KASHMIR

Kashmir, an alternative rock band that was formed in Karachi in 2012, has made several highlights in the Pakistani Music scene by winning Pepsi Battle of the Bands Season 2 in 2017. They kept their winning streak on by churning out several prominent songs and performances, including a studio album titled Khwaab. Its current lineup of members includes Bilal Ali as the lead vocalist, Usman Siddiqui as the bassist, Vais Khan as a lead guitarist, Shane J. Anthoney on drums, Zair Zaki as the rhythm guitarist, and Ali Raza as the keyboardist.

Right off the bat, with a name as striking as KASHMIR, we had to ask as to what led the band to establish themselves under this label. Turns out, they weren’t always known by this name and had quite a funny anecdote on how they settled on it. Usman Siddiqui, the skilled bassist of the group who has provided fans with quite a few iconic riffs, filled us in on the story: “At the very beginning, we were called Quasars, which is the name for a bright light emitted by a collapsed star in the universe. We used to be avid history channel viewers and I guess that’s where we derived the name from. Eventually, when we started doing concerts, people had difficulty pronouncing the name so we became known as “Kausars.” It wasn’t until we worked on the song “Rani-e-Kashmir” that we received some feedback from experienced musicians that our band name has to be commercially viable to survive in the industry. Then began a whole sequence of brainstorming every potential name, where at one point Vais even started pitching Persian titles.”

Vais Khan, the lead guitarist for the band, known for his strikingly rockstar-esque hair, continued the story: “There was this time when we were all walking, still debating of what to call our band, when we came across a billboard that had the word Kashmir in it. We came to realise how stark and viable the name really is. Not only that, but it correlated perfectly with the project we were doing at that time, whilst being culturally and emotionally relevant for us. So we immediately settled on the name KASHMIR.”

While we are grateful for the band having had their Eureka moment that led to the unforgettable name KASHMIR, how all of them came together to form a band is an even more fateful origin story. Siddiqui, who has been with the group since before the band was even formed, shed light on the matter: “We have always been six people, although the lineup used to be different, Vais had always been with us while Ali and I had been friends since elementary school. So we’ve had that dynamic for a long time and we’ve been friends way before we became musicians. There used to be another vocalist, Mashal Shahryar, but he left in 2011 and Bilal joined in his stead. The current lineup that you’re seeing has been like that since then.”

Khan went on to encapsulate the band’s origin perfectly: “You could say we were six friends who just loved music decided to form a band.”

While many of us may not have been previously aware of the band’s close-knitted history, almost every fan knows of their rise to fame that was invigorated with their time on the show Pepsi Battle of the Bands. The competition features several bands that go up against each other to choose the best of the best, where KASHMIR came out victorious. Bilal Ali, the vocalist for the band who has headed many of the band’s hit songs, translated the band’s experience on the show: “The day when we walked on set for the first time, we saw 20ish bands, some that we had seen for a few years now in festivals and so on as properly established musicians. It became like a staircase of misery where the further you went in and saw your competition, the more you began doubting your own capabilities.”

The band peddles their eventual victory in the show as the best yet the most difficult thing to achieve: “Maybe the fact that we had been friends for so long and had a different dynamic or maybe due to the fact that we performed our original songs, these elements often became our saving grace. We had always worked on original songs from the start of our musical career, and whenever we landed in the elimination round, which was a lot, I mean you’d see us in the Danger Zone in every other episode, we were saved by one of our original songs.”

In regard to the effortless group dynamic the band has, something we have seen quite a lot of during their time on the show, Shane J. Anthoney, the skilled drummer for the band, explained how their close relationship protected them: “Whenever we had to perform an original song like Faislay or Soch, we hadn’t really practised them before. The previous years of jamming together, trust for each other and our muscle memory is what worked for us.”

Siddiqui reflected on their overall journey in the show which led the group to many peaks and valleys: “Obviously, it’s natural. Not all your performances will be good in such a competition. Sometimes they’ll be really good and set a high standard, and at other times you’d think you did well but it doesn’t resonate that way with the judges. So I think we’ve learnt a lot from the ups and downs that we have seen in our musical journey. And at the end of the day, the nice thing is that you are with your friends, facing everything together.”

KASHMIR has been active in the Pakistani music scene since then, with an entire studio album to their name and several prominent live features. The group most often tends to dabble in alternative rock, but their most recent single, Ayi Bahaar, which delves more into pop and immediately brightens up your day every time you listen to it, was a surprising twist. Curious as to how the band decides their trajectory and the genres to play with, we asked as to what is their creative process?

