Interview with Sully Omar (AFREET): I am certain we will be influenced in some way, shape, or form by this crisis
Adversity and challenges are nothing new to Sulleiman Omar, one half of the Afghan post-metal band Afreet. Despite no longer having to face the threats of being a metal musician in Kabul, the band now has new challenges including operating across 2 continents, and now releasing music in the midst of a global pandemic. I spoke to Sully this month about the new EP (read my review here) and how he is coping during the lockdown.
First off, tell us a little bit about yourself and your band.
My name is Sulleiman Omar, and I'm one of two co-founders of Afreet. My bandmate is Yousef "Bhooda" Shah. Both of us are former members of Afghanistan's first Metal Band "District Unknown" which broke up in late 2018. Our band Afreet is a metal band specializing in Post-Metal and Progressive Metal sounds. Our frontman Yousef handles scream vocals and we both handle guitars. Besides main guitar parts, I took care of melodic vocals, bass, and drum arrangement for our 2 EPs.
Afreet released their second EP, Until the End of Time, earlier this year (almost exactly one year after the first one). What, if anything, did you do differently when approaching this album?
We tried to spice things up a bit for this EP (as much as one can for this style of music). We definitely saw the benefits of adding more melodic vocals and this helped me to move more of my personal style into our band alongside Yousef's signature scream vocals. I also decided to write a lead solo in one of our tracks, something which is rarely seen in this genre. I'm still hesitant to continue down that path because I'm not really fond of solo sections in metal, but we'll continue to examine the possibility for future works.
Being in a band with one member in the US and one in the UK, how does that affect the writing and recording process?
It's incredibly difficult and presents some unique challenges. Thankfully, Yousef and I have a very well-established system of collaborative songwriting but in order to make it work we had to learn from the mistakes we made in District Unknown trying to do the same thing. It also happens to be that Yousef and I have been on the same wavelength from day one as far as our music and vision. We are 7 hours apart so the time difference is not a huge deal, especially given that both of us have highly irregular sleep and work schedules. A song can begin from something as simple as a guitar riff recorded on a cell phone or a few words scribbled on a notebook, and then we just work together to see if it could fit the Afreet sound.
The idea behind Afreet was to tell a story, similar to how Coheed & Cambria tie in their music with “The Amory Wars”. However, I understand that this may not be the case in future. What drove your decision to write a story for your music, or move onto other topics?
I actually had no idea until very recently that Coheed & Cambria have been doing this type of thing for a long time and upon further research discovered that what they did with The Amory Wars is very similar to what we were trying to do with the first two EPs. We found that storytelling was a straight-forward way for us to organize our songs and themes for the first two EPs, and it seemed to work out pretty well. However, by the end of the second EP Yousef and I had a series of long discussions about the implications of remaining a virtual band for our future projects. We decided after some thought that although the Afreet world was rich and ready for us to fill in the details, we didn't want to restrict our creativity to a fictional story and its characters. Yousef and I are both vocal about many issues concerning reality and current events. Sure, there is probably a way to cover those topics with our fictional world, but we have chosen to take a more direct approach from here on out. Along with our changes in direction, the listener can expect to hear some musical evolution as we begin to venture out of our post-metal foundation and into various influences.
Do you still have any plans to branch out into other media to tell the story of Afreet?
Absolutely yes. The original Afreet "Timeless Plane" storyline, as it has come to be known between Yousef and I, offers a lot of potential in terms of animated music videos, literature, and even a video game adaptation. This is something we will further examine as our access continues to grow. For the time being, we won't stick strictly to the Timeless Plane but we certainly will sprinkle songs that return to that world in all of our future works. We think of it as a proven format for our songwriting should we choose to reference it in our future works.
With the band members being located so far apart, the prospect of playing live is a rather distant proposal, especially during the current coronavirus pandemic. However, do you have any ambitions to take Afreet to the stage at any point in the future?
