Bumbu Sauce's song on Qandeel Baloch makes it to BBC

Band front man talks song dedicated to Qandeel Baloch

KARACHI: They’re quirky, they’re unconventional and they’re anything but boring. It comes as a surprise because this band, Bumbu Sauce, whipped up out of sheer boredom and love for music. They came together as a punk rock band and recently made headlines when their song Vuzzeerrayazam was featured on BBC.

PHOTO COURTESY: BUMBUSAUCE

Bumbu Sauce reigns from Islamabad but are currently based in the USA. Their songs like Jiggernaut, Mojambo and the likes has garnered the attention of the scattering number of punk rock lovers in Pakistan.

Q1) How did Bumbu Band start? What's the story behind this unconventional name?

There was myself and three guys sitting in a room many years ago, and we were bored out of our minds. Someone said, 'Let's make a band!', and so it came to pass. Things like these happen in Islamabad all the time. We named it 'Bumbu Sauce' because 'knumb' was already taken. What an incredibly cool name that is.

PHOTO COURTESY: BUMBUSAUCE



Q2) You released a song on Qandeel Baloch, Vuzzeerayazam. What was your inspiration behind this song?

I saw something major happening in the Pakistani cultural landscape and I wanted to say something about it. 'Sharam' is one of the widely used concepts in Pakistan. Here was someone who had none. I think that's worthy of some music.

Q3) You gave Qandeel the title of 'Prime Minister' and 'Qoum ki beti' in your song. What is it that made you believe that a celebrity like QB fit those titles?

People who have previously been bestowed those titles made me believe that. I think there's been no one better qualified than her.

Q4) Do you think music will be able to change the current intolerant mindset of the masses?

Absolutely. In fact, I'm working on a song to achieve exactly that just now. It's called 'Stop Being Stupid, You Stupid ******'. I expect it to instantly change the current intolerant mindset of those bloody masses, whoever they are.

That's me being sarcastic.

PHOTO COURTESY: BUMBUSAUCE

Q5) Is the Pakistani music industry upping its game or do you feel that there's a void which is currently prevalent here?

I'm not sure there is a Pakistani music industry. There's a scene, and it's brilliant. I guess the only void would be the element of industry.



There’s a reason why the band still hasn’t made it to the forefront of the Pakistani music industry – the members simply aren’t interested in going mainstream. “If by mainstream you mean we’ll do something that will be on Coke Studio then probably not,” quipped Masterjee Bumbu. “If by mainstream you mean something that will make money, most definitely not. If by mainstream you mean something that a large number of people will fall in love with, absolutely.”

PHOTO COURTESY: BUMBUSAUCE

You can follow them on their Soundcloud page here:



Published in The Express Tribune, July 28^th, 2016.

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