Jal’s Goher Mumtaz lets loose

Musician gets nostalgic and discusses band Kashmir covering ‘Aadat’

KARACHI: With Pepsi Battle of the Bands’ return after 15 years, Pakistan’s band culture was given a much-needed shot in the arm. Among the top eight bands, Kashmir came out victorious. Among their many incredible performances on the show, they also performed the cover of early 2000s hit, Aadat by Jal.

The memorable band’s frontman Goher Mumtaz spoke with The Express Tribune about the emerging band’s rendition of Aadat. “I am glad that Kashmir covered Aadat as many others have done before. I personally like the rendition and the overall feel of it,” he said, adding,

“I actually liked the sound of Kashmir way before they were featured on the show and have been interacting with them over social media to guide them for their next performances, for which they did take notes.”



Mumtaz became nostalgic talking about Kashmir’s Aadat performance. “It's a treat to see them covering a song which I composed and wrote on the stairs of my university and reminded me of my student life,” he said, adding that although it was a tough song to cover, they did a great job and that the band members seemed “very humble and simple like their music”.

Further, he spoke of the significance of the corporate sector in helping the music industry. “It has always played a very important role. It would have been really difficult for any band, be it Vital Signs, Junoon or Jal to make their songs heard on a larger scale without the backing of the corporate sector,” he said.

“I’m glad they came up with Battle of the Bands once again, and rescued Pakistan’s band culture, which has turned into more of a solo singer culture. It resulted in bands all over breaking up, but there is a new hope for bands once again,” he added.

As Coke Studio has been receiving a tonne of criticism, Mumtaz also shared his thoughts on it, saying the show’s team includes his seniors, for whom he had a lot of respect.



“I think they are doing well in hiring vocalists, producers, and musicians, but I feel they have been missing out on the rawness, compositions and making choices about which vocalist should sing which songs,” he said. “That's the most important task for any producer to understand, so let them do their best according to their capacity.”

“Also, I feel that they try too hard to create something out of the box. Let the music flow naturally and experiment with new singers, instruments, etc.,” he continued. “However, again, Coke Studio is doing a great job for our nation in terms of coming up with new music when no record label company exists.”

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