Definitely. In fact it is our main focus right now aside from working on the full album. We are trying to organize shows in Europe and practicing our songs every day via video chat as far as the technology allows. We are still a relatively unknown band but we expect to play a few shows and find our footing. I have plans to visit Yousef for a month prior to any show we book before the end of the year, and I might eventually move to Europe if we are able to stay active with gigs and production. To this point, everything I've said about taking Afreet to the stage should have an asterisk, and that asterisk is the pandemic. Besides that, we are business as usual so that we are prepared once the virus is under control. That means practicing, rehearsing, and setting our sights on specific venues while we wait for things to open back up.
Has the lockdown provided any inspiration for new material?
I am certain we will be influenced in some way, shape, or form by this crisis and I think all artists of this era will experience the same invasive energy in their creations. The lockdown has also created the conditions for a lot of staying-at-home and working on music, which we are taking advantage of as if it were a priceless gift. I'm optimistic.
You had previously made your name in renowned Kabul band District Unknown. While some other bands, such as Strains of Bellum, have cited DU as an influence, a metal scene hasn’t really flourished in Afghanistan. Do you have any regrets about the experience, and do you keep in touch with any of the former members apart from Yousuf?
The Metal scene, along with many other non-traditional art scenes in Kabul, have unfortunately come to a screeching halt, and the reasons for this are many-fold. I'm sure it may be a surprise to anyone who has followed the band, but there was a lot of foul play involved with District Unknown and the many directions it went in from start to finish. Most of this information is hidden from the public and I'd be happy to discuss it perhaps another day. With this in mind, I'm certainly confident that my experience being a member of District Unknown for 6 years was critical to my development as a Metal musician (not to mention the brotherhood I forged with my bandmate Yousef). So regret might not be the right word but as I said before there's a lot more to this story than meets the eye. I remain good friends with all of the members of District Unknown when it broke up, and we talk on a semi-regular basis. They are supportive of our new band.
Write music! It's the perfect time. I know many musicians rely on social engagement and experiences to draw inspiration for writing music, so this is a challenging period for them. Others draw from their emotions and feelings, so this might be a great time for them to express their anxieties or stress. For the fans, I would say to consume music and other art. I'm not a doctor, but I think the consumption and creation of creative energy is the cure for many ailments of the mind. It's a win-win situation. Fans can ease their anxiety by purchasing a band's album and losing themselves in someone else's reality for a day or a week. Their investment in their own sanity supports artists who are among the most financially vulnerable in this time (we too make our living from social gatherings). We hope to see you all alive and well at the end of the pandemic!
First off, tell us a little bit about yourself and your band.
My name is Sulleiman Omar, and I'm one of two co-founders of Afreet. My bandmate is Yousef "Bhooda" Shah. Both of us are former members of Afghanistan's first Metal Band "District Unknown" which broke up in late 2018. Our band Afreet is a metal band specializing in Post-Metal and Progressive Metal sounds. Our frontman Yousef handles scream vocals and we both handle guitars. Besides main guitar parts, I took care of melodic vocals, bass, and drum arrangement for our 2 EPs.
Afreet released their second EP, Until the End of Time, earlier this year (almost exactly one year after the first one). What, if anything, did you do differently when approaching this album?
We tried to spice things up a bit for this EP (as much as one can for this style of music). We definitely saw the benefits of adding more melodic vocals and this helped me to move more of my personal style into our band alongside Yousef's signature scream vocals. I also decided to write a lead solo in one of our tracks, something which is rarely seen in this genre. I'm still hesitant to continue down that path because I'm not really fond of solo sections in metal, but we'll continue to examine the possibility for future works.
Being in a band with one member in the US and one in the UK, how does that affect the writing and recording process?
It's incredibly difficult and presents some unique challenges. Thankfully, Yousef and I have a very well-established system of collaborative songwriting but in order to make it work we had to learn from the mistakes we made in District Unknown trying to do the same thing. It also happens to be that Yousef and I have been on the same wavelength from day one as far as our music and vision. We are 7 hours apart so the time difference is not a huge deal, especially given that both of us have highly irregular sleep and work schedules. A song can begin from something as simple as a guitar riff recorded on a cell phone or a few words scribbled on a notebook, and then we just work together to see if it could fit the Afreet sound.
The idea behind Afreet was to tell a story, similar to how Coheed & Cambria tie in their music with “The Amory Wars”. However, I understand that this may not be the case in future. What drove your decision to write a story for your music, or move onto other topics?
