The dream run of Kashmir – II

Karachi-based music group Kashmir, that counts Bilal Ali (vocalist), Vais Khan (lead guitarist), Usman Siddiqui (bass guitarist), Shane J. Anthoney (drummer), Zair Zaki (rhythm guitarist), and Ali Raza (keyboardist) as members, is having a terrific run. But this successful run is a result of the national profile they gained by appearing and ultimately winning Pepsi Battle of the Bands last year. Of the six, four members (Bilal Ali, Shane J. Anthoney, Zair Zaki and and Ali Raza) sat down with Instep for an extensive interview.In this concluding part of their interview, the four discuss the process of shooting music videos, playing a packed (and critically acclaimed) show at the Lahore Music Meet 2018 and whether they have Bollywood dreams. “It all looks fabulous,” begins Bilal about what it takes to shoot a music video, “but a lot of hard work is put into it.”Adds Shane: “A five-minute video is a full day’s work. But it’s fun and it’s a good experience.”For Kashmir, who have been playing live shows since winning Pepsi, their favourite gig so far has been the Lahore Music Meet performance they put up earlier this year. “We were a little scared about the show,” recalls Bilal. “It was unbelievable for us. A year before we had gone to LMM to perform – that was a big show for us even then because we were invited to play and that to us was amazing. The day we got there, my throat was sore, I couldn’t even speak and we were not happy with our performance. This year, the pressure was double because we disappointed last time around. We didn’t expect people to be there but it was a sea of people this year. People were singing along, it was really special.”As for why their debut album, Khwab, contained three songs, with three more scheduled to release and therefore felt more like an EP and not a full-fledged record is because of the changing times, maintains Kashmir. “People don’t have the budget to make a music video for every song. Our plan is to make videos for our songs because videos have a wider reach,” responds Ali Raza. “We have shot one video for ‘Khwab’. We’re scheduled to shoot another one next week. We also plan to record more songs and follow them up with music videos.”“People listen to one song and move on. But if two weeks later, we release another track, it will register,” adds Bilal. The four agree that though they listen to different kinds of music, Radiohead and Pink Floyd remain a favourite. An introverted bunch, they maintain that Bollywood is not something they’re pursuing relentlessly. “If an offer comes, we’ll decide it jointly,” says Shane. “But right now, we’re not striving for it.”“You know how Strings did ‘Zinda Hoon’ (for Zinda) – that was amazing,” says Bilal, admitting that Strings managed to do it while retaining their sound and not compromising on it. Adds Shane: “If we get an opportunity like that, we’re open to it. We’re not closed to the idea.”As for Pepsi, the group is happy with the brand. “It’s a hierarchy and there’s another company that goes through us so the processes take time but they’ve fulfilled all their promises and even more so we’re happy,” says Bilal, on a parting note.

from The News International - Instep Today https://ift.tt/2LdLs0d