Kabul Dreams

Kabul Dreams, rock en Afganistán
www.youtube.com
Con rock al estilo inglés de décadas anteriores, pero sin perder la esencia afgana, el grupo Kabul Dreams presenta su primer disco en Afganistán e insiste que el país tiene producción cultural, más allá de la violencia. teleSUR http://multimedia.telesurtv.net/6/7/2010/11903/kabul-dreams-rock-en-af... - Italian TV

Garage rock bands are nothing special in most of the world, but the return of Afghanistan’s first indie rock band shows just how far the country has gone since the days of the Taliban:

Less than a decade ago, when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, a concert like this would have landed them in jail. Playing musical instruments was banned. Singing was allowed, but only songs praising Allah or the Taliban.

Today, Kabul Dreams, as the band is named, is paving the way for a very modest but growing local rock scene. About 100 Afghans and foreigners gather around a makeshift stage with improvised lighting and a sputtering sound system.

Baby-faced singer and guitarist Suleman Qardash repeatedly screams, "I wanna run away" — the album’s title track — as drummer Mujtaba Habibi ramps up the beat.

While the lyrics resonate with an Afghan youth weary of suicide bombings and Taliban attacks, running away is the last thing on the band’s mind. The trio returned to Afghanistan after temporary exile in Iran, Uzbekistan and Pakistan during Taliban rule. - www.neatorama.com

Garage rock bands are nothing special in most of the world, but the return of Afghanistan’s first indie rock band shows just how far the country has gone since the days of the Taliban:

Less than a decade ago, when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, a concert like this would have landed them in jail. Playing musical instruments was banned. Singing was allowed, but only songs praising Allah or the Taliban.

Today, Kabul Dreams, as the band is named, is paving the way for a very modest but growing local rock scene. About 100 Afghans and foreigners gather around a makeshift stage with improvised lighting and a sputtering sound system.

Baby-faced singer and guitarist Suleman Qardash repeatedly screams, "I wanna run away" — the album’s title track — as drummer Mujtaba Habibi ramps up the beat.

While the lyrics resonate with an Afghan youth weary of suicide bombings and Taliban attacks, running away is the last thing on the band’s mind. The trio returned to Afghanistan after temporary exile in Iran, Uzbekistan and Pakistan during Taliban rule. - www.neatorama.com

This is music from Afghanistan, of a kind seldom heard before, but now produced by a trio of young men.

The band, Kabul Dreams, is made up of vocalist Sulaymon Qardash, bass player Siddique Ahmad and drummer Mujtaba Habibi, who claim to be the country's first and only rock and roll group.

"One year ago in December we decided to create this band and since it was happening in Kabul, we thought Kabul Dreams is a good name," says the 19-year-old vocalist, who bears a distinct resemblance to Liam Gallagher of the British band Oasis.

"It's a real dream to play indie rock music in Afghanistan."

Catching on fast

I caught up with the three-piece in Delhi, where they took part in the South Asian Bands Festival, which seeks to promote regional cultural ties.

Kabul Dreams vocalist Sulaymon Qardash.
Playing rock music is a risk, but we want to play in Afghanistan, we love our country
Sulaymon Qardash

Qardash - who likes indie fashion - grew up listening to Britpop bands like Radiohead and Travis.

With the political turmoil which gripped Afghanistan in the 1990s, all three members sought refuge in the neighbouring countries of Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Iran, where they were influenced by the Western music they heard.

"During the years of the Taliban, we were away and one positive thing for all of us was that we had an opportunity to learn music and have good facilities where we could practise," says Ahmad, who lived in Pakistan for 10 years and played with bands producing new music.

While original Afghan music is closely associated with traditional instruments like the rubab and dombura, indie rock is still a new genre - but it is catching on fast among Afghan youth.

Exposure

"Lots of young people are listening to rock music," says Ahmad.

"Because we don't have any rock music, they listen to international bands and music from neighbouring countries like India and Pakistan.

"We thought it was about time for Afghanistan to have its own rock band."

Afghan band Kabul Dreams
Kabul Dreams' members come from three different parts of the country

The group mixes Afghan rhythmic patterns with rock and roll music.

And what's more unusual, they sing in English.

"Since the three of us come from three different parts of Afghanistan and speak in three different languages - Pashto, Dari and Uzbek - we thought it would be a good idea to sing in English," says Ahmad.

Habibi, on drums, feels they will also get more international exposure with a language that is spoken widely.

But first things first: the band has yet to release an album.

So far the trio have only performed for a niche group of expats, non-governmental organisation workers and educated young Afghans familiar with the new genre.

But the continuing security threats in the country have placed restrictions on public gatherings and their performances.

And in the absence of an organised music industry, new bands like Kabul Dreams face difficulties in financing and producing their music.

"Other bands around the world have lots of opportunities and facilities, but we have to do everything ourselves," says Ahmad.

"We have a video shoot, we have to take care of everything. There is no production house that we could go to."

Provocative

The 27-year-old studies during the day and works with Habibi in a recording studio.

Qardash is a presenter with a private TV and radio station. Much of their salaries is invested in Kabul Dreams.


We formed this band to give a message to the Afghan youth that they can live together
Siddique Ahmad

Despite the challenges, the trio want to bring a musical revolution to the Islamic country, where playing rock music is considered too Western and provocative.

"Playing rock music is a risk but we want to play in Afghanistan," says Qardash, as he tunes his guitar.

