Written by: Farheen Abdullah
Posted on: December 29, 2020 | 
Daniyal (centre) jamming with band members Reda (left) and Dara (Right)
Recently in Pakistan, there have been attempts to rehabilitate or reintroduce folk music to the public. One common misconception about folk music is that it is seen as a genre, easily comparable to others like pop or rock music. Most of us do not realize is that folk music has existed long before genres, and incorporates sounds from all influences.
Daniyal Ahmed remains one of the few people who continue to explore folk music in Pakistan, by choosing a Bansuri (flute) as his companion. A musician and professor of anthropology, Daniyal caught the attention of the public with his passionate musical performances on social media. Reflecting on his journey in the last few years, Daniyal spoke to Youlin about his journey, the musical scene in Pakistan and the importance of folk music.
I think my musical inclinations go further back than my memory. I was always fascinated by music and as a teenager, I eventually became part of an underground band with some friends, performing small gigs here and there in Karachi. Although I had a small Bansuri lying in my cupboard for years, I only started playing it in 2013, and was very fortunate to become a disciple of the legendary Ustad Salamat Hussain from whom I continue to learn the instrument, along with ‘Shastriya Sangeet’, which is an older name for South Asian ‘classical’ music. I also learn a lot from my colleagues, Ustad Sajid Hussain and Ustad Khurshid Hussain and recently started taking lessons from Kartikeya Vashist, a promising young flutist from Delhi.
Ustad Salamat Hussain
I just love the sound of the Bansuri and how it emulates the human voice. I am enchanted by its history, its mythology, its portability, its simplicity, and its ability to communicate in any language and style. These are just some of the many things that make this instrument such an important part of my life.
Taranum was formed when I was studying and living in Heidelberg, Germany. It came together with the Moroccan vocalist and percussionist, Reda Essamlali. We even lived together in the same house for almost two years, listening to and learning from one another’s musical inheritances, whilst sharing a love for jazz and other contemporary genres. We started performing mostly as a duo at venues like the Karlstarbahnof in Heidelberg and the ZPKM in Freiburg, right to the end of 2018, when I moved back to Karachi.
Playing the Chinese Hulusi flute at Karlstarbahnof Heidelberg (PC Basmah Zaidi)
I met the phenomenal Tabla player Waqas Gulab, in Karachi, who has now completed our trio. We have been busy forging a sound of our own, and composing and practicing music together. We did have a summer tour in Europe lined up, which was unfortunately cancelled because of COVID-19. But hopefully, we will go play concerts again and continue to work on our debut album, which will feature guest musicians too.
Although I have been playing music for 15 years, I feel like my serious musical journey has only just begun. It’s been a wild ride with a lot of changing genres, instruments, and styles. But now I feel like I’m training the way I wish I had trained as a child. I feel grateful for having so many wonderful teachers in my life today, some of whom are musicians that I am fortunate to play with.
I think the time that I played music in Germany was very special, specifically because of the vibrancy of the music scene in Europe, and the number of opportunities that were there to play in new and different environments. In Karachi, I also really enjoy playing with the band “Towers”, with whom I performed at this year’s Lahore Music Meet and True Brew Records in Lahore. As musicians, they give me the freedom to play the Bansuri in different styles, and to improvise live on their songs. This year, I also had the honor of accompanying the world-famous Alghoza (a traditional Sindhi woodwind instrument) master from Sindh, Akbar Khamiso Khan, for his performance at the Lahooti Melo, and that is definitely the memory of a lifetime.
Ready to perform at the Lahore Music Meet 2020 with Towers
KCR can often be a confusing thing for a lot of people, because it isn’t anything like a traditional radio at all. It’s a community initiative spearheaded by Jahanzeb Safder Khawaja and me, bringing together different artists from various disciplines such as visual/digital arts/sculpture/dance/ design, to co-produce experimental shows which are then live-streamed for free. Each show is an attempt to push creative boundaries in the city, and put together something unlikely to happen in most commercial initiatives.
Rather than making predictions, I would like to use this question to reflect on what the term ‘folk music’ means. If we understand it to mean as ‘music of the people’, then all music would be folk music. But I think the term has come to denote ‘traditional’ music, particularly looked at from the lens of an outsider. If one was to delve further into the term ‘folk music’, we would find that it has been a category that has historically marginalized poor people and oral traditions in contrast to the ‘classical’. Many people don’t know that what they call ‘folk’ music is the actual source of many different genres of music, including the ‘classical’ itself. If we then think of folk music in those terms, passed down from generation to generation, then it is obvious that this kind of music will certainly live forever.
Daniyal Ahmed (right) sharing the stage with Akbar Khamiso Khan at the Lahooti Melo 2020
Those interested can follow Daniyal on Instagram, like Taraunum’s Facebook page. Those who wish to tune into Karachi Community Radio, can check out their YouTube Page or follow them on Instagram.
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