Typically when one thinks of Pakistani music they think about classical, sufi, ghazal, folk and qawwalli, not metal. Here to break the mold is metal band, Takatak, a name that fits them very well. Takatak means, a spicy meat dish prepared on a griddle by banging special utensils to create vibrations giving the meat a unique and flavorful taste. Just like the dish, Takatak, the band, is unique and flavorful.
The band consists of six members, Yusuf Ramay(drums), Daud Ramay(drums), Zain Peerzada(guitar), Ibrahim Imdad(guitar), Isa Najam(bass) and Shahzore Bhatty (vocals). After being a band for two and half years, Takatak released two singles, Breakdown and Walls They Collapse. However, their big break came recently. Acclaimed record producer, guitarist and songwriter Mekaal Hasan recorded their third single at Digital Fidelity Studios, which is set to release in early July.
One of Takatak’s greatest challenges has been cultivating an audience since only a fraction of Pakistan’s population listens to and accepts metal. Due to this, the band relies heavily on social media to get their music heard. According to bass guitarist, Isa Najam and guitarist Zain Peerzada;
“There isn’t really a local market for our kind of music, only a select few listen to it. That’s why we’ve always relied on the internet as a medium to showcase our music globally. We advertise all our events and other promotional campaigns through Facebook. Without a Facebook page, a band cannot even think of getting noticed. Now, it’s so easy to share our music with people, as it only takes a few clicks to share it. We also get all our covers and live performances out through our YouTube channel and our Reverbnation page and hopefully in the near future we’ll be selling our album on iTunes and other websites.”
Their presence in social media proved helpful when Mekaal Hasan reached out to them. This was the first time that a metal band in Pakistan recorded and produced at a commercial level.
One of the reasons Takatak has also been able to build a fan base so quickly is because they find their inspiration from various current and relevant sources. It can be anything from a new movie, to a painting, or to the different music currently out there. They do not force inspiration, it just comes to them. Lyrically, a lot of their influence comes from the country conditions of Pakistan. Being Pakistani, they constantly are surrounded by the troubles the country faces. Takatak has learned to translate their anger for Pakistan’s current socio political and economic situation into their art, which makes for the brutal sound of their music.
Although Takatak is still an up and coming band, with the help of social media they have been able to reach a large scope of people. People have posted about them on places such as, Reddit, WordsPress and UrbanDictionary. As well as catching the attention of The Guardian and Pakistan Today. In the next five years, Takatak hopes to continue making music together and get their music heard by as many people as possible.
By Noor Ramay on tigerstartups.com
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