"We love our country and we want to change our young generation, we want to make something new."

Ahmad points out that Kabul Dreams is truly multi-ethnic, consisting as it does of an Uzbek, Pashtun and Tajik.

"The reason we formed this band was to give a message to the Afghan youth, a message that they can live together," he says.

"Because Afghanistan has always been a country with different ethnic groups, different people who speak in different languages and even have different cultures, our message is that it is possible to be together because we have examples all over the world."

Ahmad feels the younger generation of Afghans has learned from the mistakes of war and is now indifferent to the issue of ethnicity.

"One Afghan," he reiterates. "That's it." - BBC

Le film récent “les chats persans” le prouve : dans certains coins du monde, faire du rock relève encore de la rébellion la plus audacieuse. Si le long-métrage montre la difficulté (et l’énergie) d’un groupe iranien, il en est de même en Afghanistan.

Au pays des talibans, Kabul Dreams s’est formé il y a un an et revendique le fait d’être “le premier groupe de rock afghan”, dans un pays où cette musique si occidentale et si révoltée est taboue. Si sa musique du groupe est du rock indé tout ce qu’il y a de plus classique, la jouer en Afghanistan (et la chanter en anglais) est un acte d’affirmation d’une jeunesse qui aspire à vivre comme toutes les jeunesses du monde, et avant tout sans guerre ni terrorisme.

(Kabul Dreams “can you fly”)

Révélatrice de cette nouvelle génération qui cherche à s’y exprimer : la rencontre des trois membres de Kabul Dreams. Ils viennent chacun de régions différentes du pays, issus d’ethnies différentes et parlant des langues différentes, sans que cela n’ait jamais été un problème pour eux. Preuve qu’une génération nouvelle pourra être capable de débarrasser l’Afghanistan de ses vieux démons.

“Les musiciens ne pourront s’épanouir ici que lorsque les jeunes prendront le pouvoir”, déclaraient-ils à un journal de New Delhi, où ils ont récemment pu jouer librement. - Lemonde

This is music from Afghanistan, of a kind seldom heard before, but now produced by a trio of young men.

The band, Kabul Dreams, is made up of vocalist Sulaymon Qardash, bass player Siddique Ahmad and drummer Mujtaba Habibi, who claim to be the country's first and only rock and roll group.

"One year ago in December we decided to create this band and since it was happening in Kabul, we thought Kabul Dreams is a good name," says the 19-year-old vocalist, who bears a distinct resemblance to Liam Gallagher of the British band Oasis.

"It's a real dream to play indie rock music in Afghanistan."

Catching on fast

I caught up with the three-piece in Delhi, where they took part in the South Asian Bands Festival, which seeks to promote regional cultural ties.

Kabul Dreams vocalist Sulaymon Qardash.
Playing rock music is a risk, but we want to play in Afghanistan, we love our country
Sulaymon Qardash

Qardash - who likes indie fashion - grew up listening to Britpop bands like Radiohead and Travis.

With the political turmoil which gripped Afghanistan in the 1990s, all three members sought refuge in the neighbouring countries of Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Iran, where they were influenced by the Western music they heard.

"During the years of the Taliban, we were away and one positive thing for all of us was that we had an opportunity to learn music and have good facilities where we could practise," says Ahmad, who lived in Pakistan for 10 years and played with bands producing new music.

While original Afghan music is closely associated with traditional instruments like the rubab and dombura, indie rock is still a new genre - but it is catching on fast among Afghan youth.

Exposure

"Lots of young people are listening to rock music," says Ahmad.

"Because we don't have any rock music, they listen to international bands and music from neighbouring countries like India and Pakistan.

"We thought it was about time for Afghanistan to have its own rock band."

Afghan band Kabul Dreams
Kabul Dreams' members come from three different parts of the country

The group mixes Afghan rhythmic patterns with rock and roll music.

And what's more unusual, they sing in English.

"Since the three of us come from three different parts of Afghanistan and speak in three different languages - Pashto, Dari and Uzbek - we thought it would be a good idea to sing in English," says Ahmad.

Habibi, on drums, feels they will also get more international exposure with a language that is spoken widely.

But first things first: the band has yet to release an album.

So far the trio have only performed for a niche group of expats, non-governmental organisation workers and educated young Afghans familiar with the new genre.

But the continuing security threats in the country have placed restrictions on public gatherings and their performances.

And in the absence of an organised music industry, new bands like Kabul Dreams face difficulties in financing and producing their music.

"Other bands around the world have lots of opportunities and facilities, but we have to do everything ourselves," says Ahmad.

"We have a video shoot, we have to take care of everything. There is no production house that we could go to."

Provocative

The 27-year-old studies during the day and works with Habibi in a recording studio.

Qardash is a presenter with a private TV and radio station. Much of their salaries is invested in Kabul Dreams.


We formed this band to give a message to the Afghan youth that they can live together
Siddique Ahmad

Despite the challenges, the trio want to bring a musical revolution to the Islamic country, where playing rock music is considered too Western and provocative.

"Playing rock music is a risk but we want to play in Afghanistan," says Qardash, as he tunes his guitar.

"We love our country and we want to change our young generation, we want to make something new."

Ahmad points out that Kabul Dreams is truly multi-ethnic, consisting as it does of an Uzbek, Pashtun and Tajik.

"The reason we formed this band was to give a message to the Afghan youth, a message that they can live together," he says.

