Qirdaar was formed when their vocalist decided to come back to his home town to start a platform to help budding musicians so that they did not have to leave for bigger cities to fulfil their dreams. Since their inception, the band has released a 7-track self-titled debut album and the band’s music majorly talks about the need for self reflection. We got in touch with the band to explore their journey and more. Read the full interview below.
1. What is Qirdaar’s story? And How did the four of you come together?
Qirdaar’s story is simple; as a band it was formed out of the passion to create music that gave purpose to the life of each member of the band. Through individual and societal struggles they managed to pursue what they believed in and spoke their perspective through music, which also reflects in their self titled album- Qirdaar.
Pranit, the band’s vocalist, came back from Mumbai to his hometown Amravati, with a vision of creating a platform for other artists through his plan to establish a record label in his hometown as artists are no longer in need to move to big cities like Mumbai to make music, so any artist can have the freedom to create good quality music without the budgetary concerns and can release music as well. So while working on his dream, he met Sarmad, the band’s drummer, and they had a few jams together. Meanwhile Pranat, the band’s lead guitarist, wanted to record a song which he had composed in his final year of college. He approached Sarmad in search of a studio and a music producer that will do justice to the song and Sarmad introduced him to Pranit. It was then, when Pranit and Pranat got into the studio to record that song; they built up a chemistry as fellow musicians. Their passion and longing for original music and original content matched. The song that they were recording, later ended up in the band’s debut album and is called Parindey. Going ahead three of them started spending time more often to make music or doing some local gigs. Sarmad and Akshay, the band’s bassist, were friends and fellow musicians for a long time. So, when the band was looking out for a bass player, Sarmad introduced Akshay. They have a different sync of their own with each other musically, which helps the band in laying down the rhythm section at its best. And after a few jams together, four of them built a good rapport with each other and the music they were making as a band, was also something that appealed to them. In a nutshell Sarmad met Pranit through a mutual friend and along the way introduced Pranat and Akshay. The convenience of being into the same city, and the shared passion got them to jam together. That was an underlying, unofficial beginning of Qirdaar.
2) You released your self titled album last year which talks about self reflection and societal norms that humans are forced to conform to. What has been a particular moment or realization in your life that has made you self reflect and how do you deal with certain societal structures that you feel are not meant to be?
Our album is more about self reflection and less about targeting any particular norms of society. At the same time we do not deny that when one reflects one takes into consideration one’s character and beliefs, sometimes in the backdrop of society and sometimes in its own inhibitions. We solely leave it to the audience to make their own connections.
Well naming a particular moment can not justify the realisation we had. We think, the kind of experience we got from same kind of situations, varied a lot and made us dive deep into thoughts every single time as a never ending process and pushing our conscious mind to see through those situations eventually forced us to self reflect every step of the way because our actions will have consequences and you start taking responsibility of everything you affect when you truly self reflect.
3) What is your music making and recording process like?
Someone has said ideas are like seeds; when they first come up you often don’t know what they are going to grow into. So, whenever any of the band’s member comes up with an idea, be it a guitar riff, a vocal melody, a bass line, a beat pattern or some lyrics, they instantly share it with each other. If they are together at that moment, they start working on it right then, making a rough structure for them to work on it later. The band never forces themselves to complete any song at that very moment or in that very jam session. If they feel stuck somewhere, they leave it as it is. They comeback and water the seed with a fresh mindset or a new point of view. As far as recording is concerned, the band records all their songs under Strumming Back Records and Entertainment PVT LTD, Amravati. This studio is owned by the band’s vocalist, Pranit. The band recorded their whole debut album from scratch there itself, with the help of Pranit’s old friend Onkar Tarkase, who was also the music producer on their debut album.
4) What is your favorite memory of the entire writing and recording process of your record?
The band believes that it is extremely hard to come up with a particular favorite memory from the writing and recording process, as there are countless of them!
But to name them, the band cherishes the moment when they officially jammed for the first time, as Qirdaar. In that first jam, they worked on the song Zindagi from their debut album. Pranit had the lyrics of first verse, basic melody and chord progression ready, the band then worked on it, jammed on it for hours in their jam room. To breathe some air they decided to go out but yet couldn’t resist from carrying their guitars with them so that they can work on that. The band was so much into it that it enjoyed being into that zone in a similar way for days. It is said right, the first always a different kind of high!
5) What has been the most challenging aspect of being an independent artist since the inception of the band in 2017?
To answer the question, most challenging aspect of the band would be to able to find their own sound. A certain vibe, a certain voice. Such that, after hearing it, the band themselves could say “This is Qirdaar”. But however, the band doesn’t see it as a challenge or any sort of struggle. Finding their own vibe and sound is an ultimate goal of the band and the band has embarked on this journey. Yes, they are facing certain obstacles, but they don’t see them as any challenge. Such obstacles only contribute to the learning of the band. So yes, as long as this quest for their vibe and sound doesn’t end, it will be a challenge, so to say.
6) One Indian independent artist that you would love to collaborate with?
The band knows there are so many independent artists out there that they cherish and would like to work with. But to name one, the band would love to collaborate with Kaushiki Chakraborty.
