Anwar, Faraz CD's and DVD's

Abstract Point of View CD
 Lion Music		  

€9.90


$12.90
Debut solo album from an incredibly good guitarist and composer. Faraz has got it all covered, everything from fusion to metal


Downloads and Audio samples

 
 



 

Some albums you might listen to are immediately perceivable for their musical scope and vision. Other albums, such as Abstract Point Of View, require time to settle in and time for adjustment to a fresh, new perspective. Always zeroing in on the guitar technique to give me clues to the relative prominence of the musicians involved, I was first struck by the guitar work on this CD so that I realized I needed to stand back from the trees to get a better look at the forest. This is because I immediately realized that there was more going on here than could be absorbed the first time through this strictly instrumental album.

The guitar work by Faraz Anwar on Abstract Point Of View covers a lot of ground and has some very intricate and speedy passages. Faraz being a self-proclaimed disciple of Allan Holdsworth, this came as no surprise to me after listening to the album and searching the liner notes for clues about his influences. One characteristic that I truly enjoyed about Faraz's approach, was that despite that he integrates a lot of outside harmonization and unorthodox scales, he does this in a manner that weaves this complex harmonization into cohesive music with a distinctive and readily-perceivable musical vision. This is truly a difficult objective to undertake, and Faraz has done this on this album with awesome success. Faraz has struck a tenuous balance between tonal exploration and cohesive musical vision that will keep captive the attention of progressive musicians in pondering it. This being said, I feel obligated to point out that much of the harmonization is outside and approaching dissonant boundarie,s and this may be difficult for some to digest, though I suspect that the educated ear is going to indulge in this harmonious feast.

A lot of times you may hear an album where the musicians are going for an exploratory, outside sound that incorporates odd time signatures and unorthodox scales, patterns, etc., and these albums do succeed in exploring new musical ideas but they come up short for listener accessibility. This was the issue that I struggled with most in absorbing this album. In order to incorporate some worthwhile outside harmonization, Faraz needed to push the boundaries of accessibility which he did do. But, the struggle that I feel that he underwent in producing this album, was that he put a lot of effort into orchestrating the exploratory tonality in a manner that made sense as a whole. Faraz has put the outside harmonization into a compositional context that allows the creative and boundary-stretching tonality to work in a synergistic manner rather than an impeding one. And, Faraz tactfully and sparingly deploys some consonent, melodious reprieves from the dissonance that further help to make the music more digestible. Upon the full realization of what Faraz had undertaken and achieved on this album, I was very awe-struck, because there are very few musicians that I have heard that have been able to balance outside exploration with musical cohesion.

Characterising the sound of this album is no easy matter either. It is definitely very progressive in nature and is on the heavy side with the aggressive fretwork and guitar tones used. But, once again there is some balance here whereby there are other elements that ground the sound from being strictly heavy. There are some wonderful piano / keyboard passages that highlight the music, though the guitar work is paramount in the focus. There are also some melodical, slower guitar sections that add yet another dimension to the music. The overall integration of the instrumentation is tacfully and well produced, making for a very coherent soundscape. The guitar technique covers a lot of ground, and though the music is decidedly guitar-intensive and shows off some impressive pyrotechnics, the fretwork does seem to be used more of a tool and within the context of a musical vision than for its own sake. And, because the guitar work is used as a compositional tool, there are places where the throttle is let down from the other places where the blazing fast runs dominate. But, this variance in dynamics actually helps the musical vision by giving it more scope and avoiding the pitfall of unrelenting speed that many guitarists fall prey. But, do not despair if you like your guitar served up hard and fast, because there is plenty of aggressive speed here for you to quench your thirst for scorching fretwork. It is just packaged in a format where it is accompanied by an enjoyable listen. Though the entire album is consistent in the fine level of playing and composition put forth, I thought to describe one track in particular to give an idea of the emotional content and how it is articulated through the advanced harmonization that Faraz deploys. The final track, "Why?", truly captures the feeling of a person struggling with some soul-torturing question that the composition voices. Faraz struggles with the question to the point where his mind is obviously tormented, plunging him ever downward, all conveyed by the energy, tonality, and feel, until he is on the brink of madness voiced by an eery piano passage. Then when it seems that all has been lost, an emancipating, melodic theme emerges from the bewilderment, and though it is laden with bittersweet, outside harmonies, this theme pulls Faraz out of the depths of his despair with an apparently new view or understanding of the problem he ponders in "Why?". This new theme changes the course of the music and opens up new exploration of the problem with musical articulation of the struggle that emerges from this change in direction with more positive sounding resolutions that are constantly being challenged by the outside sections. The struggle articulated is both disturbing and satisfying in musical content. And, the genius demonstrated, is that Faraz has been able to successfully capture the torment of what seems to me to be that of love lost. (I sure would like to know what "Why?" is really about, though!) So, in summary, I would say that Faraz is not for the meek or faint of musical heart. Faraz is very progressive in the tonality he incorporates into his compositions and he does not hold back his ripping speed. The compositions are abstract and are based upon some complex harmonization, so you had best be prepared for this if you are going to check this album out. And, be prepared for the shadowy darkness that lurks in Faraz's soul that gives this album its characteristic feel. Overall, I think this is a really cool CD and Faraz applies some very compelling judgement in the balancing of his exploratory tonality and compositional integrity / accessibility. Check it out!