"Because Afghanistan has always been a country with different ethnic groups, different people who speak in different languages and even have different cultures, our message is that it is possible to be together because we have examples all over the world."

Ahmad feels the younger generation of Afghans has learned from the mistakes of war and is now indifferent to the issue of ethnicity.

"One Afghan," he reiterates. "That's it." - BBC

[LEMAR – AFTAAB | afghanmagazine.com Random Header Image]
« The Mullah and The Activist: Two New Autobiographies
A Reponse to Cold War Thinking in Today’s Afghanistan »

Kabul Dreams – Rock ‘n’ Rolling from Kabul
Written by Roya Aziz on March 12th, 2010
Kabul Dreams

Sulyman Qardash (vocals/guitars), Siddique Ahmed (bass) and Mujtaba Habibi (drums) at the ruins of Darlaman Palace in Kabul

KABUL — Perhaps nothing best describes youth angst like a song entitled “I Wanna’ Run Away,” one of several original numbers performed by Kabul Dreams in a live concert held last week at the American University of Afghanistan. With no other lyrics except the title refrain, lead singer and guitarist Sulyman Qardash alternately sang and screamed into the mic a sentence that probably resonates even more so with Afghanistan’s youth.

Some people will tell you that Afghans don’t live in a context where they can act like “teenagers” and rebel against their families and society (‘Do they even want to?,’ some have wondered), but of course they certainly feel the same emotions. Who better to express it than a rock band? Standing there and watching the crowd of enthusiastic AUA students it struck me that the song was also apropos of so much more. When Qardash sings about running away you’re reminded that scores of young Afghans do run away to Europe or elsewhere every day in search of education or decent jobs.

A crowd of about 200 people cheered on Afghanistan’s newest rock band, which was established a year ago. Qardash’s mic was low and there was too much feedback from the amplifiers at times, but that didn’t ruin their performance or diminish their individual talents. Drummer Mujtaba Habibi showed off his skills in a couple sets with solo routines and bassist Siddique Ahmed, who’s sometimes called Sid, definitely held his own too. As for Qardash, the front man appeared to be having fun while impressing with his guitar riffs and vocals.

All three band members were born in Afghanistan, but lived in neighboring countries for several years. Habibi was in Iran, while Ahmed lived in Pakistan. Qardash grew up in Uzbekistan and was a relative late comer returning to Afghanistan in 2008. All three came from musical backgrounds, with Habibi for example playing in a band that was into pop rock and pop latin music. “When I came to Kabul, I was looking for people who were into music and I was introduced to Mujtaba through a friend,” Ahmed said in an interview with AfghanMagazine.

“We got together and started working in a small studio where we practiced on our own, and recorded and produced songs for some new artists.

“Sulyman was introduced to us through another friend by chance, and when we got to know each other, we thought, why not start a band, so the triangle was completed and Kabul Dreams was [born].” While the band’s logo is similar to the Dead Kennedys’, their sound is indie rock, inspired by British bands. Like “I Wanna Run Away,” the band’s other songs, with topics like love and failed romance, have bittersweet overtones.

“This next song is called Julie,” Ahmed said. “I think everyone has had a Julie in their lives.” The crowd roared their agreement.

It being Afghanistan, the girls sat demurely on the sidelines while a large group of young men stood center stage waving their hands, jumping and dancing.

“I’m part of the first mosh pit in Afghanistan,” one concert-goer was heard saying.

The university’s faculty acted as cheerleaders and chaperones, some dancing to the music and reminding you of how you used to giggle uncomfortably when your teachers tried to look cool at your high school dances, which is what the whole event felt like even though the crowd was a bit older. The band performed several covers, including an endearing rendition of “Wonderwall” by Oasis and “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” by Bob Dylan with Ahmed encouraging everyone to sing along to the latter. No one really did of course because Bollywood, not rock’n’roll, is on most people’s playlists still.

A few people around me, namely other Afghan-Americans, wondered how soon these guys would receive death threats from the Taliban. Whatever else, everything in Afghanistan is intensely political. It’s never easy to forget where you are, like a nice gym paid for by U.S. taxpayers at an institution that’s intended to educate an elite set. Beyond the post-9/11 black and white world view (the Taliban vs. rock’n’roll) I wondered if people regarded a band’s artistic dreams and ability to express itself as solemnly as let’s say poverty.

It’s too soon to claim that Kabul Dreams echoes the voice of a generation, but one thing that was clear that night is the energy of Afghanistan’s young people (68% the population is under the age of 25).

Maybe another Dylan classic would have said it better: Times they are a-changin’.

Farhad Azad contributed to this review.
- LEMAR AFTAB

A three-piece band from Kabul are about to release their first album, which they hope will bring a identity to war-ravaged Afghanistan.

Drummer Mujtaba Habibi, singer Sulaymon Qardash and bass guitarist Siddique Ahmad claim their group Kabul Dreams are the first rock band Afghanistan has produced.

Tahir Qadiry reports. - BBC

[LEMAR – AFTAAB | afghanmagazine.com Random Header Image]
« The Mullah and The Activist: Two New Autobiographies
A Reponse to Cold War Thinking in Today’s Afghanistan »

Kabul Dreams – Rock ‘n’ Rolling from Kabul
Written by Roya Aziz on March 12th, 2010
Kabul Dreams

Sulyman Qardash (vocals/guitars), Siddique Ahmed (bass) and Mujtaba Habibi (drums) at the ruins of Darlaman Palace in Kabul

KABUL — Perhaps nothing best describes youth angst like a song entitled “I Wanna’ Run Away,” one of several original numbers performed by Kabul Dreams in a live concert held last week at the American University of Afghanistan. With no other lyrics except the title refrain, lead singer and guitarist Sulyman Qardash alternately sang and screamed into the mic a sentence that probably resonates even more so with Afghanistan’s youth.

