Spotlight On CCG Members :- Mr. Aziz Ibrahim

Feb, 28 2017

~~Not many of us can say we’ve performed with soul  group Simply Red, toured  with  indie outfit The Stone Roses and ultimately working on our own creative music recording. This week’s ‘Spotlight on CCG Members’ has done just that. Greater Manchester’s finest Mr. Aziz Ibrahim.

After his time with Mick Hucknall and friends Aziz went to perform with prog rock group Asia in the mid 1990’s. It wasn’t long before Azia became a sought after musician and he was given one of the greatest privileges and the hardest shoes to fill  as chief replacement from John Squire  following his departure from the band.

Granted, he only stepped in briefly but it was memorable enough to land him a place in 1996  both at  the Benicassim Festival in Spain and The Reading Festival back home in the UK.

Soon after,  The Roses split,  yet frontman Ian Brown developed a solo career in which Aziz contributed on several tracks. This included, 1998’s ‘Unfinished Monkey Business’ and the follow up ‘Golden Greats’. He became a   semi-permanent member of Brown's touring band.

By this time Aziz was feeling the creative need to develop his own musical accomplishments. So, he brought in Eastern electronic guru Talvin Singh and bassist Mani from his time with the Roses, this laidback jam resulted in the single  ‘ Murassi’ .
A solo album was soon to follow in 2001 entitled ‘Lahore to Longsight’ (Lahore being a city in Pakistan, Longsight being the neighborhood of Manchester where he grew up).

Released on his own label ‘Indus Records’an independent label with a roster that includes early-'90s Madchester vocalist Denise Johnson.

A stellar cast of musicians helped to contribute their parts to his album. These included Paul Weller and his compatriot Steve White, as well as the ex-Smiths rhythm section of Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce. This confirmed how his rock peers viewed him and how his distinctive style of playing is unique and highly valued.

Ibrahim’s performance technique reflects his Eastern heritage and is situated somewhere between raga and hard rock.

Aziz Ibrahim has done many tours and workshops with the British Council over several years for aspiring young musicians from mainly Arab & Asian countries ending with being invited by Her Majesty The Queen to Buckingham Palace for contributions to the countries Economy and Culture. He was also awarded the Jinnah Award for Music at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in 2011.

But he’ll probably always be forever known as what former Oasis guitarist  Noel Gallagher called "the hardest job in the world": replacing John Squire in the Stone Roses.

In recent times The Roses have made new music and look forward to touring soon, elsewhere Aziz is no doubt making some excellent recordings and working with some of the most finely tuned musicians in the UK.

We welcome, Aziz Ibrahim to the CCG.

^Alex Ashworth