Shallum Asher Xavier is an award winning accomplished composer, producer and session artist and owns his own production house Point One Three Productions which features both his commercial work and his musical collaborations. Shallum fas been awarded Best Guitarist of Pakistan 2 years running among numerous awards with the band Fuzon that travels globally. In 2011 won song of the year for his Ballad Payam at the PrestigiousLux Style Awards ,The awards have been dubbed "Pakistan's Oscars" Biography: Born in Karachi, Pakistan, in 1978[3] to Samuel and Shirin Xavier, Shallum is the second of four siblings, and the oldest son. He grew up around music and musicians, and began experimenting on the keyboard when he was eight. Inspired by the American pastor at his Sunday school who played the guitar, Xavier knew he wanted to play live music, and began to teach himself. Then he heard Rock: Adopting Steve Vai and Joe Satriani as his mentors, the switch to guitar was complete. Xavier saved up his allowance, and bought his first acoustic guitar for Rs. 1000 from a chappati wala (roadside flatbread vendor) who had an after hours job at a guitar manufacturing workshop. He used this guitar for 3 years, bruising and cutting himself on the low-grade quality. He then sought out a musician who would teach him the basics of the guitar and musical theory. Roland lived across the street from Xavier and started teaching him. Xavier would also trek over by bus to a place near the commercial hub of Karachi where there would be rejected publications, and buy guitar player magazines- the only source for information on music available at the time. Xavier did not have many friends, so when he discovered one other person in his neighborhood, Ovais, who was apart from the rest like himself, he found someone equally involved and determined about learning as much as possible about music and musicians internationally. Having someone who could relate to his passion was an incredible experience for him. Before long, some of Xavier’s school friends from Saint Paul’s English High School also started learning various instruments, and when Xavier was 14, they formed a band. They would practice day and night, often for twelve hours at a stretch. The fact that he had a group of friends determined about music, while realizing there wasn’t a real “future” in it, was important. They were having fun. This support group was indispensable, having to encourage each other because there was little or no support from anyone else around them in their pursuit of this unconventional and uncertain career path. They were driven to focus on their music, be able to play well. As for Xavier, this was when he started focusing exclusively on who and what he wanted to BE. Breaking the silence: Although Xavier was always a good student, everything else now took a back seat to his music. He would spend his evenings isolated in the veranda outside the kitchen, and, in the backdrop of the noisy Karachi streets and the pleasant shouts of children playing cricket, used to practice for hours. Naturally reserved, in pursuit of learning and perfecting his craft he forced himself out of his shell. He would listen to music, seek out musicians, and make an effort to talk to other guitarists. Karachi had a significant underground music culture. Television’s scope was limited at the time, and consequently there was quality live music being performed at restaurants and other public places. Serious musicians were accessible to Xavier, and he made sure to take every advantage to network and learn from them. From the first few chords Xavier learned, he started composing melodies of his own. He would compose songs, and always knew he would write his own music, but realized he would have to know the industry first. Under Pressure: As Xavier became more and more consumed by his music, the pressure mounted on him to choose a career. Music was not considered to be an actual career path, especially for the oldest son. The way forward, to an economically stable future, was seen to be in quality education, not talent and drive in the arts. For Xavier to give up his music would have been giving up a piece of himself. Pressure from family forces you to make difficult decisions, and Xavier stuck to what he believed in. He knew that one day he would be doing what he’s doing now. There was nothing else for him. And so, while he did his Bachelors of Commerce from Government National College Karachi, Xavier decided that he had to learn the business of music. Shallum Asher Xavier is represented by Award Winning Music Promoter and Publicist Eva Dowd located in Boston, MA USA.