Haniya Aslam
One of my favourite people died last night. Haniya Aslam was a friend and fellow musician, and I can’t believe she’s not going to be around anymore.
I’m not one to grieve in public, but today is difficult. So let’s celebrate instead.
In 2005 a bunch of us in Islamabad got together to form the F-10½ Acoustic Project. We jammed at our place for a few weeks and then, over two weekends, performed a bunch of covers and originals at Civil Junction.
A flyer that reads “On Saturday 27th August at 9:00 PM in the first of two performances at CJ the F-10½ Acoustic Project presents original material by: Zeb & Haniya, Sheheryar Mufti, Sarmad Abdul Ghafoor, and Natasha Ejaz. And pays tribute to (among others): Suzanne Vega, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, B.B. King, Little Richard, Bob Dylan, Alice in Chains, U2, Coldplay, Crowded House, Blind Melon, Beach Boys, John Mayer, Simon & Garfunkel, Lisa Loeb, and The Beatles.”
We don’t have any photos from those jam sessions, rehearsals, and performances, but fortunately Sarmad Ghafoor recorded the entirety of our first show :)
Here’s some of what we performed that night.
This is Haniya Aslam performing Aitebar, with me on drums, Sarmad Ghafoor on lead guitar, and Shehryar Mufti on bass guitar.
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Aitebar (Live at Civil Junction)
And, on a more celebratory note, this is us performing Simon & Garfunkel's Mrs. Robinson with Haniya Aslam on vocals and rhythm guitar, Natasha Humera Ejaz on vocals and tambourine, Sarmad Ghafoor on bass guitar, Nadia Niaz on shakers, and me on drums :)
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Mrs. Robinson (Live at Civil Junction)