Sounds of Pakistan

Music connects people and extends beyond borders – so does the Internet. Through both we are capable of reaching the whole world, enjoying unlimited access to information. We, a group of students, musicologists, and musicians at the Humboldt University of Berlin aimed to reach out to contemporary artists from mostly underground music scenes in Pakistan. We embarked without any knowledge of the subject, so we began by researching online and conducting interviews with musicians via Skype and email. The journey felt delicate from the start. How far can such research really reach? How to avoid generalization, platitudes, and politics stored in our Eurocentric perspective? And yet, are we allowed to discuss music from far away places only after we have travelled there? Our answer was: to focus on our knowledge, the music, and not on the context, Pakistan. Approaching musicians through common interests felt right – to take them seriously as artists first. So enjoy this first overview post, please comment, suggest, and share, and come back to read our various background articles over the following weeks. Our aim is to shed some light on the diversity of music in Pakistan, and on the diverse ideas and viewpoints of the Pakistani musicians we reached. We present this to you as a small kaleidoscope of musical diversity.

Sounds of Pakistan: Part 1 of 4 – Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 – Dossier

The Tamaashbeens

«‹Lighter Machis› is the most ‹typical› Tamaashbeens track. Mainly because it represents a lot from who we are as artists. From its sound, to its lyrics, and to its individuality, it pretty much shows our creative intellect.» The Tamaashbeens, 2017

Link: The Tamaashbeens

Noahs Heark

«You can dive in and do your own thing – it’s not like you’re being told a story.» Noahs Heark, 2017

Link: Noahs Heark

Daniel Arthur Panjwaneey aka Alien Panda Jury

«Listening to droning sounds, there is peace in that.» Daniel Arthur Panjwaneey, 2017

Link: Alien Panda Jury

Mudassir Sheikh

«‹Shor Bazaar› was more directly influenced by my city as it was based on the city itself. [...] Karachi is noisy, chaotic and I am usually stuck in long traffic jams. All of this results in frustration which sometimes comes out in your art.» Mudassir Sheikh, 2017

Link: Mudassir Sheikh

The D/A Method

«‹Desert Journey› is an allegory of the journey we go through in life, and that point where past present and future all come together to confront you.» Kamal Khan, 2017

Link: The D/A Method

Pakistan Playlist: by Alien Panda Jury

Pakistan Playlist: by Andi Teichmann

«Norient asked us to make a Playlist with electronic and experimental music from Pakistan. It mainly contains the artists we are connected and worked with. Here we go! Hope you like it and get inspired like us...» Andi Teichmann, 2017

Link: Andi Teichmann (Gebrueder Teichmann)

Release by Noland - Gebrueder Teichmann

Disvocered: Jambro: «Tinder for musicians»

Jambro is a mobile application that connects the musicians around the world. As a Singapore-based Pakistani start-up Jambro started its service last year. Musicians can choose which instrument they play, which music genre they listen and what kind of musicians they are looking for. It can be easily described: µTinder for musicians» – as Jasir Abro, a Pakistani music producer who is living in Karachi, also a co-founder of Jambro, told The Express Tribune . Unfortunately, there are no musicians near to Berlin to find and it’s hard to find out if this app really works in Karachi. But this app per se may reflect a simple fact: there are lots of productive musicians in Karachi.

Read More on Norient

> Ali Gul Pir and Taimoor Salahuddin: «When a Rapper Tries To Change the World»
> Asadullah Qureshi: «Underground Noise from Pakistan»
> Daniel Arthur Panjwaneey: «Karachi Noise»
> Wendy Hsu: «Taqwacore: Punk Polyculturalism»

Guests

We want to thank the guests that visited us in our Seminar «Thick Data. Transkulturelle Musikforschung als Experimentierfeld»). Your input was highly appreciated and valuable. Thanks Daniel Arthur Panjwaneey (Alien Panda Jury), Umair Dar and Usama Siddiq (The D/A Method), and Notopia Asanda Kaka.

Usama Siddiq, Umair Dar and Daniel Arthur Panjwaneey at Humboldt University

Archive Material

Listen to our discussion with the musicians during the seminar. For those who want to hear how they reacted to our ideas and posts. The idea is to share this openly for those interested. #archive #self-reflexive

About Us

Dr. Thomas Burkhalter (Host of the seminar «Thick Data. Transkulturelle Musikforschung als Experimentierfeld»), Juliane Görlach, Melina Morr de Perez, Marta Janev, Sophie Gaffrontke, Pascal Rudolph, Max Entin, Somar Ashkar, Moonsun Shin, Omar Houssni.

Sounds of Pakistan: Part 1 of 4 – Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 – Dossier