Heavy is the head that wears the crown

hen I first met Karachi-based music group Kashmir – winners of the resurrected second season of Pepsi Battle of the Bands (2017) – for a proper interview at my home, and again as they were getting closer to releasing their debut album, Khwab, nearly all members would throw the volley of my questions to each other. They were not being inflexible or showcasing an inflated ego. It was simply hard for them to articulate themselves, the larger ideas behind their music and the journey that had led them to this moment.

For six introverted individuals, standing before prominent artists like Meesha Shafi, Atif Aslam and Fawad Khan during the national competition (Pepsi Battle of the Bands) was a test in itself and one they aced. But, beyond that, things like promoting an album which includes doing interviews in multiple ways didn’t come naturally to them, at least not at first. In hindsight, it is something they are still learning but getting better at as the weeks turn to months.

As Kashmir started becoming comfortable with conversation, chief lyricist and vocalist, Bilal Ali, confessed in an interview that (I won’t tell you which song) he sang a different verse during one of their Pepsi Battle of the Bands performances than what he was originally supposed to sing. It was a case of nerves. Judges were happy and the rest of the bandmates laughed and none of them held a grudge against Bilal Ali.

Like every act, Kashmir was at the beginning of its journey. Years later, they are on the verge of releasing their second album, Zindagi, sometime this month. To be realistic, no matter whom the act is, knowing how to release new music is required. Between releasing the first album and the upcoming second album, Kashmir has learned to articulate itself – up to a point. For the rest of it, they let their music do the talking. Given how strong their music is, technically this is a good plan.

“Never gonna give you up/Never gonna let you down.” – ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ by Rick Astley

What has become an obsolete idea to many who drop singles (with or without music videos), is mercifully not obsolete to Kashmir. In fact, it is the opposite. Having a significant body of work is crucial to this act.

However, and this is a big one, the announcement, release and promotion of a music album has drastically changed since the early days of pioneering acts like Vital Signs or Junoon and many others who followed.

After a crackdown on piracy within the country in years past, the arrival and disappearance of private music channels, the rendering of music in physical shape – like cassette and CDs – outdated by technological advancement and how music is now consumed, a myriad of factors have contributed to why we’re seeing a transitional period.

Along with a change in the way fans consume music, the rollout of an album – when it is released – has changed as well. Music in Pakistan is still going through a shift as music for films finds its own audience; independent artists achieve breakthrough status, a global app like Spotify becomes a market player and national music platforms such as Coke Studio allow space for original music.

Given these factors, an album rollout is not exactly how it used to be. Now it can be preceded by a listening session open to press and industry insiders. It could also be in the form of a full-fledged public concert where the album is played out in its entirety with the audience consisting of industry insiders as well as dedicated fans. Or, it can arrive like an unexpected but delightful surprise where an artist drops an entire EP or LP in one go. Others drop the album by releasing a music video with each new song followed by a gap before releasing another. It also depends on whether the album rollout effort is backed by a brand, a grant or is purely independent.

Every act has their own ideas. After the lockdown years, those ideas are far from arbitrary, especially for Kashmir.

After releasing their debut album, the laudable Khwab, which was released with the ambitious music video, ‘Dhoop’, the band went back to the studio to create original songs for its second and more complex album, the upcoming Zindagi.

“We’ve got a couple of live concerts lined up in different cities of Pakistan. We’re going to cities where we haven’t performed before and we’re really looking forward to it. We’re also in contact with a couple of promoters who want to work with us on international tours.”

Unlike Khwab, Zindagi songs are lesser known thus far. Several songs from Khwab were identifiable to fans since they were first performed on Pepsi Battle of the Bands, but Zindagi features original songs without the backing of a national competition. With their sophomore album, the group featuring Bilal Ali, Vais Khan, Usman Siddiqui, Shane J. Anthony, Zair Zaki, and Ali Raza seems to have a concrete idea about how to approach the matter.

“So don’t be blue/ There is another future/ Waiting there for you.”
– ‘Yes I’m Changing’ by Tame Impala

Speaking on behalf of the group, Usman Siddiqui noted that they plan to drop the album this month. If you head to YouTube, you will find ‘Chal Hutt’, ‘Zindagi’, ‘Ehsaas’, ‘Shaam’, ‘Saaya’ and ‘Har Yaad Mein’ with a visualizer video accompanying each song. Usman explained that this time, the band opted for a different strategy. “We released a song every month with a visualizer in 2022. The plan is to work on their videos once all the audio is released.”

Another interesting factor is that the boys of Kashmir are interested in collaborations far more than their origin days. “Kashmir in 2023,” said Usman, “will be about collaborations and a couple of music videos from Zindagi. We can’t really say much about these collaborations other than the fact that we’re super excited to work with people who we’ve listened to while growing up. Working with them now is nothing short of a dream come true.”

The focus on visuals is also a priority for Kashmir.

“As we speak, we’re also meeting with different video directors to plan out our music videos. Our aim is to make at least three videos excluding ‘Chal Hutt’ video which is already out.”

Ambitious days lay ahead for Kashmir, according to Usman.

Their album will release on major platforms including Spotify with live shows to follow.

“We’ve got a couple of live concerts lined up in different cities of Pakistan. We’re going to perform in cities where we haven’t before and we’re really looking forward to it. We’re also in contact with a couple of promoters who want to work with us on international tours. Let’s see what happens. All in all, we plan on doing as many concerts as we can to promote Zindagi.”

“Now we got problems/And I don’t think we can solve ‘em (think we can solve ‘em)/You made a really deep cut/ And baby, now we got bad blood.” – ‘Bad Blood’ by Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar

In the meantime, as Bilal Ali, the vocalist and chief songwriter for Kashmir strikes out on his own with a new song called ‘6 Mahine’, there is no bad blood between the band members and the vocalist.

The new song from Bilal is also the first time he
has played the role of a
co-producer. Enveloped in metaphors and a song that aims to look at the proverbial glass as half full, it’s a good song whose birth is made special because it is not the end of Kashmir but a solo project. Speaking about the solo single, ‘6 Mahine’, Bilal Ali told Instep what the song is about from his point of view.

“The song is about being stuck in a cycle. When life’s playing a very prolonged joke on you, and you want a way out but at the same time you see the comedy in the situation.”

When asked about Bilal striking out as a solo artist in addition to his role in Kashmir, Usman noted without prejudice, “Bilal is working on his solo album that will also be out in 2023. He has already released two songs so do check them out.”

The songs, released from Zindagi thus far, sound complex yet very much boast of a signature Kashmir sound. Ask the band and they will admit that for their upcoming album, they were able to find innovative music producers who understood what Kashmir needed in terms of music production for their second album. In that circle, the band roped in Adeel Tahir and Grey Audio Production (Sinnan Fazwani, Zahid Qureshi).

It is good to see Kashmir being supportive of the solo career of Bilal Ali, who in turn admits how Kashmir is a priority.

It will be interesting to see how this album rolls out but making the effort is the first step and Kashmir have done that with a strategy in place.

However, even as the second album is scheduled to release in 2023, the group has started working on its third album, implying the simple but important fact: they are here to stay.