Xarb: the perfect blend of qawwali and rock

Drawing inspiration from western blues and classic rock to eastern qawwali and modern indie, Pakistani band Xarb hopes to change the world with its music.

“We wanted to make music that reflected the ideas of our generation,” vocalist Qamar Parvi said while speaking to Geo.tv.

“We felt something was missing in our local music in terms of content that connected with the audience,” he added.

Hailing from Lahore, the band was formed in 2009 and comprises lead vocalist Qamar Parvi, Shayan Ahmed on bass and Shahzeb Khan on drums. Guitarists Saud Anver and Mobeen Zahid are also part of the band.

Making music an outlet

Guitarists Zahid and Anver, who went to university together, have known each other since 2005.

However, it was not until 2008 when Parvi joined the band that Xarb was born. 

The Xarb that we know today, however, came about in 2011 after Khan and Ahmed, who were initially part of another band ‘Mothership’, joined the three.

Known for Parvi's impeccable vocals and the ability to mix qawwali with rock, the band is fast becoming a fan favourite.

“Making music together was an outlet for us,” said Khan.

“With the climate so socially and politically charged, we felt music was the way to go about,” added Anver.

"We listen to everything we can, it helps us grow in terms of exposure to more forms of music and it also helps us find our own areas of strength and weaknesses," the guitarist said.

Straight from the heart

Despite facing difficulties to describe their music, the band has never tried to restrict itself to a particular genre.

“The five of us are inspired by different genres of music and I believe that is one of our greatest strengths,” Zahid said.

“We try to be as honest as we can through our music, and what you hear from us is always straight from the heart,” he added.

A lasting impression

Having performed covers of songs such as Madam Noor Jehan’s ‘Jhanjhar Di Pawan’, Shahnaz Begum’s ‘Sohni Dharti’, Nayyara Noor’s ‘Watan Ki Matti’, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s ‘Dam Mast Qalandar’ as well as an original called ‘Deewar’ during the ongoing Pepsi Battle of the Bands, the band hopes to leave a lasting impression with their music.

“We have always wanted to be a group of musicians that left a lasting impression on people,” said Parvi.

“We try to write our songs ourselves, but Mobeen and Qamar are the songwriters in the band,” said Khan. “But there is input from everyone in the band.”

“Our content is important to us so we try to make sure that we all connect with it collectively on some level,” the drummer added.

Future plans

Speaking about their future plans, the band said they have an album in the making and will soon be hitting the stage to play live shows.

Regarding being in a band, they believe that making compromises is necessary.

“Differences occur and compromises are important and we have been together long enough to realise that," Anver said.

Never giving up is another factor, he added.

“Being in a band stems from being in a community. From our experience, we can say it’s not about being good individual musicians but it is more about what you can achieve collectively,” said Parvi.

“For new musicians, all I can say is, make music, organise your own gigs no matter how small they might be and just stay together as a community. There’s nothing better than that.”

— This article is part of Geo.tv’s series spotlighting Pakistani bands and musicians.