I actually had no idea until very recently that Coheed & Cambria have been doing this type of thing for a long time and upon further research discovered that what they did with The Amory Wars is very similar to what we were trying to do with the first two EPs. We found that storytelling was a straight-forward way for us to organize our songs and themes for the first two EPs, and it seemed to work out pretty well. However, by the end of the second EP Yousef and I had a series of long discussions about the implications of remaining a virtual band for our future projects. We decided after some thought that although the Afreet world was rich and ready for us to fill in the details, we didn't want to restrict our creativity to a fictional story and its characters. Yousef and I are both vocal about many issues concerning reality and current events. Sure, there is probably a way to cover those topics with our fictional world, but we have chosen to take a more direct approach from here on out. Along with our changes in direction, the listener can expect to hear some musical evolution as we begin to venture out of our post-metal foundation and into various influences.
Do you still have any plans to branch out into other media to tell the story of Afreet?
Absolutely yes. The original Afreet "Timeless Plane" storyline, as it has come to be known between Yousef and I, offers a lot of potential in terms of animated music videos, literature, and even a video game adaptation. This is something we will further examine as our access continues to grow. For the time being, we won't stick strictly to the Timeless Plane but we certainly will sprinkle songs that return to that world in all of our future works. We think of it as a proven format for our songwriting should we choose to reference it in our future works.
With the band members being located so far apart, the prospect of playing live is a rather distant proposal, especially during the current coronavirus pandemic. However, do you have any ambitions to take Afreet to the stage at any point in the future?
Definitely. In fact it is our main focus right now aside from working on the full album. We are trying to organize shows in Europe and practicing our songs every day via video chat as far as the technology allows. We are still a relatively unknown band but we expect to play a few shows and find our footing. I have plans to visit Yousef for a month prior to any show we book before the end of the year, and I might eventually move to Europe if we are able to stay active with gigs and production. To this point, everything I've said about taking Afreet to the stage should have an asterisk, and that asterisk is the pandemic. Besides that, we are business as usual so that we are prepared once the virus is under control. That means practicing, rehearsing, and setting our sights on specific venues while we wait for things to open back up.
Has the lockdown provided any inspiration for new material?
I am certain we will be influenced in some way, shape, or form by this crisis and I think all artists of this era will experience the same invasive energy in their creations. The lockdown has also created the conditions for a lot of staying-at-home and working on music, which we are taking advantage of as if it were a priceless gift. I'm optimistic.
You had previously made your name in renowned Kabul band District Unknown. While some other bands, such as Strains of Bellum, have cited DU as an influence, a metal scene hasn’t really flourished in Afghanistan. Do you have any regrets about the experience, and do you keep in touch with any of the former members apart from Yousuf?
The Metal scene, along with many other non-traditional art scenes in Kabul, have unfortunately come to a screeching halt, and the reasons for this are many-fold. I'm sure it may be a surprise to anyone who has followed the band, but there was a lot of foul play involved with District Unknown and the many directions it went in from start to finish. Most of this information is hidden from the public and I'd be happy to discuss it perhaps another day. With this in mind, I'm certainly confident that my experience being a member of District Unknown for 6 years was critical to my development as a Metal musician (not to mention the brotherhood I forged with my bandmate Yousef). So regret might not be the right word but as I said before there's a lot more to this story than meets the eye. I remain good friends with all of the members of District Unknown when it broke up, and we talk on a semi-regular basis. They are supportive of our new band.
Lastly, do you have any advice for any other local musicians or fans who are looking for ways to cope with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic?
Write music! It's the perfect time. I know many musicians rely on social engagement and experiences to draw inspiration for writing music, so this is a challenging period for them. Others draw from their emotions and feelings, so this might be a great time for them to express their anxieties or stress. For the fans, I would say to consume music and other art. I'm not a doctor, but I think the consumption and creation of creative energy is the cure for many ailments of the mind. It's a win-win situation. Fans can ease their anxiety by purchasing a band's album and losing themselves in someone else's reality for a day or a week. Their investment in their own sanity supports artists who are among the most financially vulnerable in this time (we too make our living from social gatherings). We hope to see you all alive and well at the end of the pandemic!
Comments
Post a Comment