Peshawar-based musicians to release own version of Game of Thrones theme song

Khumariyaan team up with Sarmad Ghafoor to release rendition of fantasy drama’s hit song


Our Correspondent July 17, 2016
The cover is likely to release by the end of July. PHOTO: PUBLICITY

KARACHI: The latest Game of Thrones season may have ended, the mania certainly shows no signs of letting up. Just as the fantasy drama’s sixth edition began airing, like previous years, several artists worldwide began making their own renditions of the famous Ramin Djawadi-composed theme. While some went viral, making careers out of this unbelievable fandom, others were not exactly as lucky.

Peshawar-based musicians who together call themselves Khumariyaan are a strange lot. Firstly, they are a band that does not have a vocalist. Second, of late they have gained more popularity than most breakthrough musicians in the country. The makers of Tamasha, which was The Express Tribune’s Song of the Year 2015, are now set to release their own version of the Game of Thrones theme.

Islamabad sings in harmony



With the airing already ended, one wonders if it really is timely to release the cover. Talking to The Express Tribune, band front man Sparlay Rawail said they did not want to jump on the bandwagon. “Had we been that coy, we would have put out two albums by now,” he laughed. “Basically we were just sitting in Ramazan, trying to figure out stuff for the upcoming album and we thought why not give this a shot.” The guitarist said the purpose is to generate some interest in the band’s music before their album hits stores.

“No one has actually tried to make a rubab cover of this song,” he said, adding that the release is likely to come end July. The arrangement, he said, is quite Pashto. When asked to elaborate, Rawail said, “Most Pashto compositions are in the seven-beat cycle. We wanted to do seven but it wasn’t working out well so we went with six. We have tried to retain the Pashto flavour with that.”

A joint venture of Khumariyaan and former Qayaas member Sarmad Ghafoor, who has been more of a mentor for the band for quite some time, the Game of Thrones theme cover might also be accompanied by a video.

Apple teams up with Pakistani musician, artist Usman Riaz for iPad art demo

While all four members of Khumariyaan have day jobs, the money put into the release has come entirely out of the band’s kitty and not their pockets. Khumariyaan’s sound is more live and improvisational and with the steady number of shows that they play, they have been able to afford their passion for music. “We have been lucky in this regard. Mekaal Hasan says these days even big names do not get as many gigs,” he added.

The cover will simultaneously be released on music streaming platforms Taazi and Patari and even Facebook. “We will put it out everywhere. The purpose is to make a build-up for our debut album.” When asked if being a band and releasing music has become sustainable for them, Rawail answered in the affirmative. “For this song we might be able to recover some of the money through Taazi and Patari.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18th, 2016.

Like Life & Style on Facebook, follow @ETLifeandStyle on Twitter for the latest in fashion, gossip and entertainment.

 

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