Introduce the band.
The band was formed in early 2009. It comprises of Khalid Ahmed (vocals), Kashif Iqbal (guitars), Sachin Banandur (drums), and Niel Simon (bass). The band’s name, Parvaaz, means “flight” in Urdu.
How did your band come to be?
Kashif and I have known each other since childhood. We were lucky to find each other here in Bangalore after a gap of about two years. Both of us have common influences when it comes to music. It wasn’t long before we started making our own songs. Sometime late in 2009, we added Niel on bass. It took a year before we found the right drummer and finally, with Sachin’s inclusion, we were a complete outfit and started jamming.
What are your influences?
It’s a wide variety of music and musicians. Some of the artists and bands we are influenced and inspired by are: Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Junoon, Fleet Foxes, Deep Purple, Coldplay, U2, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the likes.
How do you go about composing your music?
Well, it’s different from time to time. Sometimes a song is born just out of jamming with the rest of the guys. Other times it’s an idea or a lyric or some divine inspiration that makes the basic body of the song and we then go on adding colour, hooks, etc. Most of our songs, though, grow as we continue to play them live.
The Indian underground scene is dominated by English bands, so what is it like being a Hindi band in the midst of all this?
I don’t see any english band dominating the scene. Some of them are really brilliant, like Soulmate, Thermal and a Quarter, Parikrama. However there are equally great bands singing in regional languages. Avial is a prime example of that and, of course, the inspirational Indian Ocean. We just write what comes from our hearts and what we really want to do. I think language doesn’t matter for music lovers. We even have songs in Kashmiri and yet people like them. It’s the sound and soul of the music which is important.
Do you do music full time? If not then, how do you manage work and music?
We do music full time. It’s the only work we know.
What is your philosophy on music?
All four of us have different philosophies about life but when it comes to music we find common ground. So music is something that brings people together. That’s our basic philosophy.
Send out a message to your fans and to other bands.
To our fans, I want to thank them for following us and I promise there is a lot we have in store for them. Other bands have been making good music and I hope they keep up the same trend and we all can together bring about a revolutionary change in the music industry.
Where else can we find you online?
Facebook | Bandcamp | Soundcloud
