After being brought over to the UK to perform at a special night at London’s prestigious Meltdown Festival, taqwacore bands from the USA The Kominas and Al Thawra undertook a short tour that took in half a dozen dates in England and Scotland. I travelled over to Preston to meet them, take pictures and hear them play live.
The Kominas are one of the main bands featured in the documentary film Taqwacore: The Birth Of Punk Islam. Hailing from Boston, three of the members are of Pakistani origin and the fourth from India. On this tour they were joined by Elester Richard, a black American trumpet player who adds a different dimension to their sound.
The bands that make up this taqwacore scene are regularly described as Islamic punk. On their latest CD “Escape To Blackout Beach”, The Kominas sound more power pop than punk (although their first effort “Wild Nights In Guantanamo Bay” is quite a bit heavier). Live, they play much faster and with more energy and watching them reminds me of my misspent youth where I was seeing punk bands every week.
It is indeed refreshing to see such a band made up predominantly of Asian members playing this kind of music, but I do wonder that this Islamic punk tag is really quite a misnomer. Despite featuring lyrics that originate from their own cultural traditions (e.g. Pakistani songs and Bollywood influences), there is little, if anything, that is Islamic about the group apart from the fact that most were born Muslim.
I welcome seeing artists, musicians, poets and other people doing things that show the diversity of the faith and challenge peoples’ narrow stereotypes about what being Muslim actually is. I don’t actually see any contradiction between islam and punk, in fact we need a more dynamic cultural tradition and one that is not afraid to challenge fossilised, orthodox thinking. However, I see little in The Kominas that really promotes such a positive Islamic perspective, particularly if you see some of the scenes in the Taqwacore documentary that are frankly embarrassing to watch at times.
However, to be fair to the band, it probably was not them who came up with these labels that are commonly used to define this scene and it would be better if these bands were judged on their musical ability rather than any label that actually tells us less about these bands than anything else.
Watching the taqwacore documentary you do see some interesting scenes where serious discussions take place that are common amongst Muslims e.g. whether music is haram (forbidden) and the role of Sufism in the faith. These parts are the most engaging and warrant further investigation. But too often there are quite insulting terms used (“queer alims", "drunk imams", “punk ayatollahs”, “masochistic muftis”, "junkie sheikhs", "retarded mullahs" and "guttermouth maulanas") that actually make some of the protagonists appear quite childish, as if punk is about just pissing people off, rather than suggesting positive alternative solutions to how we live our lives.
It is when these scenes are viewed that I wonder how much impact some of these bands will really have amongst Muslims. I think it is healthy to be critical about certain issues and there needs to be constructive discussion. But I can’t help feeling that some the actions witnessed fall too much into the area of disrespect and will actually alienate many Muslims who could be inspired and galvanised by these groups.
Having said that, The Kominas are quite young and therefore I don’t want any reader of this blog to view them harshly on the critical words I have written above. They are all very friendly and very intelligent people who are clearly very dedicated to their craft. All are competent musicians who put on a really, fiery show and will often keep playing till they run out of songs. I firmly believe that when the taqwacore or Islamic punk label stops being used, then it will be to this band’s much greater advantage. As it is, it feels like they may end up in a corner and possibly left behind when something else fashionable comes along. And The Kominas don’t deserve such a fate as they do indeed offer a breath of fresh air.
Some of the band’s songs are quite outstanding. “Sharia Law In The USA” is a modern punk classic that works perfectly with its’ tongue firmly in it’s cheek. Other songs like “Silver” and the title track on the latest CD are actually much deeper than at first glance and feature Christian themes. “High Noon” is a big favourite of mine, with a strong arrangement and melodies. Closer listening reveals a variety of influences that makes their music appear a little bit different from others out there.
The Preston gig was quite surreal as it was held in a country pub where middle-class diners were sitting in the garden enjoying the warm sunshine. I didn’t actually see any punks in attendance but then again I wasn’t sure what to expect in a town that I had never visited before. Despite the small venue not being that well-attended, the concert was great and thoroughly enjoyable. I really had a good time speaking to The Kominas and they happily agreed to my suggestion for a photoshoot, of which the pictures appear below.
Overall, I think that The Kominas are a really interesting band and I wish them all the best in their career. In a fairly stagnant music business they do offer something a bit different and it will be fascinating to see their progression in the months and years to come.
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