About the curator: Azeem Hamid is a visual designer, researcher, entrepreneur and art and design educator.
He is also the co-founder and creative director/CEO at Rearts (Pakistan and Europe) which is a
technologically progressive arts management company. The vision of the company is to build an arts ecosystem where artists can sustain themselves. Rearts provides various services for both artists/corporations which are inclusive of artist representation, design services, public
relations/media solutions, event management, curation services and legal representation .Where the european end is more focused on digital solutions working with artists and corporations, the pakistan end functions as a premium indie record label company. Rearts sub-brands include: rearts for artists, Rearts Records and Remix (Events & Festivals). Under the label of Rearts records, the company has a Roster of 50+ Musicians from across genres, providing them with the services of distribution/digital sales and music curation.
Our Spotify playlist for Compass music features mainly Indie artists. The idea was to create a feel good playlist highlighting our women thus empowering them.
In an effort to promote underrated yet creative talent, the playlist also includes the band mystical shayari which is currently the only queer band in Pakistan. Similarly, some of the most talented female artists from our label are featured belonging to various genre feels within indie. This also includes an 18 year old singer/songwriter by the name Aqdas Asif producing her own music. Other than that, some upcoming promising artists like psydfx and Uzair. are also featured with groovy beats such as Kahaan and second wave by the said artists respectively.
Some of the more seasoned indie, indie-electronic, indie-pop artists in the playlist include names like Shorbanoor, Ali Alvi, Zoha Zuberi. Natasha Humera Ejaz with her electronica moniker Stupid Happiness Theory can also be heard in the list. Hailing from Faisalabad, Southasian melodic enterprise are sharing the spotlight with others with their true fusion music, cultural music blended with electronic beats. Regardless of their genres and year of experience, each artist is refined and has made a mark in the industry.
Who's featuring?
UZAIR. - Second Wave
Uzair Khan more commonly known as Uzair. is a singer/songwriter based out of Karachi and Lahore. He describes himself as a middle aged passive-aggressive dichotomous electropop musician. His writings are inspired by everyday themes of urban living in Pakistan. Uzair’s songs carry a funky upbeat vibe usually in contrast to the lyrics.
MYSTICAL SHAYARI - Ascending
Mystical Shayari is a dance-punk/pop musical act, movement, and practice in malamati muhabbat and gender jihad; serving love to you first from Pakistan. The band comprises two members: Casey and Zulfiqar, who came together after experimenting with different groups and performing at drag shows, only to find their interests and mission to liberate through music aligned with each other. The two have made a cult following with their anthems and expressive outfits.
RUTABA YAKUB - Typical
Born in Saudi Arabia, Rutaba Yaqoob moved to Lahore, Pakistan in 2010. There she began singing publicly and was discovered by music producer Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan (also known as Xulfi) who offered her to join his series Nescafe Basement as a backing vocalist. Rutaba got her limelight for a cover version of Coldplay's "The Scientist ''. Her first single from Échapper was entitled "Hold On". Her original music is more in the indie pop genre.
AMNA RIAZ - Upside down
Amna Riaz is a self-taught singer/songwriter from Islamabad. Heavily inspired by films and music together to depict emotions, she decided to try and start writing her own music. So far, she has released songs in both Urdu and English. All of her originals are based on very different things. Some about deep-rooted feelings and some quite basic about things which she just likes (such as the sky). All very raw, however.
ZOHA ZUBERI - Falling stars
Zoha Zuberi is a self-taught singer/songwriter, musician and an artist based in Islamabad. She has worked her way from being a cover artist to finding herself as an indie musician. In 2019, she released her 5 track debut EP “February” based on her experience and journey of self actualization. She loves to experiment with different genres and she practices what she states as a “raw form” of music, which allows freedom for artists to express themselves.
STUPID HAPPINESS THEORY - Have a little faith
Stupid Happiness Theory is the electronica moniker of Pakistani singer-songwriter, Natasha Humera Ejaz. She is known widely for her unique singing tone and eclectic approach to songwriting. During her time at ICOM, she collaborated with Rishabh Rajan on his Master’s thesis in the form of a music project titled “It might get glitchy”. Their first collaborative song (written by Natasha and produced by Rishabh) won them a VIMA award for Best Pop Song 2011. Back in Pakistan, Natasha started her solo career as well as experimentations with her own electronic music and created the alter-ego Stupid Happiness Theory to express another side of her musical musings.
SHORBANOOR - The River
Shehzad Noor is a singer songwriter and producer based in Lahore, Pakistan performing with the stage name Shorbanoor. . He is the former frontman of the veteran indie art rock band Poor Rich Boy and has performed all across Pakistan and has also toured within the US with Poor Rich Boy.
Now doing his solo act, his form of dethpop music has made him a cult favourite within the indie music scene. He believes good music can be produced when the artist has liberty and freedom to create.
ALI ALVI - Sitam
Ali Alvi is a music producer, singer and songwriter based in Karachi, Pakistan. His music is highly inspired by retro melodies, electronic pop, and a blend of modern beats. He is best known for his cover of 'Sar Kiye Yeh Pahar' and original singles 'Veeran' and 'Jeet'. Ali Alvi released his debut album titled 'Saazish' in 2020.
WOOLY AND THE UKE - Watch
Wooly and the Uke is an indie-folk project laced around the phantasmagoria that pours out of the singer and the songwriter, Janat Sohail Aziz. Her music is crafted upon satire and often, the disconnection with what lies within. Based on an ominous sound of the ukulele, the structures push and spill out of the preconceived boundaries.
Her debut single called 'Circus' stirred a melancholy with its hollow atmosphere and soaring orchestration, pushing one into an enchanting fantasy.
AQDAS ASIF - Spin the bottle
Aqdas is a 17 year old singer songwriter. Following her dream, she started off by producing her music on her mobile phone. Her genre of music is mainly indie, indiepop, indie folk. Aqdas released her debut EP in 2020 by the name ‘Baarish’.
SOUTHASIAN MELODIC ENTERPRISE - Consequences
South Asian Melodic Enterprise, stylised as S.A.M.E, is a 5 piece band hailing from Faisalabad, Pakistan.
Their music is inspired from culturally rich South Asian and Eastern backgrounds. Cultural melodies are transformed by the fusion of electronic beats.
The group aims to achieve and create a maximum number of South Asian Classical Instruments and melodies that have not yet been professionally recorded or preserved. And strive to collect their history and maintain these extraordinary records within their profile. Hence the group functions like an enterprise.
PSYDFX - Kahaan
Psydfx (pronounced Side-effects) is a multi-genre pakistani artist/producer based in Sydney. At 21, he realised that it's never too late to pursue your dreams and went on to create his music and build his own sound. His music is .The latest single titled "Kahaan '' is a collaboration with Turaab and Xainab.
June 2021. Playlist curated by Azeem Hamid in Lahore, Pakistan for Compass Music.