By: Siddique Ahmed

For many young Afghans who were out of the country during 1996-2001, it is hard to imagine that music was once banned in their country. Nowadays, over 17 private TV channels and numerous FM radio stations broadcast a variety of music 24/7. During the Taliban era (through 1996-2001) even listening to music was banned. If you were caught with a tape or a CD, you could face serious consequences. “I couldn’t even imagine that I would be able to learn music one day. They stopped the cars and searched for tapes and if they found one, they would put it on the ground and kick it until it broke into pieces. Then, they hung the tapes on trees,” says Naseer Ahmad, a young singer who graduated from the Kabul Music School and is currently a student in the music department of the Art Faculty at Kabul University.

Photo by Siddique Ahmed

After 2001 when Afghanistan became the center of attention of the whole world, the Taliban were pushed out of Kabul and other main cities. An interim government was formed and music was once again popular among Afghans. The Kabul Music School which has now been upgraded to ‘Secondary Vocational School of Music’ began its activities and many boys and girls interested in music joined, some of whom have now become very popular among the Afghan audience through local TV and radio.  Dr. Ahmad Sarmast, who has returned from Australia, is being backed up by the Afghan government as well as international organizations, to turn the current school into a world class National Institute of Music for Afghanistan. Students will get training in all classical instruments and the aim is to set up a symphony orchestra or brass band in the coming ten years, according to freemuse.org.

“I loved music since childhood and always wanted to become a singer” says Elaha Suroor, one of the contestants in Afghan Star (which is a show similar to American Idol) produced by Tolo TV. Born in 1988 in Tehran while her family was in refuge, Suroor comes from a middle-class family in Kunduz. When she returned to Afghanistan from Iran with her family in 2002, she attended the Kabul Music School and was the only girl who made it to the top twelve in the fourth season of Afghan Star this year. Suroor, who is currently working on her original songs, says Afghan girls could not go back to school then, let alone consider music as their career.

Pop music in Afghanistan is influenced by many factors, mainly because almost all musicians were out of Afghanistan during the Taliban era. A large number of musicians, singers, and bands performed in weddings in Pakistan, while a few others were in Iran and the West. After the Bonn conference and the new government were set up, many of these musicians returned to Afghanistan and started producing music. Some artists went to Central Asia, Pakistan, and India to produce new music to be distributed in the local markets due to lack of recording facilities in Kabul.

Mr. Amir Jan Saboori was among the first artists who produced his solo album in Uzbekistan in 2003 and he attracted a great deal of attention in a post-Taliban Afghanistan with a music-thirsty audience. Many other artists followed what has now become a trend to produce songs and music videos in central Asia and Pakistan. However according to Mr. Mahdyar a composer, singer and producer at the Voice Master studio, in Kabul this trend has its pros and cons. “I think we have some good studios in Kabul now and the audience has listened to too much of what is being produced outside. The true Afghan pop music should be produced, performed, and recorded in Afghanistan rather than Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, or Pakistan which for the most part are based on commercial aspects rather than artistic values.”

In the post Taliban multi-ethnic Afghanistan, it is difficult to have consensus on major political issues, and speaking about one on music is out of the question. However music faces numerous challenges in terms of security, culture, and market which have made it more difficult for the new generation of artists. “Not many people take the risk of investing in music; otherwise we are not short of talent. There are artists who have their whole albums ready but lack the funds to record them,” says Ahmad Naseer who has not recorded any of his originals yet himself.

Tags | Music