Some people will tell you that Afghans don’t live in a context where they can act like “teenagers” and rebel against their families and society (‘Do they even want to?,’ some have wondered), but of course they certainly feel the same emotions. Who better to express it than a rock band? Standing there and watching the crowd of enthusiastic AUA students it struck me that the song was also apropos of so much more. When Qardash sings about running away you’re reminded that scores of young Afghans do run away to Europe or elsewhere every day in search of education or decent jobs.

A crowd of about 200 people cheered on Afghanistan’s newest rock band, which was established a year ago. Qardash’s mic was low and there was too much feedback from the amplifiers at times, but that didn’t ruin their performance or diminish their individual talents. Drummer Mujtaba Habibi showed off his skills in a couple sets with solo routines and bassist Siddique Ahmed, who’s sometimes called Sid, definitely held his own too. As for Qardash, the front man appeared to be having fun while impressing with his guitar riffs and vocals.

All three band members were born in Afghanistan, but lived in neighboring countries for several years. Habibi was in Iran, while Ahmed lived in Pakistan. Qardash grew up in Uzbekistan and was a relative late comer returning to Afghanistan in 2008. All three came from musical backgrounds, with Habibi for example playing in a band that was into pop rock and pop latin music. “When I came to Kabul, I was looking for people who were into music and I was introduced to Mujtaba through a friend,” Ahmed said in an interview with AfghanMagazine.

“We got together and started working in a small studio where we practiced on our own, and recorded and produced songs for some new artists.

“Sulyman was introduced to us through another friend by chance, and when we got to know each other, we thought, why not start a band, so the triangle was completed and Kabul Dreams was [born].” While the band’s logo is similar to the Dead Kennedys’, their sound is indie rock, inspired by British bands. Like “I Wanna Run Away,” the band’s other songs, with topics like love and failed romance, have bittersweet overtones.

“This next song is called Julie,” Ahmed said. “I think everyone has had a Julie in their lives.” The crowd roared their agreement.

It being Afghanistan, the girls sat demurely on the sidelines while a large group of young men stood center stage waving their hands, jumping and dancing.

“I’m part of the first mosh pit in Afghanistan,” one concert-goer was heard saying.

The university’s faculty acted as cheerleaders and chaperones, some dancing to the music and reminding you of how you used to giggle uncomfortably when your teachers tried to look cool at your high school dances, which is what the whole event felt like even though the crowd was a bit older. The band performed several covers, including an endearing rendition of “Wonderwall” by Oasis and “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” by Bob Dylan with Ahmed encouraging everyone to sing along to the latter. No one really did of course because Bollywood, not rock’n’roll, is on most people’s playlists still.

A few people around me, namely other Afghan-Americans, wondered how soon these guys would receive death threats from the Taliban. Whatever else, everything in Afghanistan is intensely political. It’s never easy to forget where you are, like a nice gym paid for by U.S. taxpayers at an institution that’s intended to educate an elite set. Beyond the post-9/11 black and white world view (the Taliban vs. rock’n’roll) I wondered if people regarded a band’s artistic dreams and ability to express itself as solemnly as let’s say poverty.

It’s too soon to claim that Kabul Dreams echoes the voice of a generation, but one thing that was clear that night is the energy of Afghanistan’s young people (68% the population is under the age of 25).

Maybe another Dylan classic would have said it better: Times they are a-changin’.

Farhad Azad contributed to this review.
- LEMAR AFTAB

"The Dream Of All My Life" hat tröpfelnde Gitarrennotes, die sich in einem groovigen Anschlag zusammenfinden, einen schlängelnden Bass und eine Hook, die hängenbleibt. Soweit so unaufregend, wäre da nicht die Tatsache, das die das Lied spielende Band nicht aus einer Rock-Exportnation wie England, den USA oder Schweden stammt, sondern aus dem vom Krieg zerrissenen Afghanistan.

Afghanische Indierock-Pioniere
Sänger und Gitarrist Suliman Kardasch, Bassist Siddique Ahmed und Drummer Mudschtaba Habibi nennen sich Kabul Dreams und sind so etwas wie die erste Indierock-Band Afghanistans. Zusammen spielen sie nun seit einem Jahr und haben auch schon einige gemeinsame Auftritte in der Gitarrentasche. Die fanden meist in ausländischen Botschaften oder in von Ausländern besuchten Bars statt. Denn auch wenn Rockmusik in Afghanistan mittlerweile gottlob nicht mehr verboten ist (wie zu Zeiten der Taliban), bleibt ein Leben für die Rockmusik in ihrem Heimatland dennoch gefährlich.