REVIEWS:

Anwar, Faraz: Abstract Point Of View
 

This may be a mistaken assumption, but one imagines that the yellow pages in Pakistan do not contain a huge selection of guitar teachers specializing in rock, metal, fusion and jazz. Apparently influenced by an early Malmsteen video, a young Faraz Anwar honed his craft from the Paul Gilbert tutorials – and has emerged as a guitar virtuoso with a standard of musicianship and classical sensibility that stands shoulder to shoulder with the Satriani / Vai / McAlpine / Johnson set. This is his debut album, essentially a solo project that was released in 2001 with zero acclaim, and has now been re-released by Lion records.

Abstract Point Of View is a complex body of all-instrumental guitar-driven neo-classical progressive metal / fusion, and Anwar’s self-confessed Holdsworth influences are abundantly clear. The style is more DiMeola than Satriani, more McLaughlin than Malmsteen. The jazz influences, the frequent lapses into symphonic rock and the relentlessly driving rhythm section conspire to form a challenging album that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

True, like most virtuosos, the music doesn’t sit well in the background. Concentrated listens will reward the discerning listener – there are very complex musical structures, there are melodious sections and there are intricate and lightning quick passages and the compositions are abstract, and despite all that complexity, there’s plenty of melody. But turn the volume down and divert your attention to other activities and it all sounds the same.

Track 5 “Last Summer” is a particularly melodic piece, and the final track of the 6 in this 46-minute album is a 10½ minute progressive mini-epic called “Why?”, with more textures and variety than the rest of the CD. It kicks off with a synthesized hint of southern Asian sounds, and develops into a well textured piece with a wonderfully melodic piano presence and less of the guitar virtuoso approach.

This CD will be manna for the musical intellectual. Remember the name: All he needs to do is lose the drum machine, and Faraz Anwar has the potential to become the logical successor to Alan Holdsworth.

Track Listing:

  1. Through The Passage of Time: 12.44
  2. Maze: 4.53
  3. Prophet: 6.56
  4. Don't Ever Let Our Spirit Die: 5.30
  5. Last Summer: 4.46
  6. Why?: 10.28

Added: November 17th 2004
Reviewer: Duncan Glenday
Score:   www.seaoftranquility.org  

 


FARAZ ANWAR / Abstract Point Of View / Lion Music
by: DAN SKIBA www.metalexpress.com

There’s a pretty good chance you’ve never heard of Faraz Anwar … but he’s a hugely talented guitarist and songwriter that you should indeed get to know. Anwar comes from Pakistan, of all places, and a culture where musicians atypically delve into the rock ‘n’ roll spectrum of music, much less toying with Heavy Metal concepts. Born in 1976, Anwar caught glimpse of a Yngwie Malmsteen video in the 6th grade … the Metal seeds were immediately sown, and even though he was scolded by members of his hometown for doing so, Anwar continued on with his musical aspirations and rock ‘n’ roll dreams. In 1990, Anwar began getting serious about his guitar playing when he started watching/studying the Paul Gilbert guitar lesson videos. Gotta love that … but it makes perfect sense that his commitment to the guitar would start under such modest circumstances since Pakistan is likely not exactly crawling with Rock/Metal music teachers. As you might venture to guess, other than Malmsteen, Anwar lists Gilbert as a significant musical influence, along with the likes of Steve Morse and Steve Vai.

Anwar also has played/is playing with the bands Dusk and Mizraab, in case you’re ultra-tuned into music and have heard of these outfits, however, Abstract Point Of View represents his first solo effort. The album was actually released by Gnarly Geezer Records in what appears to be 2002, only later to be picked up by Lion Music for world distribution in mid-2004.

Well on to the music … Anwar delivers one of most “unique” instrumental albums of the new millennium. There’s Metal in this album, but there’s also some fast-Jazz undertones, along with a few Middle-Eastern influences, that give a couple of tracks the initial flavor of being primed and ready for inclusion in the soundtrack for The Passion Of The Christ movie! Anwar mixes frenetic guitar speed with thoughtful and sedate interludes, and mixes in some really interesting keyboard work that is completely successful in enhancing the mood of each song. Of particular interest too is the percussion technique. It’s understated, yet powerful, and adds further uniqueness to Anwar’s sound. The double-bass drums, especially, have a subdued “thud” to them, but the sound is so original that the drums noticeably stand out and drive the innovation of each song.

