January 24, 2021
The singer-songwriter – who has just dropped his third record (dead Beat poets) – talks to Instep about his early years in music, the space he occupies in the industry and why some of the biggest names in music continue to collaborate with him
Abdullah Siddiqui hopes to drop his fourth album by the end of the year. Photo by Mehrunisa Kabir.
Abdullah Siddiqui, 20, has just returned from a photo shoot that is meant for promotional material, press packets and so on.
Sitting before Zoom as we discuss everything from his upbringing to his start in music to his current success, it is obvious that Abdullah prefers talking about his work more than himself. But his story, as one of the brightest musicians in Pakistan, a polymath, is one that is just as important to decipher as his music.
Tech started in the garage, Pop in the bedroom. In 2020, at least. Bedroom pop is not a new genre, but the name became popular fairly recently. It is music that is produced using usually a small set-up in a room that is not a specialised studio. The genre does not follow the basic rules of recording or producing music: a noise-free and clear recording of the vocals and music. In fact, the imperfect, glitchy recordings are what characterise the genre. In Pakistan, where arts get little state support, the trajectory for original, high-budget music production was never straight. Then came the high-speed internet, advanced computers and music production software. It was not just dance .
In a first, Hadiqa Kiani, Hadiya Hashmi collaborate for Ilahi
The duo is releasing a track tonight and we cannot wait!
KARACHI:
The year 2020 has witnessed a myriad of collaborations between artistes from all walks of life. There have been cross-border collaborations between grammy-winning artists for a dua to end Covid-19. There have been virtual collaborations between Pakistani artistes with those abroad or quarantined.
Artistes of various genres have also come together to experiment and produce something completely out of the box. Now, as we enter a new year and a new decade altogether, there is another collaboration we would like to talk about.