Wie es wohl ist, in einem Land westliche Musik zu machen, bei der die Frauen live traditionell auf Stühlen sitzen bleiben müssen? Und wie sieht die weitere Karriereplanung der drei aus, wo es in Afghanistan doch keinerlei etablierte Musikindustie gibt? Der SPUTNIK Popkult war neugierig und hat Kabul Dreams interviewt. - Sputnik

Un uzbeko, un tagiko e un pashtun suonano indie rock e cantano in inglese sulle macerie dei palazzi bombardati a Kabul. Loro sono la prima rock band afgana, nata nel febbraio del 2009 e cresciuta tra guerre, trasferimenti all'estero e sogni. Uno di questi di chiama Kabul Dreams ed è il nome che i tre ragazzi hanno dato alla loro band per lanciare un appello al paese: "Vogliamo raccontare la voce e i sogni dei giovani afgani attraverso la nostra musica". Così, a ritmo di rock e indie rock, il cantante Sulieman Qardash, il bassista Siddique Ahmad e il batterista Mujtaba Habibi si sono fatti spazio in una cultura minata nella quale musiche come quelle suonate dai Kabul Dreams possono essere considerate ancora sconvenienti. E non solo. I tre, per parlare una sola lingua universalmente riconoscibile e per abbattere le barriere culturali ancora presenti nel loro paese, compongono e cantano in inglese. Altra scelta che li rende impopolari a tutta una vecchia guardia culturale ma grazie alla quale sono riusciti a ritagliarsi una nicchia nel panorama musicale internazionale.

Così prima arriva una partecipazione al festival di Nuova Delhi, poi un'intervista alla Bbc e lentamente il nome dei Kabul Dreams inizia a circolare più come metafora di liberazione che come nome di una rock band maschile. E che i tre afgani dai pantaloni skinny vivano ancora un certo isolamento dal punto di vista musicale lo confermano i numeri dei loro social network, diventati ormai cartine al tornasole per la scalata al successo di ogni realtà emergente che si rispetti. Su Facebook i loro fan sono fermi a circa 1500 e su MySpace i contatti sono solo 200 mentre Sound of Peace & Love, una delle canzoni più popolari del loro album (ancora in attesa di essere pubblicato), è stata ascoltata circa 3mila volte. Il tutto però in netta crescita grazie a un tam tam mediatico che sta portando i Kabul Dreams sulle pagine dei giornali internazionali. E anche la fortuna sui social network è destinata a migliorare.

Ma torniamo alla musica, quella suonata sulle macerie appunto, così come si vede nelle immagini promozionali che la band ha realizzato lo scorso gennaio. Difficile capire la provenienza dei tre ragazzi. Il look potrebbe essere lo stesso di una qualsiasi boy band europea o americana, così come il taglio di capelli, il gilet, le bretelle emo e gli occhialoni un po' hipster. La differenza la fanno quei giganteschi pezzi di cemento armato sui quali i Kabul Dreams poggiano le loro scarpe stringate a punta. E differenza c'è con il resto del panorama musicale giovanile. Basta ricordare che durante gli anni dei Taliban in Afghanistan erano bandite forme di apprendimento e fruizione musicale.

Ecco perché i tre ragazzi hanno lasciato il paese durante il governo talebano e hanno trascorso lunghi periodi a contatto con la cultura anglofona, soprattutto quella musicale. "Formare una band è sempre stato il sogno della mia vita - spiega Habibi nell'intervista alla Bbc - quando sono arrivato a Kabul e ho conosciuto gli altri ragazzi ho capito che tutti e tre avevamo lo stesso sogno". La loro musica è fatta di influenze brit-pop e di punk newyorkese senza dimenticare le radici della musica popolare afgana. Qualcuno si diverte a fare il gioco delle similitudini: Can you Fly potrebbe entrare nella set-list degli Strokes e Sound of Peace & Love fa pensare ai Coldplay.

Oggi le loro canzoni, che parlano di sogni, di cambiamenti e di amore, sono tra le più passate dalla radio indie locale. Ma fare rock in Afghanistan, parzialmente ancora sotto il controllo dei taliban, continua a essere non solo una scelta musicale. - Republica.it

"The Dream Of All My Life" hat tröpfelnde Gitarrennotes, die sich in einem groovigen Anschlag zusammenfinden, einen schlängelnden Bass und eine Hook, die hängenbleibt. Soweit so unaufregend, wäre da nicht die Tatsache, das die das Lied spielende Band nicht aus einer Rock-Exportnation wie England, den USA oder Schweden stammt, sondern aus dem vom Krieg zerrissenen Afghanistan.

Afghanische Indierock-Pioniere
Sänger und Gitarrist Suliman Kardasch, Bassist Siddique Ahmed und Drummer Mudschtaba Habibi nennen sich Kabul Dreams und sind so etwas wie die erste Indierock-Band Afghanistans. Zusammen spielen sie nun seit einem Jahr und haben auch schon einige gemeinsame Auftritte in der Gitarrentasche. Die fanden meist in ausländischen Botschaften oder in von Ausländern besuchten Bars statt. Denn auch wenn Rockmusik in Afghanistan mittlerweile gottlob nicht mehr verboten ist (wie zu Zeiten der Taliban), bleibt ein Leben für die Rockmusik in ihrem Heimatland dennoch gefährlich.

Wie es wohl ist, in einem Land westliche Musik zu machen, bei der die Frauen live traditionell auf Stühlen sitzen bleiben müssen? Und wie sieht die weitere Karriereplanung der drei aus, wo es in Afghanistan doch keinerlei etablierte Musikindustie gibt? Der SPUTNIK Popkult war neugierig und hat Kabul Dreams interviewt. - Sputnik

The soundproofing in the home-made studio is not quite up to the job of muffling the din of Kabul's traffic, as a baby-faced 20-year-old called Suleman Qardash blasts out the catchy lyrics of Crack in the Radio, soon to feature on the first album by Afghanistan's only rock band.

