LAHORE-“JasimHaider& The Pindi boys” is one of the vulnerable bands competing in Pepsi Battle of Bands who received utmost appreciation from the audience. The band is depicting a very enthusiastic music approach for the public and purposive of bringing a massive social change. The band accomplished many musical milestones in a very short period of time. “Pindi boys” the august single is the insight behind the name of band. Jasim Haider, the man behind the single began his music journey at a very young age and established the band. 

As your name suggests you are ‘Pindi Boys’, apart from this stereotypical term, what do you think makes your band stand out?

Pindi Boys is not just a term or a band name. It’s a complete concept. On a serious note, it manifests the professed goodness of our youth. It’s neither about a place, caste, creed, language or a city-centric approach. It is rather the cherished decency of the lively youth all over Pakistan. As for the Pindi Boys band, we have three major distinctions that make us stand out. Firstly, our wavelength, as our drummer Eiman Hussain is my younger brother, Mohsin Raza Zaidi lives next door and Adeel Haroon and I are friends since we were toddlers. Secondly, we respect and encourage our mutual opinions. All four of us are always on the same page. Lastly, we play with our hearts and souls and enjoy every second of it. Once we are on stage, the sunglasses are up, characters come to life, we passionately entertain our audience and never look back.

What is the insight behind the genres you choose; Hip, Hop & Blue?

My inspirational gamut is huge! From Eric Clapton to Vital Signs, I’ve been an avid listener since I was a child. Collecting cassettes, CDs of artistes and making mix tapes was a hobby. My compositions have all the flavours. When Pindi Boys get together for jam sessions, Adeel, Mohsin and Eiman add in different flavours sourcing from their music tastes and it evolves into something completely new, a genre that we like to call the ‘Pindi Blues’. You’ll find shades of pop, reggae, blues, jazz and rock in the same album. In the not so distant future, we are going to experiment with electronic music as well.

Besides music, is there another passion you have? What motivates you to pursue music as career?

I majored in Film Production and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Media Sciences from SZABIST, Karachi. I always had a gifted eye for the camera and it instantly became my forte. After graduating, I worked as a Producer/Director at MTV Pakistan under the purview of Ghazanfar Ali. When I’m not in the jam room, I’m engrossed in production, photography and editing. My choice of career was harshly criticized but I refused to give up on my dreams. However, music has always been my first love. I’m very fortunate to learn from Mr. Wahab Rasheed, who also taught Amir Zaki. Nature reciprocates sincerity and without getting discouraged I never gave up. I always knew in my heart that music is what I’m born for. In 2012, I handed my resignation letter to the patrons at a firm where I worked as a media executive to leave my job and only pursue music.

We have heard about your company DP Shop. What was behind perceiving such idea?

DP Shop stands for both ‘Director of Photography’ and ‘Display Picture’ shop. I believe that uploading flashy display pictures on social media is a form of addiction. As a photographer, I wanted to cash that concept. With DP shop, I was able to establish a launchpad for both my music and production. After resigning from my job I devoted all my time and energy into DP Shop and worked with esteemed companies and organizations like Microsoft, UN Women and World Bank. DP Shop also became the top choice for wedding photography in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. I not only paid my bills but also financed my music.

You write all of your own music; where do you draw inspiration from when you write songs and what’s your favourite part about the process?

I grew up learning from my grandfather Prof. M.H Hamdani who was a famous educator and writer. I write exactly what I feel. Therefore, my songs have unique topics. Most of my writing/singing inspiration comes from Vital Signs and Shoaib Mansoor. Less is more so I try not to use fancy or flowery words and keep them simple but meaningful. I love the entire process of giving life to a song once the entire structure is knitted. Our lead guitarist Adeel brings in a head-banging riff or lick, Mohsin brings the fat bass-lines and Eiman blends in with his groove. From writing, structuring, recording to listening to the final mix. Every part of the process has its own sense of excitement. Once the song is out, it has its own life. It belongs to the world.

Tell us about you recent album “Pindi Blues” and its first released song “Geet”?

Nowadays, the music industry thrives on singles. I have been releasing my singles since 2011 and it used to take me four months to release a song along with it’s music video. I used to write singles on a daily basis. However, I did not achieve the sound I was looking for before Pindi Boys came to life. I set up my own studio at home and once we discovered our genre, we decided to produce an album called ‘Pindi Blues’. We were preparing the release of our album till Pepsi Battle of the Bands knocked on our doors. We paused the album, however, we will release it this year. “Geet” is one of the 7 tracks from our album, it is an ode to the Pakistani music industry and the long lost album culture. It is not only a song but a very nostalgic trip down memory lane.

Do you ever find yourself unable to express your creativity to the fullest? What kinds of things restrain you?

I was a really shy kid in school. I was bullied on my aloofness and physical features. As a result, it boosted my confidence. I made my weakness my own strength and felt no shame in expressing myself in any way I wanted to. It made me fearless. Once you accept who you are, nothing in the world can stop you from expressing  yourself. However, when it comes to song writing, whatever I think, I can translate it into creation. Sometimes I find a gap between my thought and the created output so I have to halt and review and in iteration I close that gap.

I used to be less expressive. Not any more. Once you accept who you are and where you are from, there is nothing that can hold you back from expressing yourself to the fullest. I want to help others find the light and spread positivity. This makes me fearless.

Are there musicians and songwriters you seek inspiration from?

There are a lot of them. I will mention the ones at the top of my list:

1. Shoaib Mansoor (A complete showman)

2. Vital Signs (again part of Shoaib Mansoor’s projects)

3. R.D Barman (his simple yet catchy compositions inspire me)

4. Kishore Kumar and M. Rafi

5. John Mayer

6. Stevie Ray Vaugn

7. Eric Clapton

8. Javed Akhtar

9. Stevie Wonder

10. George Micheal

What goals and plan do you hope to achieve in coming future?

My first goal is to release our album ‘Pindi Blues’. So you will be seeing a lot of music from the Pindi Boys in the future. I am looking forward to expressing myself in the best way possible and bring a massive social change through our music.