Yasser Habib, the Emirati singer talks Gandhi and Indian music

It all started with a song sung by him and broadcast on October 2 to mark Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary.
His rendition of the bhajan or devotional song Vaishnava Jana To has been declared one of the most beautiful by audiences across the UAE.

Yasser Habib is enjoying multi-cultural celebritydom – smiles, salutes and selfies. The Emirati musician and producer is thrilled.
“I was really scared because the song is very difficult, and I wondered as to how the Indian community would respond. The result is tremendous … in fact, an Indian gentleman, who is an old friend of mine he called me after hearing the song, we had been out of touch for a while – he said choose another Indian song and I will pay to produce the whole thing! We are meeting this Sunday for shisha and lunch to discuss it.”

Rooftop pop band
It all started with a rooftop pop band over three decades ago. Habib and his friends jammed to Arabic and Western rhythms as the sun slipped down the skyline. Anghama or Arabic for many melodies was their young dream.

“We would play on the roof of my family home in Bur Dubai. This was the 1980s. The band included friends and cousins. We were teenagers – all very invested in our music. But, the UAE music industry was not developed, there were not many opportunities… so we didn’t really travel as a band.

“But, we did quite a few performances – one of the biggest was at the Chicago Beach Hotel, which is now the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. We also participated in BandAid with our own UAE for Africa concert. We also did a number of other performances in aid of Somalia and Africa.”

Music and career
Then life intervened, and each of the band members went on to universities and careers. Habib travelled to Vienna to study Business Management at the American Webster University. This was 1988. But the draw of music brought them together during holidays and university breaks. However, it was not enough to sustain the band. Habib returned to the UAE, picked up a career.
In 1997, he set up a music production studio along Al Diyafah Street called Yasser Sound. It was a success, he met up with different artists and producers.
“I was finally able to strike a deal with EMI to distribute my first Arabic single Elama Elama meaning Up to When. It is an old song from Yemen re-arranged and re-produced completely with percussion and Indian influence. Sales reached platinum in the first week.”
That set the tone for Habib’s musical career. He became specialised in cross-over Arabic music which blended in Indian influences.

“After that I became famous for specialising in Indian tunes – we have a large Indian community in the UAE and we are exposed to Indian films and music everywhere we go. So, it is natural that we are affected by it. This blend became my forte. Every album had Indian influence on the music and people loved it. There was no other person doing it. I released nine albums post that.”

In 2003, disaster hit the music industry with pirate music sites, internet and youtube. Artists stopped making albums and reduced it to singles. The business became unsustainable.

“The worldwide music industry collapsed. I sold the studio. Today I have a well-equipped separate studio as part of my residence.”

Habib continued his music work and collaborated with artists from across the world. “There are artists who insist on coming to me to record and produce their music. I have a large base of international artists.”

Call from Indian Consulate
But, one of the most interesting calls he received was in mid-July. It was from the Indian Consulate. He had been recommended to sing a song for Gandhi Jayanti on October 2. Habib was honoured and after a series of conversations, it was agreed. The entire project was sponsored by two Indian business houses.
All the musicians were gathered from the UAE and the recording began on September 24. They had three days to complete everything including the music arrangement and production. But, there was a big obstacle – language.

Gandhi’s favourite bhajan is in Gujarati by the poet Narsinh Mehta, not something that Habib was familiar with. But, an old friend came to the rescue.
“I met Madhu Pillai when he was with Vanilla music, 25 years ago. He is a musician and a sound engineer. He came over at 9.30pm and we worked through till 2am.

“This song is not Mohammad Rafi, Asha Bhonsle or Lata Mangeshkar. It was very difficult. He taught me the words, the intonations and the pauses.

We worked on it for five hours. I took emergency leave from work for two days and started adjusting the vocals, mixing the sound next morning.

“Madhu is brilliant at his work and does most of the radio spots you hear on the Indian FM channels in the UAE today. It would not have been possible without him.”

The 49-year-old banker at United Arab Bank decided to give the song a bit of a pop feel.

“We had time limitations and limitations on the musicians we had to work with … we also saw that the other versions being produced also had their own feel. So, we preserved the musical notes but gave it more of a pop arrangement.”

Once completed the recording was sent to the “Indian Foreign Ministry in a diplomatic case”.

“I never stopped with my music… Right now I am in negotiations with Universal (formerly EMI) to release a cross-over album in one or two months.”