The Kominas
Encyclopedia
The Kominas are a Pakistan
i-American
Desi
punk rock
band from New York City
. The band currently includes Basim Usmani (bass), Imran Ali Malik (guitar), Hassan Ali Malik (guitar) and Abdullah Saeed (drums).
. In 2007, The Kominas pressed 2000 copies their first album, Wild Nights in Guantanamo Bay
, which is now out of print.
In 2010, The Kominas released a 7-song E.P. entitled Escape to Blackout Beach
, and a documentary that follows the early history of the band entitled Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam was released.
called their music "irreverent and un-PC". As the L.A. Times put it, "The recognition that the [Kominas] have gotten is a Catch-22 for them: While they welcome the attention from both the mainstream media and the blogosphere, they resent that the focus has been more on the Muslim angle than on their music." CNN
wrote "Many conservative Muslims may peg [The Kominas] as heretic for their suggestive and irreverent lyrics. But the musicians say they are just trying to show both cultures how broad the spectrum of belief can be." The band has expressed frustration with the lack of quality music journalists covering their work.
Music by The Kominas has been used in films like The Taqwacores
and Slackistan
.
was released in March 2008, and was cited among the top ten CD's of 2008 by Boston Globe reviewer Siddhartha Mitter.
On June 15, 2010, The Kominas released a 7 song E.P. entitled Escape to Blackout Beach
through a special site on their website.
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Desi
Desi
Desi or Deshi refers to the people, cultures, and products of the Indian subcontinent and, increasingly, to the people, cultures, and products of their diaspora. Desi countries include India, Pakistan, Bangladesh...
punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The band currently includes Basim Usmani (bass), Imran Ali Malik (guitar), Hassan Ali Malik (guitar) and Abdullah Saeed (drums).
History
The first Kominas' song ever released was "Rumi was a Homo (But Wahhaj Is a Fag)", by the website Muslim Wake Up! in response to then recent homophobic comments made by the Imam Siraj WahhajSiraj Wahhaj
Siraj Wahhaj is an African-American convert to Islam. He is imam of Al-Taqwa mosque in Brooklyn, New York and the leader of The Muslim Alliance in North America .-Early life:...
. In 2007, The Kominas pressed 2000 copies their first album, Wild Nights in Guantanamo Bay
Wild Nights in Guantanamo Bay
Wild Nights in Guantanamo Bay is the first full-length album by The Kominas. It was self-released and 2000 copies were pressed.-Track listing:All songs written by The Kominas# Sharia Law in the U.S.A...
, which is now out of print.
In 2010, The Kominas released a 7-song E.P. entitled Escape to Blackout Beach
Escape to Blackout Beach
Escape to Blackout Beach is the second release by The Kominas. It was recorded at New Alliance Studios in Allston, MA over three days in June, 2010. It was released digitally on June 15, 2010 from a special subsite of The Kominas' official website....
, and a documentary that follows the early history of the band entitled Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam was released.
Media attention
Since the beginning, The Kominas have piqued the attention of mainstream media. The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
called their music "irreverent and un-PC". As the L.A. Times put it, "The recognition that the [Kominas] have gotten is a Catch-22 for them: While they welcome the attention from both the mainstream media and the blogosphere, they resent that the focus has been more on the Muslim angle than on their music." CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
wrote "Many conservative Muslims may peg [The Kominas] as heretic for their suggestive and irreverent lyrics. But the musicians say they are just trying to show both cultures how broad the spectrum of belief can be." The band has expressed frustration with the lack of quality music journalists covering their work.
Music by The Kominas has been used in films like The Taqwacores
The Taqwacores (film)
The Taqwacores is a 2010 film adaptation of the 2003 novel The Taqwacores by Michael Muhammad Knight. The film was directed by Eyad Zahra and stars Bobby Naderi, Dominic Rains, and Noureen Dewulf. The film imagines a fictitious Islamic Punk Rock scene through characters living in a punk house in...
and Slackistan
Slackistan
Slackistan is an independent film directed by London-based filmmaker, Hammad Khan. The film stars Shahbaz Hamid Shigri, Aisha Linnea Akthar, Ali Rehman Khan, Shahana Khan Khalil, Osman Khalid Butt, Khalid Saeed and Rafey Alam. The film is distributed by Big Upstairs Films...
.
Discography
The Kominas' debut album, Wild Nights in Guantanamo BayWild Nights in Guantanamo Bay
Wild Nights in Guantanamo Bay is the first full-length album by The Kominas. It was self-released and 2000 copies were pressed.-Track listing:All songs written by The Kominas# Sharia Law in the U.S.A...
was released in March 2008, and was cited among the top ten CD's of 2008 by Boston Globe reviewer Siddhartha Mitter.
On June 15, 2010, The Kominas released a 7 song E.P. entitled Escape to Blackout Beach
Escape to Blackout Beach
Escape to Blackout Beach is the second release by The Kominas. It was recorded at New Alliance Studios in Allston, MA over three days in June, 2010. It was released digitally on June 15, 2010 from a special subsite of The Kominas' official website....
through a special site on their website.
External links
- Official Website
- Photostory by Kim Badawi
- Muslim Wakeup Article on the Kominas
- "Middle Eastern Popular Music" U. Arkansas Honors Colloquia Spring 2006
- "Never mind the Burkas" The Sun
- Skidmore Press release on "Music Against Hatred"
- Newsweek Piece
- Taqwacore Documentary Wins 2nd Place at Banff World Television Festival
- Rolling Stone Magazine
- BBC Newsnight
- PRI's The World