Taqwacore in the U.K.
[Insert Sex Pistol, The Clash, and all other Brit 70's punk reference here...] because our Taqwacore bands are taking the music overseas. Well at least across the Atlantic to colonizer central, the United Kingdom.
Both Al-Thawra and The Kominas will be making their rounds in the U.K., and leaving in the next few days. This is a first time for both bands and everyone is excited. I’m excited and I’m not even going with them on the tour. Symbolically, this tour will mark the “next phase” for both bands, both of whom are on the brink of dropping new albums [Al-Thawra's Edifice (out June 19th) and The Kominas' Escape to Blackout Beach (out mid-July)] presenting a more mature sound, as well as from taking the Taqx scene from a circle jerk into an international reckoning mayhem. No longer just some punks in a garage band, these punks want to be recognized for the nuanced musicians they’ve developed into and I feel this tour will kind of be a make or break to see if they can do just that.
I’m not quite sure how the bands will be received overseas. The Taqx documentary has been screened at some festivals in the UK, The Kominas have been getting airplay on Bobby Friction’s BBC Asian Network radio show (their latest song Manji Vich Daang debuted on the show last week) and the grime/crust/experimental punk message boards are all excited to hear Al-Thawra is coming through town. So people have “heard” of them, but one doesn’t really get what this scene means until you go to a live show and really hear it. “I think it’s going to be challenging,” Shahjehan of The Kominas said. “A lot of what we are attempting to do with our music has been explored amongst British Asians already.”
The show of particular interest is Richard Thompson’s Meltdown Festival on London’s South Bank where The Kominas and Al-Thawra will be performing with the U.K.’s very own Fun Da Mental and Canadian Muslim hip-hop duo Poetic Pilgrimage. There will also be a screening of the documentary, Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam as well as a talk given by Michael Mohammad Knight. This show is being curated by the legendary Richard Thompson, who wanted to host a Taqwacore night because “…the bands ask questions about the interpretation of Islam which I find interesting, and the Islamic world is in flux right now.”
Though Knight will only be in town for a few days, Al-Thawra will end up staying for ten days and The Kominas will end up staying for a month, including a stopover to Stockholm. The Kominas stay in the U.K. will culminate with a performance at outdoor summer festival Latitude in Suffolk.
It’s not just shows for these guys either – it’s about collaborating and making music while over there as well. Al-Thawra and Winters in Osaka have booked studio time in Manchester to work on their second collaboration. “This is going to be a massive Wu-Tang-like project with tons of guest musicians, including a few surprises,” Marwan of Al-Thawra says.
The Kominas have booked time to collaborate with Bhangra powerhouse Tigerstyle and will be appearing on Bobby Friction’s show. As for playing with epic Fun Da Mental, “…they are kind of the precursor to everything we do,” Imran of The Kominas said. “I’m meeting all the Brit-Asian artists we’ve been so well intimated for so long, that’s going to be emotional. I hope they can see our sincerity.”
Al-Thawra will be sharing a stage with some legendary punks as well at the Nottingham Punk Picnic on June 26th. They’ll be sharing the stage with street punk Disorder, anarchopunk Active Minds, noise punk The Wankys and many more. “I looked up to Active Minds in particular since I was a kid, and it’s crazy to actually be listed on show with these dudes,” said Marwan. “they were really one of the instrumental bands in defining punk over all these years.“
Personally, I’m curious to see how the “taqwacore” brand will be received in England. When I was traveling in South Asia and the Middle East last month, I had a difficult time explaining to people this idea of Muslim meets punk identity and scene, especially in Dubai. They couldn’t understand Islam as a political identity removed from orthodoxy. The Muslim identity and the punk identity developed really differently in the UK diaspora scene than it has in the U.S. I would even go as far as to say the sectarian environment nurtures Islamic fundamentalism in the U.K. (more than the U.S.) and there is less room to explore Islam and make it your own (like Knight did in Blue Eyed Devil).
The bands themselves don’t really know how they are going be received either. “I have no idea what to expect,” said Imran about the Sweden show, “besides some insane conversation and sticking out like Helen Thomas at a Rage Against the Machine concert.”
If you are in Europe this summer, I suggest you Up the Taqx and check out one of the shows below.
- June 17th – Vice Magazine Issue Release Party: The Kominas @ The Old Blue Last, London
- June 19th – Meltdown Festival: The Kominas, Al-Thawra w/ Fun Da Mental + more. @ Queen Elizabeth Hall in Southbank Center, London
- June 20th – Al-Thawra w/ Atomck, Koresh, Jahiz, Bill Shatnerrr, and Winters in Osaka. @The Others, Stoke Newington, London
- June 21st - Al-Thawra , The Kominas w/ Murder of Crows, Atomck, Winters in Osaka, and Jahiz. @ 223 Easton Road, Bristol South
- June 23rd – The Kominas LIVE on BBC Asian Radio’s Friction show
- June 24th – Al-Thawra, The Kominas w/ Helhesten, Jon Aveyard, Uboat, Winters in Osaka and Jahiz. @ The Continental, Preston, Lancashire
- June 25th – Al-Thawra, The Kominas w/ Citizen Vex, Levenshulme Bike Orchestra, Gummy Stumps, Winters in Osaka and Jahiz. @ The 13th Note, Glasgow
- June 26th – Nottingham Punk Picnic: Al-Thawra w/ Disorder, Active Minds, The Wankys and more. @ The Old Angel, Nottingham
- July 1 – The Kominas @ Sodra Teatern, Stolkholm
- July 16th – Latitude Festival: The Kominas w/ a whole lotta bands. @ Suffolk
The show dates and acts are subject to change. Please be sure to follow The Kominas‘ website and Al-Thawra’s myspace for the latest info. Good luck boys – take lots of video, don’t forget to tweet and ‘up the taqx’ in the U.K. for me, would you?
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Tanzila “Taz” Ahmed is an activist and writer living in Los Angeles. She is the Founder of South Asian American Voting Youth (SAAVY), an aspiring novelist and a long-time blogger for the popular South Asian blog Sepia Mutiny.
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Check out what others are saying...[...] Photo Credit: The Kominas The Kominas have booked time to collaborate with Bhangra powerhouse Tigerstyle and will be appearing on Bobby Friction’s show. As for playing with epic Fun Da Mental, “…they are kind of the precursor to everything we do,” Imran of The Kominas said. “I’m meeting all the Brit-Asian artists we’ve been so well intimated for so long, that’s going to be emotional. I hope they can see our sincerity.” [Link.] [...]