With a dedicated following of expats and early signs of an appetite among young Afghans for English-language indie rock, Kabul Dreams are starting to show promise after less than a year together.

The band's existence is something of an oddity in a city where the diplomatic mood is increasingly turning to a negotiated settlement with the fundamentalist armed opposition.

The "crack" in the radio is a reference to the woman who inspired the song, a kooky girl who works at Kabul Rock Radio. Both the music station and its female employees would have been unthinkable during Taliban control.

When not in the studio, Kabul Dreams vocalist Qardash does his "day job" – presenting the evening news on the country's Uzbek-language television station. He is interested in television only for the money it pays, which he puts towards building up the band.

"We are aiming for big things," says Siddique Ahmed, the bass player. "A record label, an international tour." "And a Grammy!" interjects Qardash, sitting in a studio office filled with bits of equipment donated by some Danes.

Earlier thisLast month Kabul Dreams performed in the capital's only nightclub to an audience of bopping aid workers and one or two diplomats who had ignored their embassies' intelligence reports warning of a supposedly imminent insurgent attack on the venue (it didn't happen).

For those UK diplomats who dare not sneak outside the wire, the British embassy bar has also hosted the band.

But there are signs that the group are also starting to gain popularity among young Afghans, 500 of whom turned out to see them play at the American university even though "none of them had a clue about rock music", says Ahmed. They performed a mixture of their own songs and covers, including a particularly good version of Oasis's Wonderwall.

Their own compositions are recorded in English, though Qardash is not a strong speaker of the language, despite his love of the music of Oasis, Radiohead and the Beatles. Ahmed says English feels right for an ethnically mixed band comprising a Tajik, a Pashtun and an Uzbek.

"If we sing in Dari, why not Pashtu? If we do both why not in Uzbek, where Suleman comes from?"

Given their mixed background, it is only fitting that the group should be named after Afghanistan's most ethnically mixed city. Not only could such a band only happen in Kabul; it is no coincidence that the three band members did not grow up under the Taliban, but in the relatively liberal environments of neighbouring countries.

Qardash fell in love with British indie bands he discovered on the internet while living in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Ahmed grew up in Islamabad and Mujtaba Habibi, the drummer, lived in Mashhad in Iran until he returned to Afghanistan in 2002.

They made a small inroad into India when they played to an audience of a thousand at the South Asia Bands Festival in Delhi and in Jaipur.

It is an inauspicious time for western-inspired youth culture to be getting off the ground in Kabul. On Tuesday, as the band were recording their debut album, a delegation representing the notorious warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar had its second face-to-face meeting in a week with Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, who has presided over a boom in relatively liberal media in the past nine years.

Hekmatyar is thought to be masterminding attacks against Nato and Afghan government forces from a hideout in Pakistan.

In the 1990s, when he held sway in various areas, Hekmatyar banned the playing of music in shops, restaurants and cars and forced businesses to close down during prayer time.

Ahmed says the low profile of the young band has protected it so far, although it has always expected resistance to "something different that's never been done before". And he is worried about the future.

"They are talking about pulling out foreign troops. Nobody likes troops from another country in their country, but everybody knows that if the troops leave, the [Afghan factions] will start fighting each other again because that's their nature, that's what they do." - The Guardian

The soundproofing in the home-made studio is not quite up to the job of muffling the din of Kabul's traffic, as a baby-faced 20-year-old called Suleman Qardash blasts out the catchy lyrics of Crack in the Radio, soon to feature on the first album by Afghanistan's only rock band.

With a dedicated following of expats and early signs of an appetite among young Afghans for English-language indie rock, Kabul Dreams are starting to show promise after less than a year together.

The band's existence is something of an oddity in a city where the diplomatic mood is increasingly turning to a negotiated settlement with the fundamentalist armed opposition.

The "crack" in the radio is a reference to the woman who inspired the song, a kooky girl who works at Kabul Rock Radio. Both the music station and its female employees would have been unthinkable during Taliban control.

When not in the studio, Kabul Dreams vocalist Qardash does his "day job" – presenting the evening news on the country's Uzbek-language television station. He is interested in television only for the money it pays, which he puts towards building up the band.

"We are aiming for big things," says Siddique Ahmed, the bass player. "A record label, an international tour." "And a Grammy!" interjects Qardash, sitting in a studio office filled with bits of equipment donated by some Danes.

Earlier thisLast month Kabul Dreams performed in the capital's only nightclub to an audience of bopping aid workers and one or two diplomats who had ignored their embassies' intelligence reports warning of a supposedly imminent insurgent attack on the venue (it didn't happen).

For those UK diplomats who dare not sneak outside the wire, the British embassy bar has also hosted the band.

But there are signs that the group are also starting to gain popularity among young Afghans, 500 of whom turned out to see them play at the American university even though "none of them had a clue about rock music", says Ahmed. They performed a mixture of their own songs and covers, including a particularly good version of Oasis's Wonderwall.

Their own compositions are recorded in English, though Qardash is not a strong speaker of the language, despite his love of the music of Oasis, Radiohead and the Beatles. Ahmed says English feels right for an ethnically mixed band comprising a Tajik, a Pashtun and an Uzbek.

"If we sing in Dari, why not Pashtu? If we do both why not in Uzbek, where Suleman comes from?"

