the sketches

There are 2 bands by this name: 1. Location: Jamshoro, Pakistan Genre: Rock / Pop / Sufi / Folk Jamshoro is home to the cascading waters of the River Indus, artistic pottery and four big Universities. It is also the bedrock of inspiration for two young musicians from the city who have set out to revive the forgotten melodies of Sindh. ?Sindh incorporates Sufi and Folk beautifully,? says Saif Samejo, the lead singer of Sketches, a two member sufi-alternative-rock band on a mission to re-introduce the richness of Sindhi ethnicity through their music.

1.
Location: Jamshoro, Pakistan
Genre: Rock / Pop / Sufi / Folk

Jamshoro is home to the cascading waters of the River Indus, artistic pottery and four big Universities. It is also the bedrock of inspiration for two young musicians from the city who have set out to revive the forgotten melodies of Sindh.

?Sindh incorporates Sufi and Folk beautifully,? says Saif Samejo, the lead singer of Sketches, a two member sufi-alternative-rock band on a mission to re-introduce the richness of Sindhi ethnicity through their music.

The story of Sketches' inception goes back to 2003, when Samejo, an English Literature student, and Naeem Shah, a Fine Arts student met at Jamshoro University and bonded over similar tastes in music. Shah would play the guitar and Samejo would hum along. Both musicians have a deep and abiding love for their cultural heritage and their interests range from sufi poetry and folk legends to the revival of traditional instruments and the indigenous music of the shrines.

Eventually their love for old folk stories and sufi saints fused with their taste for music like that of Vital Signs and Junoon, leading to the formation of a new sound, ?What we eventually created was a little different; our individuality is the developed taste of sufi and pop, a merger of East and West.?

They released their debut album in February 2010 by the name of ?Dastkari? meaning ?one's own creation' named out of love for what they had created. The album, that contains songs in Sindhi, Saraiki and Urdu, bursts with ballads, alternative rock, sufi and folk. Sketches is not scared to experiment; their approach to combinations of different elements of music is simple: ?We don't have one genre,? they say, ?Music is our genre.?


2.
Location: MD, VA, Washington DC, US
Genre: Pop / Rock

The Sketches have collectively shared the stage with the likes of Feist, Gomez, Army of Me, and David Gray, and the four members of this young band have experiences ranging from years of conservatory study to international tours to coveted opening spots with national acts.
The band's last effort, "Secret Alphabets," is a collection of 10 songs produced by Mike Poorman (Royden, Paulson) and mixed by Michael Barbiero(Velvet Underground, John Lennon, Maroon 5, Guns n Roses). You can purchase "Secret Alphabets" and the self-titled debut (an album quality demo collection) on their website.