Laal's cause

Members of the band feel Laal is not just a band: it is a cause to support the leftist ideology.

KARACHI: They don't sing for the sake of singing. Behind the music of Lahore's sufi rock band Laal is a cause to support the leftist ideology reflected in their sociopolitical songs. Marking their presence in the Pakistani music scene within a year, the band has now invited their fans to join the Laal Brigade - a group of like minded young people.

Lead vocalist Taimur Rahman believes that the group does not play music for the sake of fun or generating money by touring various cities and holding a series of concerts. He stresses on the fact that, "Laal band's music is based on supporting various causes."

The band is currently supporting a variety of sociopolitical issues like "the lawyers' movement, democratic rights, women's rights, peasant movement and more recently we performed a tribute to Faiz, the poet, at the Karachi Literary Festival."

Rahman feels the musicians in Pakistan are not doing enough to give back to the society, "Why not? Why are they not doing anything about it? We need to change their (musicians') apathy towards it, to bring a positive change in Pakistan," says Rahman.

With Laal's band members inspired by the communist school of thought, their songs feature the poetic compositions of Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Habib Jalib come as no surprise. Laal has deliberately made the choice of lyrics to use communist ideology as a tool of change. "I believe in progressive thoughts — in communism, socialism, leftist thinking, feminism and environmental [concerns] of Pakistan. That's why we sing Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Habib Jalib," said Rahman.

Launched in 2009, the band has received "phenomenal appreciation from the Pakistani crowd", thinks Rahman. With Laal's former lead vocalist Shahram Azhar "away to do his PhD in Economics from the University of Massachusetts, we have come a long way since then. There were people who doubted the band's survival. [But] we have passed that stage." informed Rahman, who has replaced Azhar.

How exactly is the band then surviving without a fellow band member? Rahman asserts, "It is thriving perfectly well. I have now taken on the vocals of the band with Jamal Rahman on guitars, Mahvish Waqar is the backup vocalist and Haider Rahman is on the flute," says Rahman

Sharing details of the band's  upcoming activities and future plans, Rahman tells The Express Tribune, "There is a cross-cultural exchange project with a UK-based artiste, which is in the pipeline."

Published in The Express Tribune, February 10^th, 2011.