Given their mixed background, it is only fitting that the group should be named after Afghanistan's most ethnically mixed city. Not only could such a band only happen in Kabul; it is no coincidence that the three band members did not grow up under the Taliban, but in the relatively liberal environments of neighbouring countries.

Qardash fell in love with British indie bands he discovered on the internet while living in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Ahmed grew up in Islamabad and Mujtaba Habibi, the drummer, lived in Mashhad in Iran until he returned to Afghanistan in 2002.

They made a small inroad into India when they played to an audience of a thousand at the South Asia Bands Festival in Delhi and in Jaipur.

It is an inauspicious time for western-inspired youth culture to be getting off the ground in Kabul. On Tuesday, as the band were recording their debut album, a delegation representing the notorious warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar had its second face-to-face meeting in a week with Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, who has presided over a boom in relatively liberal media in the past nine years.

Hekmatyar is thought to be masterminding attacks against Nato and Afghan government forces from a hideout in Pakistan.

In the 1990s, when he held sway in various areas, Hekmatyar banned the playing of music in shops, restaurants and cars and forced businesses to close down during prayer time.

Ahmed says the low profile of the young band has protected it so far, although it has always expected resistance to "something different that's never been done before". And he is worried about the future.

"They are talking about pulling out foreign troops. Nobody likes troops from another country in their country, but everybody knows that if the troops leave, the [Afghan factions] will start fighting each other again because that's their nature, that's what they do." - The Guardian

Kabul Dreams: Rockin’ in the partly free world
Posted: March 30, 2010, 8:15 AM by Mark Medley
Music, Kabul Dreams

The singer, in skinny jeans and a week-old beard, leans in close to the microphone. “You don’t love me, you don’t love me,” he sings, and as he continues the chant his voice grows from a steady call to a guttural scream. The drummer, in designer frames and a “Free Tibet” t-shirt, attacks his instrument with abandon, while the bassist anchors his band mates, unnerved. Some of the young men in the audience jump up and down, throwing their arms in the air in celebration. It’s a scene played out in dingy bars and rock clubs across the country, except this isn’t Montreal of Vancouver, but a war-torn country thousands of miles away.

Kabul Dreams bills itself as the first rock band in Afghanistan. Playing a tried-and-true blend of jangly power-pop - complete with “la la” choruses and catchy melodies - the trio, which formed last February, is already making a name for itself away from home.

The band is composed of Uzbek singer/guitarist Sulieman Qardash, Pashtun bass player Siddique Ahmad, and Persian drummer Mujtaba Habibi. Their MySpace profile had only been viewed 6,296 times as of Monday, but their profile is growing.

“It’s been my life dream to set-up a band,” said Habibi in a recent interview with BBC News. “When I came to Kabul and met these guys, we realized we all wanted the same thing.”

The demos they’ve posted online suggest influences ranging from New York punk to Brit-pop to traditional Afghan music. Can You Fly (video below) wouldn’t be out of place on a Strokes set-list, while Sound of Peace & Love is a stadium-ready rocker in the vein of Coldplay, complete with soaring choruses and a crunching guitar solo. This Night is an acoustic, violin-infused slow-burner, while Take Me Away is Top 40 pop that would be at home on Much Music.

“We sing in English to show the world that Afghanistan is not just known as a war-torn country,” says Qardash during the same BBC interview.

They hope their music helps shed that reputation. They were forced to flee the country during the Taliban’s reign, which was not exactly musician-friendly, but all three have returned and now call Kabul home. Still, with parts of Afghanistan still under Taliban control, the band risks more than just bad reviews.

“You’ve got to be pretty careful about rocking out in Afghanistan, that’s for sure,” says Richard Poplak, author of The Sheikh’s Batmobile: In Pursuit of American Pop Culture in the Muslim World, who travelled to Afghanistan while researching the book. “That’s not to say there wasn’t a music scene, and there wasn’t music being played on the radio — there absolutely was. Heavy rock, I did not hear a lot of in Afghanistan.”

Kabul Dreams will soon release their debut album. - network.nationalpost.com

Khaled Hosseini's searingly tender novel,The Kite Runner,familiarised millions with the Afghanistan of the late '90s,a country in the clutch of religious extremists.Under the Taliban,the self-proclaimed guardians of Islamic morals,music was condemned as sinful,old classical instruments broken,cassettes nailed to posts as a warning to those who dared disobey.Bombed out and war-ravaged,a new USsponsored Afghanistan is slowly taking shape today.Not all is well: orphans swarm the streets;the government is corrupt to its core and poverty,stark.But there are also signs of redemption.The new Afghanistan is being born not only to the sound of drones but also to the sound of drums and guitars.Music may not yet be a stairway to heaven,but it is no longer the highway to hell.

What do you get when you cross one of the world's most violent zones with rock 'n' roll? Death metal,right? Wrong.Kabul Dreams defines itself as Afghanistan's first rock band,with a rapidly expanding international fan base.Unlike the Baghdad-based band Acrassicauda that used Metallica-like metal to express frustration and rage before the civil war forced it to disband and flee,Kabul's fab three have a stoic,Norman Vincent Peale-like approach: positive thinking.Significantly,their lyrics,while engorged with the conventional teenage dirt bag subjects - running away from home,love and girls - make no mention of the subjects that have become synonymous with Afghanistan-war and death.In their original,I wanna run away,the crooner alternately sings and screams the same four words over and over again,a simple statement that most Afghan youth seem to agree with.

