Pakistani artists steam up first-ever Boiler Room stream.

KARACHI -- Independent Pakistani music made it to one of the largest streaming platforms for live performances in the world, Boiler Room, on Monday.

Starting out as a somewhat fringe platform with a webcam taped to a wall - opening a keyhole into London's rich underground music scene - Boiler Room is now one of the biggest online stages of its kind.

The performances were recorded earlier and streamed 'as-live' on Monday night, featuring both well known and upcoming acts from Pakistan's indie music scene, such as Natasha Noorani, Natasha Ejaz, Lyla, Tollcrane, Malik, Kukido, b2b, TMPST, Jaubi and Ozzie.

The Pakistan edition kicked off with a 'celebration of its live music heritage', with the first performance by Balochistan's legendary Banjo player Ustad Noor Bakhsh. Accompanied by two other musicians on traditional stringed instruments, the group couldn't wait to perform.

Deeply influenced by his environment, Ustad Noor Baksh played his version of old folk tunes. In between, he would describe how this was the music of the desert, of the mountains and of the birds and the animals that lived there.

He would then demonstrate what they sounded like, his fingers flying across the instrument, weaving musical magic on the banjo.

He played several compositions, each distinct from the other. Ustad Noor Bakhsh's performance was a whole concert in itself.

The mood then shifted to classical-jazz as Lahore-based act, Jaubi, took centrestage. The band's name is a very Punjabi pronunciation of the Urdu 'Jo bhi' [Whatever, whoever]. This quartet 'explore[s] the spiritual self through a fusion of North Indian classical and jazz vibrations' through their music, in the band's own words.

Jaubi consists of Ali Riaz Baqar on the guitar who couldn't attend the show, Zohaib Hassan Khan on the sarangi, Qammar 'Vicky' Abbas on percussion and Kashif Ali Dhani on the tabla. It's worth mentioning that Zohaib Hassan Khan is a seventh-generation sarangi player. There was also a flute player present, unnamed, who performed phenomenally.

Described by the host as a...

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