KARACHI: For years, violence kept most of Pakistan’s aspiring young musicians from following their dreams, whether the threat of Taliban militant attacks or gang wars in Karachi.

Now, as law enforcement crackdowns slowly improve the security situation across the nation, some musicians are getting help from two-year-old start-up Patari [a music streaming and production company].

Both the start-up and the musicians’ efforts are helping to carve out a new creative space for young people in the country, where those below 30 make up 60 per cent of a population of almost 200 million.

Karachi rap ensemble Lyari Underground was once afraid of putting its music on Facebook, deterred by episodes of bloody gang warfare.

But the same violence has inspired many of the group’s songs, taking cues from the music of US rapper Tupac Shakur, said its founder, who uses the name AnXiously.

“In a ghetto, rap exists naturally,” he added. “If there is no rap, then it is not a ghetto. Rap is a product of the reality and these surroundings”.

Band members said when they first heard the music of Tupac, although half a world away, it reminded them of their own experiences living with violence and poverty.

Lyari remains one of Karachi’s poorest areas and financial limitations often force its young people to forego creative pursuits.

From streaming to production

Launched in February 2015, Patari now boasts a library of 40,000 songs and podcasts, and subscribers exceed half a million, said Chief Executive Khalid Bajwa.

Bajwa declined to discuss revenue, apart from saying the company was “self-sustaining”, mostly by producing events for established firms such as Pepsi, Unilever and Khaadi.

The company’s latest initiative, Tabeer [Dream Come True], pairs established artists with unknown musicians to produce six songs and music videos, completed on a budget of $15,000 and features on its app.

Patari exploited the fact that Pakistan’s tiny pop music scene comprised a couple of “corporate branded shows” featuring the same artists every year, but excluded amateur musicians.

“We saw inefficiency in the market, where you have all this talent, all this interest, but there is nothing bridging the two,” said Chief Operating Officer Ahmer Naqvi.

The first two videos, featuring Abid Brohi, a rapper from Sibi in Balochistan, and 13-year-old tea vendor Jahangir Saleem, have drawn more than a million views, matching Coke Studio.

Another video features Nazar Gill, from Islamabad, who was one of the cleaning staff at an apartment building where Naqvi once lived.

One day, Gill knocked on Naqvi’s door and asked to sing a song he had written.

“I sang my song for him and he liked it,” recalled Gill, a member of the country’s tiny Christian minority that prides itself on its musical tradition.

“He said, Nazar, I will not let your voice go to waste”.

Out of the Taliban’s show

Tabeer’s sole female artist, Malala Gul, grew to love music as a child, by listening to an aunt who sang songs in Pashto.

Times were tough when she began singing five years ago, in a city roiled by Taliban-led violence.

“Conditions in Peshawar were very bad, but thank God the situation is much better now,” she said.

Gul stressed the importance of music, rebuffing those who call it un-Islamic.

“This is a big world, and some people will say one thing, others will say another, but anyone who understands and values music will go very far”.

Published in Dawn February 9th, 2017