The band was forged in 2007 on the strength of a friendship between three young men who decided to be the voice of a generation in the only way they knew how - through rock.Not surprisingly,none of them lived in Afghanistan during the Taliban regime;all three had to seek refuge with their slightly more liberal neighbours.

Sulyman Qardash,who at 20,is the baby of the band,lived in Uzbekistan during the terror years,and studied guitar there.When on stage,he has a distinctive Pete Doherty look about him,and writes most of the lyrics he sings.He idolises bands like Gorillaz and Oasis,whose influence is obvious in his music.Bass guitarist Siddique Ahmed,who is 28,lived and studied in Islamabad during the insurgency,and references a whole range of bands from the Beatles to Metallica.Drummer Mujtaba Habibi,24,lived and learned music in Iran,and is a fan of progressive rock bands like Dream Theater.

Their eclectic range of experiences and sonic influences have turned the three Afghan youth into quiet rebels.They sing in English,not only because they come from different parts of Afghanistan and speak different languages (Dari,Pashto and Uzbek),but because they believe English is the language of protest."Linguistic and ethnic differences have been misused for personal and political interests in the past,so we consider it a sign of protest not to sing in any of our languages," Ahmed,who is the unofficial spokesman of the band,told TOI-Crest."Also,we don't want to limit our audience to Afghanistan."

Ambition is one thing the band does not lack.Ahmed says they want to represent Afghanistan at international festivals,get a record label contract,go on a world tour,"get Grammy awards and play at Glastonbury".The audacity of hope,one may call it,but the band is hell-bent on showing the world a different picture of Afghanistan.They hate the fact that the international media focuses only on the 'bad things'."We want to show the world that there are people living here,especially youngsters,who love music and have the right to live like the youth elsewhere," says Ahmed.

But the dream seems to be some distance away.For now,more mundane tasks beckon.Qardash is a local TV anchor,Habibi runs a home studio that records young Afghan singers,and Siddique is a student of social science at the American University of Afghanistan,where Kabul Dreams played last month to a princely audience of 200 (remember,this is rock music in Afghanistan).The three also work at Kabul Rock Radio,a station devoted to rock.And the response is what keeps them going.Their first official video,Can you fly,debuted early this month,and its YouTube clip had people from around the world praising their talent in particular and Afghanistan in general.

Interestingly,many older Afghans are familiar with rock 'n' roll.When Kabul Dreams played at an embassy in Kabul,Ahmed says "an old man in his 60s came up and asked us to play covers from the Beatles,Stones and Queen,music 'from our times'".Yet,the band is thankful that rock's novelty in Afghanistan means that most people don't know what it is,because "if they did,we would have faced bigger problems".Ahmed,Qardash and Habibi are lucky to come from educated families where their parents don't mind their choice of career - even if the odd relative does make a nasty comment or two."Afghan so - The times of India

Kabul Dreams: Rockin’ in the partly free world
Posted: March 30, 2010, 8:15 AM by Mark Medley
Music, Kabul Dreams

The singer, in skinny jeans and a week-old beard, leans in close to the microphone. “You don’t love me, you don’t love me,” he sings, and as he continues the chant his voice grows from a steady call to a guttural scream. The drummer, in designer frames and a “Free Tibet” t-shirt, attacks his instrument with abandon, while the bassist anchors his band mates, unnerved. Some of the young men in the audience jump up and down, throwing their arms in the air in celebration. It’s a scene played out in dingy bars and rock clubs across the country, except this isn’t Montreal of Vancouver, but a war-torn country thousands of miles away.

Kabul Dreams bills itself as the first rock band in Afghanistan. Playing a tried-and-true blend of jangly power-pop - complete with “la la” choruses and catchy melodies - the trio, which formed last February, is already making a name for itself away from home.

The band is composed of Uzbek singer/guitarist Sulieman Qardash, Pashtun bass player Siddique Ahmad, and Persian drummer Mujtaba Habibi. Their MySpace profile had only been viewed 6,296 times as of Monday, but their profile is growing.

“It’s been my life dream to set-up a band,” said Habibi in a recent interview with BBC News. “When I came to Kabul and met these guys, we realized we all wanted the same thing.”

The demos they’ve posted online suggest influences ranging from New York punk to Brit-pop to traditional Afghan music. Can You Fly (video below) wouldn’t be out of place on a Strokes set-list, while Sound of Peace & Love is a stadium-ready rocker in the vein of Coldplay, complete with soaring choruses and a crunching guitar solo. This Night is an acoustic, violin-infused slow-burner, while Take Me Away is Top 40 pop that would be at home on Much Music.

“We sing in English to show the world that Afghanistan is not just known as a war-torn country,” says Qardash during the same BBC interview.

They hope their music helps shed that reputation. They were forced to flee the country during the Taliban’s reign, which was not exactly musician-friendly, but all three have returned and now call Kabul home. Still, with parts of Afghanistan still under Taliban control, the band risks more than just bad reviews.

“You’ve got to be pretty careful about rocking out in Afghanistan, that’s for sure,” says Richard Poplak, author of The Sheikh’s Batmobile: In Pursuit of American Pop Culture in the Muslim World, who travelled to Afghanistan while researching the book. “That’s not to say there wasn’t a music scene, and there wasn’t music being played on the radio — there absolutely was. Heavy rock, I did not hear a lot of in Afghanistan.”

Kabul Dreams will soon release their debut album. - network.nationalpost.com