Ali took to lifting the curtain and detailed on how the band works inside the studio: “We have never taken the decision on what genre to do or not do, instead, we’ve always looked at what we feel at a particular moment. And ironically enough, the band tends to feel the same way at a particular time, especially when we are going through a specific phase together in our lives.” He went on to talk more about their recent single: “When it comes to the track Ayi Bahaar, you could say that it is a love song. Our songs and lyrics revolve around our journeys and the issues we usually and individually face, no matter how big or small they are, for example, we have songs on insomnia, another one on the fear of darkness, and so on. We tend to leave it to the viewer on how to interpret them. But we have never set a boundary for ourselves or limited ourselves to a certain niche, or followed after a trend. Just like Ayi Bahaar, there’s a song with a similar vibe in our upcoming album that will make you think that the whole album is upbeat. But then there are songs like Khuwaab that have a completely different rock vibe to them and you’re going to be left confused about our genre of focus again.”

A mark of a true artist is certainly following one’s feelings rather than making something for the mere sake of making it. Anthoney, succinct as ever, worded their artistic process admirably: “We try not to force the outcome, but listen to our hearts instead.”

With such genre-hopping tendencies, we couldn’t help but ask about their musical inspirations. What we presumed would be a unanimous proclamation for an artist or two turned out to be an individual state of frenzy where every member had their own specific inspirations and influences. Whilst Siddiqui was an avid listener of Led Zepplin and Kings of Leon, he also expressed himself as a crazy fan of Noori. Khan, on the other hand, had a completely different playlist which includes mostly instrumentals, like Animals as Leaders and Joe Satriani. Anthoney also had an interesting journey for his musical inclinations: “Growing up, my dad used to listen to a lot of rock music like Scorpians and Deep Purple, so I was inspired by that. It was only after I joined the band that I finally started listening to a lot of Radiohead and I think my soundscape changed a lot and more towards the band’s vibe.”

Radiohead had an undivided appeal amidst the group, where Siddiqui helped lay the land: “At times, when we have often lived together as well, Radiohead and Vital signs were always playing in our rooms, like constantly.”

Living and constantly being together as a band and making music may sound incredibly fun, but the pandemic had thwarted many of the group’s plans. Not only had KASHMIR’s album release unfortunately coincided with the time when Covid fully broke out, but the lockdowns also shelved a lot of the band’s promotional plans and concerts. Khan detailed the turbulent time period the band faced amidst the events of the past two years: “We had worked so hard and for so long on that album and it felt like such an accomplishment to have completed it, but it was really demotivating and intense to not take all our plans forward for it. There was a whole tour planned and all of that crumbled, so I think we were a little lost and in a dilemma as to what should we do now? Along with the album release, there was the music video for Dhoop directed by Umar Anwar, someone we truly respect and who was very involved in the song’s process, so both the things became very emotional for us. There was no motivation available during lockdown and it was really frustrating.”

While lockdowns affected every aspect of our lives, it was important to keep one’s self motivated and positively driven. One way for the band to keep themselves devoted to their craft was by reminding themselves of their many accomplishments and the moment when they felt truly happy in the work. The group relayed this process by recounting a recent experience: “Just three weeks ago, we did a concert at an academic institution, and the entire feel was different. We had a completely different spark in our eyes. There comes a moment in such live concerts when you, as musicians, stop singing and the audience starts carrying the song. And that feeling is indescribable. These live shows and the feeling they give are very important for us and honestly any musician ever. They give us that energy and drive us to keep on improving on our music.” When asked if they had any anxiety to be back on the live-music scene, Siddiqui filled us in on what they felt: “We were really excited about it. I couldn’t even wait for the sound check to get over so I could just get on the stage. I think the nervousness and the stage fright was killed during the era of Pepsi Battle of the Bands”

Although KASHMIR has developed an impressive discography, fans have yet to see any collaborations on their albums and when questioned about their dream collaboration, all members of the band had no qualms when selecting their choice: “Atif Aslam! We think our collaboration with the artist would be just incredible one day.”

They further went on to tease about their future plans: “We’ve already done a pretty interesting collaboration in our upcoming album, but we can’t really tell you.” Keeping tight-lipped as ever, we can only guess as to who and what their new album will feature, but we sure are excited about it and all the places KASHMIR will go, because we’re going to be right there in the front row, screaming out the lyrics to their songs.