Abstract Point Of View contains 6 tracks totaling about 45 minutes in length. The first song, “Through The Passage Of Time,” starts out with some distorted Mike Tyson-ish spoken words and relies predominantly on a New Age, soft melody coupled with multiple musical layers created by the guitars and keyboards. The varied music throughout this almost 13-minute track definitely provides images of the trials and tribulations experienced through the passage of time.

Track 2 is entitled “Maze,” and certainly elicits a “fear” response with the pounding drums at the beginning … as if Anwar is lost in the maze himself. The song features plenty of intricate and fast guitar playing, coupled with a lethargic melody, which creates an interesting, yet workable, musical mix.

Third up is “Prophet.” This is the first song with evident Middle-Eastern influences intertwined into a solid guitar-driven instrumental. The Middle-Eastern influences at the beginning and end of this track indeed sell the prophet concept of the song.

Track 4 is called “Don’t Ever Let Your Spirit Die,” and essentially starts the trend with the last 3 songs of failing to create strong images like their predecessors. This track is much less complex than the first 3, yet still good. It essentially is a track intended to let Anwar showcase his guitar wizardry, which is nothing short of a “good” thing to do.

The track “Last Summer” is the first track where Anwar actually sounds like someone else – the style here is very much along the lines of everything great by the man who wrote the book on creating quality instrumental Metal: Joe Satriani. There’s a conventional groove with fairly predictable chord patterns in this song … and there’s even a more mainstream Metal percussion sound to boot! It’s absolutely a great great song that could easily get international radio play on a variety of rock radio stations.

Rounding out the CD is the 10 and half minute “Why?” track. The title “Why?,” as far as can be determined, probably was utilized because Anwar asked himself, “Why can’t I determine an identity for this final track?” Similar to the “Prophet” song, there’s a Middle-Eastern flavor to the song, along with some really cool drum rolls, and periodic heavy powerchords (which have a feel to them similar to Black Sabbath’s classic “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”). Unfortunately, this track also contains plenty of musical wadding – there’s always the risk of this happening in an all-instrumental CD – Anwar nearly escaped the wadding trap, but sure enough gets caught up in it with this track. There are plenty of good interludes in this song to prevent it from becoming a total disaster, but the inspiration and defined direction apparent in its 5 predecessors lacks here.

Overall, though, Anwar has created one of the better instrumentals in 2004, and definitely one of the most unique Metal/New Age/Jazz albums in a number of years. This is an album to “become one with” during your listening session. Anwar is quite successful in luring in the listener with his varied and original musical styles and in capturing your undivided attention. This album can definitely serve as aggressive “meditation music,” or as background music for an upbeat social gathering where “something out of the ordinary” is appropriate. By all means, go ahead and check this one out!

Learn more about Faraz Anwar by checking out the Lion Music Web site.

REPORT CARD:
Guitars: A-
Bass: B
Percussion: B
Keyboards: B
Recording Quality: B
Originality: A-
Overall Rating: B+
Re-release Date: July 2004


 

Faraz Anwar - Abstract Point of View
 

Artist: Faraz Anwar
Title: Abstract Point of View
Label: Lion Music
Length: 45’20”
Tracks: 6
Style: Progressive Rock / Metal
Origin: Pakistan

When I heard the first solo album of Faraz Anwar, I was pleasantly surprised, as he did not follow the clichés of most instrumental guitar albums, but recorded an album that can almost compete with many progressive rock bands. A little search on Google, brought me to his own website and there I learned he is from Pakistan! And he did not really have a musical background, but for some reason developed a love for neo classical, classical and metal music and starts to play guitar. Interestingly enough, he joins the band Dusk and records two albums with them. Now we can witness his excellent compositions and play on his debut album: Abstract Point of View.

Already the first song is a true prog song: ’Through the Passage of Time’, clocking over 12 minutes and full of turns, twists, melody changes, heavy riffs, soft piano stroke and just plain virtuoso guitar play. In ’Maze’, he shows his dark, heavy side, with pounding riffs and crunchy play, although in the second half the sound gets a little lighter. Anwar plays all instruments used, with exception of ’Last Summer’, where Fahad Kahn plays drums and Meekal Hasan plays bass.

Prophet’ opens very atmospheric, and builds up to a song with a heavy ‘wall of guitars’, but I have to say, this is more what you expect on an album such as this. Still, I think it is way above average! The earlier mentioned ’Last Summer’ is very Satriani like, a ‘happy’ song, nice up-tempo, but I’m not too ecstatic about the drums/bass sound in the mix here, a bit too sharp. Closing song Why?’ lifts everything up again, to a higher level. If vocals would have been added, this would have been a great song!

Faraz Anwar is truly a new discovery for me, and a very nice one. Excellent guitar player and great composer and no doubt this album will do a lot of good for him. Any fan of any guitar player should definitely also listen to Faraz Anwar! You’ll love it!


Track listing:
Through The Passage of Time / Maze / Prophet / Don’t Ever Let Your Spirit Die / Last Summer / Why?

Added: August 11th 2004
Reviewer: MarcelH  www.progpower.de
Score: