and prepping them for a global standard performance was a challenge in itself as it was totally an uncharted territory for them.
Walnut Studios took up dedicated jamming places at DFS Studios and Waqar Khan Studios, to fine tune their performances and practiced till the right sound was produced. By the end of it, it became so much fun that they decided to record these jam sessions as well.
Live Concert:
Next, Walnut Studios put the artists on stage in front of a carefully hand-picked audience. One stellar performance after the other, it was a non-stop extravaganza of gifted vocals, thundering drums, and rumbling bass playing by every band.
Live Audio/Video Production:
The complete show was professionally recorded on high definition cameras and hi fidelity audio equipment for post-production and to be released online on iTunes and YouTube. Every element, every instrument, every strum, every clap, every breaking drumstick, and every nook and cranny was individually recorded on standalone channels to ensure that the realistic feel and live energy stayed intact in the videos.
Live Webcast:
Walnut Studios couldn’t bring the whole world to the event, so instead they took the event to everyone! A live broadcast of the concert was set up on www.stagemonks.com and www.facebook.com/stagemonks for the whole world to see and enjoy. People from as far as Canada and Japan joined in on the live webcast and appreciated the performances!
Music Videos:
The complete show was professionally recorded on 3-4 High Definition cams, and those performances were released online on YouTube and iTunes to provide the artists a global recognition in the true sense of the word.
Result:
A massive success! The show was streamed live to over 3.7 million Facebook Users, while all the attendees enjoyed the performances and interacted with the artists. Not just this, but the show was made available on iTunes.
Played Locally – Heard Globally (Tribune Herald)
3,000 people joining in the crowd on the facebook page in less than 6 hours is more than enough for us to believe that the future of our music industry isn’t as dark as it seems but it just needs additional channel to make things louder and global – but virtually!
