Kazak: The Toronto-Based South Asian Music Sensation
By Nazia Ashraf

Translated from Urdu, Kazak simply means “bandits.” But to Kazak’s five band members, their band name translates into much more: their soul, a nation, a voice, an army, and a mission.

Meet Fayed Ahmed, Faisal Ansari, Adil Ansari, Haider Siddiqui and Aneet Gupta – Mississauga residents and high school friends turned into Toronto’s latest South Asian rock sensation Kazak.

The band will be playing their music – a mixture of South Asian grooves, splashes of rock and alternative music, tinged with global politics and anti-racism messages – at Masala! Mehndi! Masti! festival taking place at the Harbourfront Centre from August 4 to 8. The annual festival brings a splash of South Asia to Toronto, and showcases emerging and established performers as they display their unique artistic styles, while keeping the South Asian tradition alive.

Kazak’s music contains compelling and poetic lyrics, rhythmic beats and vibrations, and a forceful emotional charge. It is no wonder that alongside other South-Asian bands such as Junoon and Strings, Kazak is Toronto’s most popular. With packed local concerts and performances, fans from every age group and all areas and ethnicities, as well as a new album on its way, Kazak has made its mark on the global South Asian music scene.

Their music is influenced by both the east and the west – from iconic 70’s Bollywood composer R.D. Burman to Pavarotti, and Madras Mozart A.R. Rahman (who composed the music to the Broadway musical Bombay Dreams) to Led Zeppelin.

The band members first met in high school, and ever since, Kazak has stuck together, negotiating challenges with hard work. “The outcome has been phenomenal,” says Gupta.
“We’ve been through the tough times of getting this project off the ground” he says.

“With the help of our music, Web site, media, and fans, Kazak is now out in the open”.

When listening to Kazak’s addictive and powerful songs such as “Zanjeer,” “Jogia” and “Jaane Jaan,” it’s obvious that their music is unique, and you cannot help bopping your head and dancing along to their tunes. Forceful sounds, upbeat rhythms, dedicated and passionate lyrics, mixed with alternative and rock music, and a spoonful of a South Asian zing makes Kazak’s sound distinctive.

“When writing a song, we think of Kazak and how the song will reflect back on us, as well as the message we’re trying to send out to our fans,” says Ahmed. “Kazak creates songs filled with the emotions, feelings, and reactions that the South Asian community is too afraid to admit or talk about. We get e-mails from fans who say that a song we’ve written reflects exactly how they feel, and they’re happy to know they are not the only ones who feel or think this way”.

With “100 per cent hard work and dedication,” Kazak is currently working on their debut album. It will display their signature music and some new head banging tunes.

“The album is coming along at a slow and steady pace. We’re not going to rush it just for the sake of recording an album,” says Gupta.

The album will be a breath of fresh air in the current South Asian music scene rife with remixing vintage Bollywood hits tunes, he adds.

“People are tired and bored with the same old remixes, same old style of singing, and same old rhymes,” says Gupta.

“That’s what’s stopping the pop industry back home from doing well these days. The listeners are still there and have matured over the years; we have to give them respect and give them quality work to enjoy”.

For their debut album, Kazak is working with producer and sound engineer Aamer Hassan. Hassan, who has worked Pakistani legends such as Junoon, Junaid Jamshed and Awaz, approached Kazak.

“Aamer involves himself in the band to extract the vision of the band,” says Ahmed.

“He’s not there just to record an album. That’s why (Hassan) doesn’t sign more than 20 projects a year. He only picks up the projects to which he can give his 110 per cent.”

Kazak’s not just about making groovy tunes. Their feeling towards issues such as racism and global politics are part of their music, says Ahmed.

“Our views on racism are very raw,” he says. “You can hear it in our music. Racism damages communities by limiting the contributions of its members and disrupts peace between groups of people. It destroys peoples’ self-confidence, preventing them from achieving their full potential. Kazak is doing its part by raising awareness on this issue. Racism is a disease that has infected many generations. But it’s now our time to change this as we are brought up in a society where we interact and understand more about each other.”

Kazak integrates such messages in their music, with hopes of spreading them around the globe, representing hundreds of other people.

Besides leaving their imprint on Toronto’s South Asian music scene, Kazak hopes it’ll lead the way for other South Asians to follow. For the moment the band is working on recording their debut album, shooting accompanying videos and generating enough exposure to allow them to tour the globe.

As for their performance at Masala! Mehndi! Masti! on August 4th, Kazak says, “Get ready.”

“We have some great music coming up for all of you, so buckle up as we are about to take off. Woohoo!”

For more info on Kazak, check out their Web site.

For detailed info on Masala! Mehndi! Masti!, check out M!M!M! 2004.

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