Dubai bands keep the city's heart beating

Despite a few big names in music flying in and out of the city to headline events, the pulse of the city is kept beating by local musicians all year round who perform in smaller gigs that have been growing in attendance over the years. Though still in its infancy and struggling to find venues open to original music, the scene is evolving said Nik Uzi, 37, from India, founder of Rock Nation, a live-music event showcasing local talent. The next upcoming event, Lounge Acoustica, will highlight acoustic musicians in a dedicated concert for the first time."We started over two years ago out of fun and passion, to look for local talent," said Uzi. However, it is never easy convincing a venue to book an original band from the UAE that is relatively unknown, he said. "We support local music and work to push it out there but the market is not mature enough for original music," he said. The festival idea was designed to get bands together and let them perform a mixture of covers and original material. "The quality has moved on from absolute amateur talent. We are seeing musicians and bands of pro and semi-pro talent," said Uzi.From September to February several music nights are going to take place, the first of which is Lounge Acoustica, at the Music Room in Bur Dubai tomorrow night. Sharif Maghraby, the primary songwriter and composer from Dahab, an acoustic ethnic fusion band which first performed at the Jazz Festival in 2004, has witnessed and taken part in the evolution of local music in the UAE."I think that it's a great idea and a refreshing change from the on-going house and dance acts. And yes, it is needed because this is a much more mellow yet mature art form that deserves recognition and appreciation," he said.Events have come and gone that tried to nurture local music from the Dubai Lime community with open mic jams at coffee shops around town, and several music festivals, including an attempt to create an annual Dubai Original Music Festival. "There was the ever popular Peanut Butter Jam where nearly every established musician got a chance to get up and play for a 20-minute set," said Maghraby.Local bands, however, do not bring in huge profits unless they are performing covers of once-famous hits. "Most of the venues that do book local artists that perform original music prefer to have cover artists so that they can pull in a good crowd," he said."There are really only a handful of venues that welcome original music — there is still a long, long way to go," he said. Briton Jon Potter, 28, a laboratory manager by day and guitarist and composer by night has planned a mixture of covers and original material. "I like to re-interpret the covers I do rather than play them exactly as the original," he said."There are some excellent pro bands and musicians playing at hotels and clubs. However, events for the casual musician is less well catered for. In the UK there are endless open mic events, in Dubai much less so. These events are a great place for musicians to meet each other and potentially form duets or bands, so I hope some more venues will host them in the future," he said. Holding day jobs and jamming by night, the acoustic performers scheduled for Lounge Acoustica tomorrow night at The Music Room from 8pm onwards, include Point of View, Dahab, Jon Potter, Axel Jacob, Neel Kumar, Gayathri featuring Reiner, Tim Hassal, Sach Holden, The Brownies, 621 and Desert Ramblers. From / Gulf News