Kabul Dreams

They sound more like they're from the UK when they sing, but the indie rock band, Kabul Dreams, is really from Afghanistan. As one of the few Indie Rock bands in Afghanistan, they seem to be setting the precedent for future generations - and apparently they're gathering quite the following among the native youth.

The band is made up of vocalist Sulaymon Qardash, bass player Siddique Ahmad, and drummer Mujtaba Habibi and - surprise! - they sing in English.

Although they haven't released an album yet, you can listen to their music on their YouTube channel. And it's rather catchy. There's a mellow sort of feeling with each of their songs, even their more fast-paced "Can We Fly?" In the chorus of "This Night," one can hear a belief that all three are passionate about: "Together, forever together." It seems to be a kind of personal mantra for the band, as they stated in an interview with the BBC:

" "Because Afghanistan has always been a country with different ethnic groups, different people who speak  in different languages and even have different cultures, our message is that it is possible to be together because we have examples all over the world."

Ahmad feels the younger generation of Afghans has learned from the mistakes of war and is now indifferent to the issue of ethnicity.

"One Afghan," he reiterates. "That's it." "
Source: BBC News.

This mantra seems to echo in the other two songs on their YouTube channel - all three mention dreams and sharing dreams and being together. It seems all the band wants is for their home country to be united - "One Afgahn. That's it," as Ahmad told BBC News.

"I feel the darkness where I am and who I am," Qardash sings in "Can We Fly?" And I can't help but wonder if he's referring to the war that has split his homeland. It's kind of a faster-paced, male version of the Weepies meets Green Day (minus the hard rock aspect and the lately all-too obvious political dissent ), plus a bit of the Beatles mixed in. But even that's not quite right.

One thing's for sure, if Kabul Dreams is leading the rock and roll revolution of Afghanistan, I can't wait until they release their first album. Catchy, meaningful, and one-of-a-kind (come on, who else can claim that they're an indie rock band from Afghanistan?), Kabul Dreams is definitely a band to keep an eye on.

Visit their site: http://kabuldreams.com/