‘Apart from the sheesha ban, Isloo is a cool place’

Punk rock band The Kominas vocalist Basim Usmani feels the Pakistani music scene has evolved.

LAHORE:

The Kominas has a strong fan following. They earned the title of a ‘Muslim’ punk rock band after releasing songs such as Suicide Bomb the Gap and Shariah Law in the USA without any hesitation or apprehension. The Boston-based band recently performed in Islamabad and is now ready to release a new yet-to-be titled track this June.

“Don’t jump the gun. We’re more than half way done with our release [of the new single]. Be sure to look out for it in June and then you can talk about it,” says lead vocalist Basim Usmani, admitting that The Kominas is experimenting with its sound this time. The band’s guitarist Hassan Ali Malik aka Sunny Ali accompanied Usmani to Pakistan but drummer Abdullah Saeed aka The Kid, wasn’t able to tag along.

Usmani feels the energy they felt during their performance in Islamabad shows the music scene in Pakistan has evolved. “Apart from the sheesha ban, Islamabad is a cool place — a city filled with marijuana plants,” he says. “The lights went out when we sang the line ‘Ghup andhera vich [in the pitch dark]’ and then they were back on in time for the chorus. The crowd knew the lyrics — it was pretty crazy.”

In the US, the band has a diverse following of listeners and has even considered altering their sound from its original punk style and tapping to reggae for their fans. “We get a pretty mixed crowd in the States and hearing them sing along to songs which aren’t in English, is very interesting to say the least,” continues Usmani. “In Pakistan, it’s always a shock because well, everyone always knows the words,” he adds sarcastically.

The Kominas has been performing at local gigs in the US, and after visiting Pakistan, they were impressed with the diversity present in the music scene. “It seems pretty diverse to me at least. It’s kind of ironic. The country doesn’t have YouTube access but I’ve heard Pashtu rap, metal from Lahore and shoegaze from Karachi,” he says. Usmani was in Lahore for five days where he attended a Punjabi rap show, Indian classical musicians who performed at a private venue along other music shows/concerts.

“There’s Coke Studio as well, if that’s your thing. But the backing vocalists, Lord have mercy [on us],” he laughs, mocking the musicians. But despite everything, he still feels the music scene has evolved. “This [the music scene] is definitely better than what it was when I lived there [in Pakistan] in 2007,” he adds. “The only music [song] which was promoted nationally was the Khuda Ke Liye soundtrack.”

The Kominas is known for their electrifying live performances. Ali, who was also in Pakistan with Usmani, had an exciting time during his stay, too. “We performed two shows in Islamabad, it went pretty well. A couple of hundred people [turned up],” he says, adding that he was impressed with the evolution of the music scene on several levels. “I didn’t really get a chance to attend any other shows. The drummer we were playing with only had one day to rehearse. He was very talented though.”

“Our trick has always been to change things around, but we don’t compromise on the art although that will also change,” he explains about the band’s upcoming album. “The new stuff we are about to record is pretty different.” He feels a song needs to maintain its own sense of creativity and not be a sell-out. His favourite local bands include Orangenoise and Malang Party.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2013.                    

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