Karachi Community Radio: a launching pad for homegrown artists

Music is back; everyone in Pakistan seems to agree with this. Post 2007, there was a bit of a lull in Pakistan in terms of music. Concerts had ceased to exist due to increase in terrorism in the country, music channels started shutting down, there was a lack of original music, we only had branded shows like Coke Studio and Nescafe Basement to rely on.

Then came Patari, and artists had a sense of hope. Various other factors, such as an improved security situation, exposure to international practices and increased digitization resulted in less dependency on record labels and big channels to give artists a platform and resources to produce music. Now, artists are producing music on their phones and laptops and producing stellar content, and while COVID-19 keeps being a threat to live shows, local music platforms stand undeterred.

Karachi Community Radio (KCR) is one such platform that is making sure to keep music alive, whether in person or digitally. The collective describes itself as an audio-visual intervention and routinely hosts shows at their studio space, which they share with other musicians as well, such as Towers.

There are several reasons to love KCR. For starters, they are all about inculcating a sense of community by bringing musicians and music-lovers together. Their shows are reasonably priced and affordable for the young Gen-Z/Millenial crowd, they offer discounts to regular attendees of their show and they are perhaps the first to offer a funds-breakdown of the revenue generated by a specific fundraiser show for KCR. All those who attended that show and shared their email addresses received a breakdown of where the money went and a promise by the organizers of their efforts to make ticket costs even lower. All this is done to promote transparency and a sense of trust and community – regular KCR attendees feel like family.

Other than that, the platform also is a launching pad for homegrown artists and many independent artists perform for the first time at KCR. For new musicians, it’s a great place to find a music-loving audience and for the audience, it’s a great place to be introduced to all the new, fresh talent Karachi has to offer. Names like Towers, Zahra Paracha, Hasan Raheem, Shorbanoor, Alien Panda Jury, Asteria, Natasha Noorani, Dynoman, Ammar Vayani, Tollcrane and countless others add to the musical diversity of KCR – from electronic to unplugged, KCR offers space for all kinds of performances.

Jahanzeb Khawaja, the mind behind KCR, is an expert with audio-visual design, and that can be seen with the way their live online and in-person shows are constructed, with the use of graphics and lightwork. When you attend KCR shows, you can see that Khawaja is testing the limits of visual aesthetic and trying new things with every show.

While speaking about how KCR funds itself, Khawaja responds that the collective earns money by providing audio-visual production as a service to clients interested in new and cutting edge work. That’s why they aren’t worried about COVID-19 causing lockdowns every few months. KCR’s online shows have picked up momentum and the idea of hosting shows is to get everyone together to enjoy music, making money isn’t necessarily the priority.

For anyone looking for a crash course into Karachi’s burgeoning independent music scene, KCR is a great place to start. KCR’s latest musical offering is a performance by Shorbanoor and Alien Panda Jury where they perform their track Cutlery live for the first time ever, giving everyone a sneak peek into their upcoming collaborative EP.

Check it out!