Aziz Ibrahim might forever be known as the man who took what Noel Gallagher called "the hardest job in the world": replacing John Squire in the Stone Roses. Ibrahim was raised by Pakistani immigrants in Manchester, England, and showed a natural musical ability at an early age. His first professional experience was touring with Simply Red in the late '80s, and he went on to play with the aging prog rock act Asia in the mid-'90s. In 1996, Ibrahim was announced as Squire's replacement on guitar, who had just left the Stone Roses after a messy split. Ibrahim's first and only appearances in the Roses came at the 1996 Benicassim Festival (Spain) and then the Reading Festival (U.K.), generally regarded as the final nail in the coffin for a band, which by then had suffered half a decade of quiet and not-so-quiet implosion. Despite this, Ibrahim's playing faithfully and capably replicated Squire's parts; huge shoes to fill, those of someone considered to be among the pantheon of British guitar gods. Indeed, Ibrahim is quite a virtuosic musician, playing naturally in a style that reflects his Eastern heritage and is situated somewhere between raga and hard rock.