[Gulf Goans] UP Close and Personal : ABBEY - by Nisha Braganza, The Times Staff Reporter

Thu, 05 May 2005 07:53:53 -0700

UP Close and Personal :  ABBEY

- By Nisha Braganza, The Times Staff Reporter

 

 

The Indian Carnival 2005, held at the Shaab Leisure Park organized by the Hot Steppers on the 15th of April, was where Abbey performed for the second time in Kuwait. The event witnessed huge audiences, captivated by the mesmerizing voice of this talented performer. Abbey said, he has always had a good time in Kuwait doing shows, his earlier performance being at the India Day held at the Entertainment City, Doha, around 3 years back. �Kuwait is a place I would love to visit more often, I have a lot of friends here and it�s a great to be here�.

 

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Hailing from Goa, Singer Abbey Fizardo, grew up hearing his mother sing Konkani folk and dramas. �She�s much bigger to me in the industry�. He said his mother deserves all credit for laying the foundation of his career in music. Having Directors and other screen people coming home and often visiting the studio, took away his fear of the microphone. She has been the one who really encouraged and supported him throughout. His dad, Abbey said, is very far from singing, he works with the Oman Army as a civil engineer. Abbey lived most of his life in Mumbai, where he had neighbors from Punjab, Gujarat, Bengal. Being exposed to diverse cultures, he had an opportunity to learn a lot of Indian languages and is today literally the first Goan who has blossomed into a fluent Indian pop star.

 

However, Abbey�s struggle up the ladder was not easy. He started off as a singer in Pubs and restaurants with his guitar and mouth organ and used to earn his pocket money during his college days. Studied music ? � �Not really. I just picked up the guitar and somebody started teaching it to me informally. From then, I just kept learning on my own. I just kept listening, reading and learning�. Abbey is a fine example of what they say, �starting from scratch�. �I used to go to companies with my demos, they didn�t react, didn�t even open the doors for me�. After a two year�s struggle, he took up sound engineering and on completion, worked as an assistant for about a year. By the end of two years he was a full-fledged recordist. His big break happened when working with Sukhwinder Singh, who heard Abbey�s demo, approached a company and signed him up. Thereafter, was released one of the best videos of yesteryears � Aye Sanam�, where Director , Sanjay Gupta broke visual ground with the video and made a sensation out of singer, Abbey.

 

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His second album, Fidaa, he said , didn�t work too well because there was a sponsor involved and they wanted their logos on the video. But he was back again, with his third album Yaron Ka Yaar, on which he worked with Sukhwinder Singh and Jassi. Abbey likes to sing everything, Reggae, Rock , Pop, such that no two songs sound the same. A rare combination that Abbey does is sings ghazals with the guitar. After smelling stardom and thousands of fans, seldom do we find stars so relaxed and down to earth, infact this is how he says it �underground� !!

 

The fact that he has worked as a recordist helps him a lot now, said Abbey.�There are so many technicalities in making a simple song. Now I can record my own song. From singing till mastering my own cassette, I can do it on my own. I know what sound I want.�.

 

Besides his passion for music, Abbey is crazy about wildlife. He owns a farmhouse and spends long hours with his pet goats, ducks, rabbits, fowls, dogs and even snakes! Boating and exploring the waters is another hobby that fascinates him. Somewhere down the line, he plans to do something for a human cause, probably open an orphanage or a home for the aged. He�s also working on a plan to open a casual dining restaurant in Kuwait, likely to be named � Abbey�s� .

 

The aspect that makes Abbey stand out from the other singers is his on stage performance and the ability to grip the audience in his sway. He doesn�t enjoy doing shows where he cannot let loose as in a concert.� You can�t expect people to come and stand there for hours and watch you jump around. I would rather stand there and make them jump around�.  He has been in the music industry for around seven years, and criticism, he said , doesn�t bother him. Abbey has performed at many shows in India and the Gulf. He mentioned that in India, an artist lives on his shows; album sales are often eaten away because of high piracy. Even a top artist can sell at the most two lakh cassettes, rarely more.

Now a married man, Abbey has decided to leap into something different, the next project that he�s working on is going to be partly in Hindi and English. He has plans of shooting the video someplace in the Gulf and foresees it a great success. Completing an album, he said, could take anywhere between three months to three years. Playback singing is also something he may be interested in, a few years from now.

 

Courtesy: The Times, Kuwait/ May 01-05, 2005

 

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Nisha Braganza received a thundering applause and was showered with prizes and gifts last year (2004) when she was crowned the May Queen at the annual MAY BALL organized by the Goan Welfare Society (GWS), Kuwait.  She writes to The Times, Kuwait Times, and is presently

continuing with her further studies. 

On 12th May 2005, she will be crowning the MAY QUEEN 2005 at the Safir Palace Hotel at the

May Ball 2005 which is sponsored by damas jewellers - the art of beauty, mughal mahal - the art of fine dining in Kuwait with Al Mulla International, Mobile Siemens, among other business houses.

 

http://www.goa-world.com Team

 

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To subscribe or renew your subscription to The Times,

Kuwait's Premier Weekly Newspaper, write to P.O. Box 5141, Safat 13052, Kuwait  Tel: 4814404 - 2623180 - 2624715 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]

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- Forwarded by http://www.goa-world.com



WHAT'S ON AROUND WITH THE GOANS IN THE GULF:

MAY BALL 2005
Date: 12-05-05 Organized by Goan Welfare Society (GWS)-Kuwait
Venue: Safir Palace Hotel, Riggea Band: Stepping Stones
Highlights: Crowning of the MAY QUEEN 2005.
Sponsors: Damas - the art of beauty,
Mughal Mahal - the fine art of dining,
and Siemens Mobile.

YGC BAHRAIN MAY QUEEN BALL
Date: 05-05-05 Organized by: Young Goans Club, Bahrain
Venue: Palace Inn Hotel Highlights: The YGC May Queen Contest

ANNUAL MAY QUEEN BALL
Date: 06-05-05 Organized by Goan Welfare Associate(GWA), Qatar
Venue: The Diplomatic Club. Highlights: Crowning of the May Queen
by Bollywood Stars.


UPCOMING EVENT IN GOA:
FRUIT FEST 2005 http://www.goa-world.com/goa/fruitfest/

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