From an obscure band that played at the Freedom Jam music festival organised by the seaside here several years ago to a headline act on the contemporary indie rock scene, the rise and rise of Parvaaz has been quite phenomenal.
This weekend, the Bengaluru-based quartet revisits the city with a distinct overhang of French culture, for the Bacardi NH7 Weekender Express, an annual, multi-city music festival presented by Only Much Louder (OML Entertainment), slated for November 19 at The Ashok Beach Resort.
Khalid Ahamed (vocals/guitar) and Kashif Iqbal, on lead guitar, who founded the band, hail from Srinagar, which explains the Kashmiri verse merging into the Urdu and Hindi lyrics in their songs. Sachin Banandur on drums and Fidel D’Souza on the bass guitar complete the quartet of musicians, all of whom have made Bengaluru home.
Parvaaz is playing in the city as part of a homecoming tour to reconnect with fans after being away from the circuit for two months or so.
The band was on the road in Canada — their first international exposure — playing a series of 14 gigs over a month, and had taken a month’s break before that.
The band’s cross-genre music has elements of the blues, progressive rock and psychedelic rock, while the songwriting is an admixture of Urdu, Hindi and Kashmiri.
One would assume that decoding the Parvaaz brand of rock music with a Sufi soul might demand more than a passing familiarity with the verse, which is just as powerful as the soul-baring singing of its lead vocalist. But, the band’s success among diverse audiences counterposes that assumption.
“The enthusing response, especially from the non-Indians who came to the Canadian gigs and enjoyed the show, is a reaffirmation of the ability of music to rise above language barriers,” says Khalid in a telephone chat.
Audience connect
“It could also be that our songs connect with the audiences at many levels,” suggests Sachin Banandur, about the band’s success in striking a chord with audiences not necessarily attuned with the lyrical aspects of songs like.
“It took a while to create a signature sound for the band,” said Khalid, about the early days when Parvaaz was striving to forge its identity.
It is no coincidence that the Parvaaz soundscape, especially the ambient textures, evokes glimpses of rock legends like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. For instance, the intro that sets up Beparwah or Gul Gulshan, is based on verse by Kashmiri poet Mahjoor.
“Like most other contemporary teenagers, we too were hooked on Floyd and Zeppelin… traces of those rock influences definitely colour our music,” says Sachin.
But the band, which started out at a time when most peers were content dishing out covers, has established its identity over the years — to many fans, they are one of the most exciting bands in recent times.
Parvaaz launched Behosh as a debut EP in 2012 and followed it up with a crowd-funded eight-track album Baran (Persian for rain) two years later. Apart from Gul Gulshan, Khufiya Dastaan and Dil Kush are among the other concert staples.
For the artists, the process of creating music is anything but linear. Sometimes, the genesis of a song can be the words of an inspiring poet, a no holds barred jam session, or Khalid humming a tune.
The band is pretty strong-willed about not staying in the same place in a musical sense.
Parvaaz expects to launch a new album early in the summer of 2018. “It will carry our distinct sound but we hope the songs offer a new experience,” says Khalid.
