Girl Power
“We found musicians in Pakistan to be not only welcoming but very encouraging” – Haniya Aslam
Q: When did your musical journey begin?
A: We started working on our album Chup! in November 2006, and it was released in July 2008. For as long as we can remember, there has always been music around us, so it’s very hard to say exactly when we began. We’ve been singing together since we were five and started composing together in college, which was around six to seven years ago. We wrote songs for fun and people liked them. Before we knew it, we had enough material to record an album.
Q: What influences have inspired you and shaped your music?
A: While writing songs for the first album, we never consciously decided to go with any particular genre. We feel that everything we’ve heard since childhood has had an influence on the kind of songs we eventually came up with. This includes Pakistani folk, pop and classical, acoustic folk from the ’60s, classic rock, jazz and blues.
Q: Most of the singers in Pakistan are men. How was the experience of trying to make it in a man’s world?
A: The fact that most musicians today are men is a consequence of the Zia regime in the ’80s. We found musicians in Pakistan to be not only welcoming but very encouraging. The fact that we were women was never an issue among fellow musicians. The real challenge in this industry, not only for women but for all musicians, is to find creative ways of tapping into and sustaining a financially viable career.
Q: Is the Pakistani music industry accepting of or hostile towards newcomers?
A: It’s a mixed bag of encouragement and unnecessary obstacles. But it is a growing industry and we are excited at the challenges, as well as the opportunities it presents.
Q: Do you find any discrimination in the attitudes towards male and female singers in the industry?
A: Not in our experience. However, there is a definite need for better artist management, which includes better marketing and PR for musicians of both genders.
Q: What is the scope of Pakistani pop music in the international market?
A: We have seen how successfully Pakistani music has been received regionally, especially in India. It is a pity that more Pakistani artists have not been promoted more aggressively worldwide, especially now in such a globalised world. The potential is great but it needs to be fully explored.
Q: What is your take on Pakistani singers, women in particular?
A: We are very proud of and inspired by Pakistani music. There have been a multitude of women role models for us in the Pakistani music industry, from Abida Parveen and Roshan Ara Begum to Farida Khanum and Nazia Hasan.
Q: Why is it that only male singers are invited to India to sing playback for Bollywood movies?
A: That is not true. Nazia Hasan aside, Reshma has been recording in India and her songs have been adapted by Bollywood composers for years. More recently, Annie has been successfully featured on a Bollywood soundtrack.
Q: Is the Pakistani music scene flexible enough to give singers the space to experiment or are the artists forced to produce only work that sells?
A: The atmosphere is very open and experimental. And Pakistani musicians are skilled enough, and willing to work with different genres and sounds. However, the people who are promoting music have a limited understanding of the work they are selling. This, to a large extent, discourages musicians from being as creative as they would like to be.
Q: Is there a project that you are currently working on?
A: Yes, many. We hope to start shooting our next video very soon. Other than that there are concerts, collaborative projects and some international tours in the pipeline.
Q: Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
A: Making music!
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