Fasy from FasyLive

Sunday 8th of December 2019

Fasy from FasyLive

“Music is an evolution from the moment it starts till the end.” - Fasy

Imagine yourself in a humble café’ with good friends and some really good food. Live music playing in the background and swaying you to the rhythm of it. Brightens up your mood, doesn’t it? Our interview with Fasy tells us why he thinks this is necessary for the Maldivian music scene.

Fasy says that well-performed live music shows bring out a certain kind of weird peace and happiness to people who hear and watch the show. It is much like a good end to your week. Routines make life difficult and people need something that genuinely pleasures them to unwind and Fasy regards music as one of those things. He is happy that the trend is catching on in the Maldives now.

Fasy is no stranger to Maldivian music lovers. He was born into the music scene and has risen as an inspirational music artist on an international level. With a huge fan base in Maldives and abroad, he constantly keeps in touch with music, be it collaborations with artists, music production, teaching music or just weekly jams. Fasy is known for his love of live performances and he encourages music events such as ‘Fannuge Dharin’, supporting artists whenever and however possible. He urges live performers to concentrate on connecting with the audience and engaging them in the performance.

“It is not about being the most practiced performer on stage. Flow the music to the reaction of the audience. It doesn't necessarily have to follow your plan.” -Fasy

We don’t see much of Fasy in Maldives these days because he is currently based in Malaysia with his family. Fasy stated that he works continuously regardless of where he is located. One of his latest projects was in fact in Malaysia; A series of tribute sessions to rock music - a collaboration with his good friend Karamjeet Singh.

Karamjeet is a Malaysian rally racer who is a huge fan and old friend of Fasy. He hardly misses any of Fasy’s performances and also happens to adore rock music specially AC DC, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and more awesome rock musicians. Fasy and Karamjeet, with the help of Mindspace, set up the series of shows, opening up platforms for local music performers to come and pay their tributes to rock musicians.

The tribute sessions caught the wave fairly quickly and gave the much needed opportunity to forthcoming musicians, bringing back the crowd. Since it started last year, 6 shows witnessed rock music coming back, tributes becoming a trend and audiences coming together to support and appreciate live rock music performers. The 2nd series is ongoing at the moment with 12 shows lined up. We are very excited to know that Fasy plans to take it further in the following years as well.

Our discussion wasn't all about what’s up in Malaysia. When asked about his thoughts on the music scene in the Maldives, Fasy had insightful reflections to share. He pointed out the obvious too - we are in a time where everything revolves around politics. But its high time things changed for the music industry. New directions are opening up and musicians must be ready to accept inevitable changes. Fasy regards giving opportunities to make such changes happen as important because although much have happened, there are no effective or sufficient mediums to expose and promote them, especially cross borders.

Fasy shared his experience in the ‘Gathering’ with an important message for musicians. Musical events such as the ‘Gathering’ were events where Fasy actively took part in. Back then, the concept was for musicians to simply get together and create a platform to perform. They did all the preparations themselves - loading and unloading equipment, electric setups, promotions, everything. Fasy highlighted how being involved from ground-work to complete execution and wrap-up is essential for beginner musicians because when you get the full experience, you know the worth of everything that goes into it.

Being successful as a musician doesn't happen to those who do not put an effort into getting out there. You should not expect shows to come asking all the time. You have to make sure that you take that step to put out shows on platforms. You have to learn.

Becoming a successful musician is not easy but it’s not impossible. In order to make your mark you have to stand out and many would agree that one of the things that makes Fasy unique is his tone. Fasy thinks that he was led to figuring it out by his fans. When learning how to play music, he had played on many different types of guitars. He was using an Ibanez but would be questioned by listeners whether it was a Fender. He was actually pushed by listeners towards getting a Fender as they preferred it and it felt right. Fasy felt close to it as it allowed

Fasy believes that tone is not about the gadget. It’s about how you play. Whatever type of guitar that you use, you can create your own style. When you have a style, you have a consistent sound no matter what you play. Fasy refrained from worrying too much about what he was playing. When he was invited to perform on stage alongside highly talented people when he was still a beginner, he goes on stage in spite of being nervous and just plays. He tells himself that he should not compete with the other person because they are good at what they do. You can only do what you know better. He tries to lets it go and listens to himself, connects with the music. And out came the tone that is signature to Fasy now. He tries to use gadgets as minimally as possible and focuses on playing naturally.

“When I want to play harder, it’s all in the fingers. When I want to play softer. It’s all in the fingers again. All I try to do, I do it within my fingers' reach.” - Fasy

A talk with a musician like Fasy would be incomplete without some friendly advice. To all the musicians who are stuck in 'musician circles' where talks are usually very technical, about pitch, range, composition and so on, Fasy has a pivotal question – “Are we creating music for musicians or are we creating music for the public?” So who are you going to satisfy? Many musicians are confused. Fasy assumes it's a phase that all musicians go through. Beginners have to learn that the comments you get from musicians are only guidelines for you to decide on a direction to take. Unfortunately, many are lost at this point. But many have taken critics positively and excelled. Young musicians need to be comfortable about portraying their direction confidently. Everybody has something unique that comes naturally to them. You have to discover and built on it. Portray a confidence to display it.

Though based in Malaysia, Maldives is dear to Fasy and we will definitely be seeing more of him. He has plans for shows and concerts in the coming times but we are most interested for a new album which Fasy hinted that he is thinking about working on. Since his fan base is international, it could be a combination of English and Dhivehi songs. Dhaai and the band’s new bassist Inaan from FasyLive are also very enthusiastic about the idea of it. Now that the age of only audio has passed, video will be incorporated into the album. Much like the album Silver from 11 years ago, his next album will likely incorporate the live environment too. Fasy really wants engage the audience and let their energy move the music – something all of us fans are definitely up for!

We adore Fasy and a talk with him has definitely inspired us. Let us know what you think.