Abdullah Siddiqui: the influential new voice paving the way for others like him

The talented young musician explored how his career in music took shape

Abdullah Siddiqui may not be a household name just yet, but his meteoric rise in the Pakistani music landscape is an ascent that emerging young talent can only lust after in envy.

At the tender age of 23, the humble musician is the proud owner of a music CV that others can only dream of: four albums, one soundtrack in the cricitcally acclaimed film Joyland, a spot on the prestigious Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list, and a stint on Coke Studio as its youngest ever associate producer.

In an in-depth interview with Forbes, Siddiqui traced his interest in music all the way back to his childhood. Detailing his journey into the world of singing and composing, the singer offered fresh hope for other young musicians hoping to score an entry into the formidable fortress of the Pakistani music industry.

The grassroots

From a young age, Siddiqui was exposed to different genres of music, laying the foundation for his passion and career ahead.

“I always had an inclination towards music,” he says, “Even though, growing up, I was listening to a lot of pop music, my introduction to anything beyond pop came from them. I think on a philosophical level, it instilled a deep understanding of art and music in me at a very young age.”

And young, indeed, he was. By the age of 11, Siddiqui knew he wanted to learn "every song", and had already learned how to play guitar. His test audience was his family, and he even performed at school.

The natural next step for the budding musician was to use the brains of his technology-oriented elder brother. Unfortunately, his dreams of cutting-edge software could only materialise into “an obscure German digital audio workstation on a “janky, falling apart Windows machine.”

It was, to put it mildly, not the stuff of dreams. “I was really expecting some kind of musical playground you know, like some kind of beautiful interface that would just complement my creativity!” said Siddiqui with a laugh. “But all I got was this glorified spreadsheet.”

Nevertheless, the glorified spreadsheet proved to be the first stepping stone into the world of music production. “It was great,” recalled Siddiqui. “I began loving it. It gave me access to very rudimentary but effective tools for making something.”

A dazzling start to a rich career

At age 16, Siddiqui marked his debut into the Pakistani music industry by performing a half-hour long set at the Lahore Music Meet. His single Telescope Heart skyrocketed straight to the top on national radio at City FM89.

“[The song] started making it to the station’s top ten lists every week and it stayed like that for a year,” said Siddiqui. “It was insane. I was getting calls from friends and relatives saying they had heard my song on the radio.”

About two years later, at age 18, Siddiqui released his electronic pop hit Resistance. The following year, that song was part of the lineup at the fifth season of Nescafe Basement. Much like his debut track from two years ago, Resistance shot to the top of the world of Pakistani music, and today has racked up over 4 million views on YouTube.

Siddiqui himself could not have predicted the impact his passion for music has created. “I never really believed that my music had any place in the mainstream,” he admitted. “I think it’s because of what the mainstream music scene looked like in 2016 - 2017. I always thought I’d be confined to Indie music spaces.”

Making music: the creative process

It has not been all fun and games for the artiste. Creating music on a whim is still a skill that eludes him. He feels his own approach can be too methodical, and talked about the crippling nature of always needing to be on a creative high.

“This thing would start happening to me where the more introspective I’d get, the more I’d go down a rabbit hole,” he mused. “It can be tiring because sometimes, you’re not ready to look deeply inward all the time while writing songs. But then I stop myself and question why I need my work to be so emotionally dense?”

In answer to his own question, Siddiqui elaborated on how his own household was “very intellectual”. Incorporating that intellectuality into his own art, Siddiqui felt it was only right that his own music should be “extra deep and extra intellectual.” There came a point, however, when such a restriction began to take a toll on his creativity.

“I think that’s why, on some level, I lost my ability to enjoy the process. Once I realised that, I was able to take a step back and find my inner child again.”

New hope for new talent

Siddiqui is excited about the shape the music industry is now taking. Thinking back to his own days as a rookie, he noted, “I remember when I was entering the music scene, the sort of advice I’d get from most people was; what industry, there’s no industry. That’s the sort of thing that scares a lot of people off. But the sounds coming out of the music scene today are wild."

According to Siddiqui, a career in music has transformed from becoming an impossible dream to an achievable goal.

“[Our] musicians are now becoming people that listeners have a relationship with,” he explained. "They have a style, a narrative. What's speaking to you is not the riffs and runs in their voice. What's speaking to you is their narrative. What's speaking to you is their honesty. And so now, I think a lot more [new artistes] are realising, ‘Oh, we have something to say!’”

To Siddiqui, the future is bright for young people dreaming of making a mark in an industry that was once walled off to so many.

“Whether or not we're classically trained, there's enough space in the industry, in the craft of music, for us to find a way to say it,” he said. “And I think that is really indicative of the fact that we're in a really good place. After a long time, I feel like we're in a good place.”

With Siddiqui’s journey serving as both an inspiration and a testament to the transformative power of music, only time will tell what exciting new talent can surface in the dawn of a new era in Pakistani music.

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