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EN: 

According to the rapper and comedian Ali Gul Pir, Karachi is the most misunderstood place in the world. For TIMEZONES, he produced an episode that will give you a «real» feel of what it’s like to be an artist in this city of a million plus dreams, hopes, and problems.

A world leading magazine called Pakistan «the most dangerous place in the world» but take it from Ali Gul Pir, who has lived most of his life there: «It’s an amazing place. Karachi has given me my identity, my voice, and space to express.» In this podcast episode, he meets artists that he’s friends with, to talk about how they use collaborations and work to express themselves, and he also discovers the hurdles of a Pakistani female guitarist.

Quotes:

«A city of 17 million plus people with only two public hospitals. This is a motif repping how so many of us have to make do with so little. That is the mentality of everything here. Get yours if you can.» Ali Gul Pir

«I realized that it’s a male dominant career. There are female artists in Pakistan there are a lot of female vocalists but there aren’t many female instrumentalists... Mostly I am the only female instrumentalist in the room. I feel like I make the guys insecure.» Sara Waqar

«Pakistan is losing its classical music though we have had many legendary classical singers, musicians, and instrumentalists. Since not much classical music is being produced, the youth is leaning toward the modern music. this is why I thought I should also change sarangi by mixing it with blues and turning it into jazz.» Gul Muhammad

Release Date: January 31, 2024

Credits: a podcast by Ali Gul Pir co-initiated and co-produced by Norient and the Goethe-Institut with support from the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia Delhi.

Featuring: Babar Mangi, Sarah Waqar, Shehzad Ghias, Gul Muhammad 

Recorded at BigFoot Studios