It was a cold night in Islamabad when I found myself at a multi-artist performance, the likes of which I never imagined would take place in Pakistan anytime soon.

The last time I had been to a performance at this scale was probably about a decade ago, when major rock outfits such as Noori, Aaroh, Call The Band, Entity Paradigm, Fuzon, Mekaal Hasan Band, Ali Azmat and his group, among many others, performed nearly every weekend in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and other cities in Pakistan.

It all came to a slow and painful halt when the security situation in the country deteriorated and holding public events became more and more difficult. Sponsors started diverting their funds to more ‘indoor’ events, such as fashion shows and the live music scene fizzled out.

Since then, many attempts have been made to push-start the live music scene in Pakistan but they resulted in no more than one-off events.

Looking back, when it comes to the EDM (electronic dance music) scene, those attempts translated into a series of high profile events, such as the American DJ and producer Diplo bringing his Mad Decent Block Party to Islamabad in 2018, along with Valentino Khan, Chrome Sparks and local favourites Talal Qureshi and Adil Omar.

Diplo had previously performed in Islamabad around 2016 as well. Since then, other major foreign acts, such as Danny Avila, Clean Bandit and FDVM (from France, at the Lahooti Melo among other events) have also performed in Pakistan.

A recent live music event in Islamabad reminds one of the good old days of music concerts in Pakistan and of the importance of making spaces safe for women

In 2021, an EDM concert was held in the mountains in the tourist-heavy town of Hunza, called Hunzaverse. It boasted a line-up of major acts in the Pakistani EDM scene, including the likes of Talal Qureshi, Maanu and Rizzy Rozeo among others. While the event itself was quite successful, a foreign blogger now based in Pakistan stoked controversy online by claiming that the event promoted obscenity and drugs in Pakistan.

The social media uproar following those claims led to an alleged ban on music concerts in Hunza. This was an extreme move and one that would further stifle the performing arts in the region.

Two years and several other EDM performances — some which ended up with security breaches very reminiscent of the kind that happened during Junoon concerts in the 90s, except this time they were documented on peoples’ mobile phones — later, organisers have decided to try again. And this time they’re not taking any chances.

The gig I’m at is an EDM concert as well. It’s one of two events, the other will be in Lahore the next day. The venue is The Rock Musicarium close to Rawal lake. There is extensive security at the venue that you have to pass through, ensuring the venue is well-protected and guarded against any potential gate crashing. Since people are expected to spend hours at the venue, one half is dedicated to caterers who have set up food stalls, there are clean bathrooms etc. It’s well thought out.

It’s one of two events organised by Islamabad-based Black Box Sounds and Karachi-based Catwalk Events helmed by Freiha Altaf — who’s been organising concerts since the early days of the Vital Signs back in the early 1990s. She’s one person who’s seen it all over the years — the birth, rise and fall of the live music scene in Pakistan, over and over and over again.

Tonight, she’s both excited, nervous and proud. Her son, Turhan James, a DJ and music producer, is one of the acts performing. I’ve seen Turhan perform before — when he was just starting out in the EDM scene in Pakistan right before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in Pakistan. At the time, I personally felt his sensibility was a bit too Western for Pakistani audiences that do like a little tarrka of desi rhythms, beats and sounds in their dance music.

He’s grown and evolved as a music producer since then. When he performs, one can see that his set has evolved. He definitely has incorporated desi sounds but, in addition, he amped up his visuals as well. Perhaps carrying forward the festive mood from December 2022, his visuals featured an angry, almost naughty Father Christmas, who danced, ran and showed attitude while Turhan played his set.

I personally regretted not being able to attend the Lahore show. Turhan brought along Maanu to sing for their song Saaye. Blal Bloch also performed their hit single TYNA in the Lahore show as well. In Islamabad, he featured Haider Mustehsan (brother of Momina Mustehsan) in his performance. Turhan and Haider are due to release a track together.

Natasha Humera Ejaz also performed a set. She came out in a light pink suit, danced and sang along to songs she’s previously performed on her Boiler Room set back in June 2022, including her latest release, a fun playful number called Khud Se Baatein. Her performance was packed by a dizzying variety of pre-recorded sounds and vocal samples, beautifully packed into her performance, which she playfully tweaked with her bilingual verses.

Although she doesn’t fall under the ambit of EDM, the night also featured Shae Gill. Her incredibly popular collaboration with Ali Sethi on Pasoori in last season’s Coke Studio has hit a whopping 500 million views on YouTube. Her vocal tone matches that of another Pakistani favourite, Quratulain Baloch, and she performed one of her most popular numbers as well — the soundtrack of Humsafar. For Pasoori, Shae came off the stage into the crowd, driving them wild. It was heartwarming to see how she connected with audiences.

From India, Khyber 13 performed as well. His was another set that was very popular with the crowd. He performed his popular singles Mode and Wadanga Kudma, among others, all of which remix and redo desi songs. He would jump on stage and almost directed the crowd to keep moving.

The headlining act of the night, Krewella, came on closer to midnight. Pakistani-American sisters Jahan Yousaf and Yasmine Yousaf came on stage with a massive Pakistani flag and proudly announced, “Hum Pakistan hain!” [We are Pakistan!].

They came with a pop of energy diving straight into a high-powered performance, bouncing off to their music behind the mixing and turntables on stage. On occasion, Yasmine Yousaf would climb on to the table to rile the crowd up more. Their happiness and joy at performing in Pakistan was heartwarming to see.

Some of the other positive takeaways from the event that makes one hopeful about the re-emerging live music scene in Pakistan is that while this was a mixed event, everyone seemed comfortable. I had the advantage of standing on top of one of two ‘backstage’ platforms and really observing the crowd.

Most people came in mixed groups and roughly stuck to them. Everyone minded their own business and kept to themselves while enjoying the performance. There was a whole cordoned-off section in front of the stage for women sans men, which was also a great safe space to be in.

Overall, this event, roughly dubbed ‘Krewella in Pakistan’, felt safe to attend as a woman, where most public spaces in the country are dominated by men. Of all events, this one should have been safe for women, considering the headlining act is composed of women themselves. More of this, please.

Published in Dawn, ICON, January 29th, 2023