Is it hard to be a rocker in Kabul, especially when you come from the Western world? Well, not as hard as you may think! The White City power trio proves that anyone can rock everywhere! Since this is their debut release, we contacted the singer & bassist Ru, to learn more about the band and the rock music in Kabul.
Hey guys, welcome to Grande Rock! How do you feel now that your debut album is finally out?
R: Amazing! Exhilarated! Relieved! These songs represent years of blood, sweat and tears, not to mention experiences that will last a lifetime. It’s been a long labour, but the baby is beautiful!
OK, let’s start with the obvious stuff. Why did two guys & one gal leave the “safe Western World” in order to live in Kabul? What forced you to do so?
R: Nothing forced us apart from various urges: adventure; compassion; curiosity are among some of those. For me personally, the opportunity came up and I sat down and asked myself, what would I say to my future imaginary daughter if she learned that I’d had a chance to go to somewhere like Afghanistan and I’d turned it down. That was all it took for me.
How did you start rockin’ in Kabul in the first place? You started out as a cover band in 2006 but you evolved over the years.
R: The boys in the band were playing covers in their spare time with an ever-changing array of ex-pats who came and went. There’s a lot of creative people in Kabul – journalists, artists, diplomats, charity workers, even soldiers like to rock out. Also, due to the security situation, people end up having a lot of spare time and they often pick up an instrument. It’s also a good way to de-stress. When I turned up in 2009, I wanted to play some bass for fun. I heard about White City and that they were looking for a singer. I hadn’t sung lead before, but I thought, “why not”. Kabul’s a very small scene and everybody knows each other, so after my first rehearsal with them, Travis (guitarist) exclaimed, “where have you been hiding?”!
Is it hard to be a rocker in Kabul after all? What do the native people think of you?
R: It’s very strange to be recognized in the street. I was featured singing in a promotion for a popular children’s channel and all kinds of people were waving to me on the street. So far I haven’t had one single negative reaction. Sometimes the positive attention can be a little overwhelming and the crowds a little crazy. One time I was knocked over by teenagers trying to get a photo with me and had to be dragged to my feet. It’s amazing how fast the kids have “got” rock ‘n roll, though. In the beginning, some of our fans didn’t know how to dance to rock, they’d dance in a traditional style to metal. But now even the girls are headbanging and making rock signs with their fingers.
I think that you must face the most major problems being in a Muslim country. Can you tell us a couple of funny ones? I bet wearing a hijab is the most common thing huh?
R: I wouldn’t say problems. Sometimes the reactions are funny. I’ve had a lot of marriage proposals. One kid asked me why my boobs were so small. He wasn’t trying to be rude, he just hadn’t a clue how to talk to girls. I dragged him up on stage for that and told the audience what he’d said and let them judge whether that was right or wrong. But I also shook his hand and made clear that, as long as he didn’t say stuff like that again, we were friends. Some days I love my hijab (like bad hair days), some days it gets in the way. Any Muslim girl will tell you the same thing. But Afghans understand I’m western and I’m not Muslim, so, if I didn’t wear one, I’d probably attract more (unwanted) attention, but it wouldn’t be a huge problem.
Back to the album again. Why did you choose to feature three tracks from the “Space Cadet” EP in 2012? Did you re-record them?
R: We recorded the EP in Pakistan at the end of a major tour of Central Asia. We think the songs are great, but the session was rushed and we felt they didn’t quite get the sound we were aiming for – something heavier, earthier. We’ll always love “Space Cadet” and “Spoons”, but we felt like they didn’t quite fit into that sound.
What does the album title “Landlocked” state? Is it kinda personal?
R: Not at all. It’s a direct reference to Afghanistan, a landlocked country. It also stands as a metaphor for being closed in on all sides without a clear exit. In environments like that you find creativity thriving despite all odds.
Since every track tells a story do give us a hint about them…
R: “Drive by Nandos”: This is a story of my origins. I grew up in an area called Shepherd’s Bush, which is traditionally a deprived area (although currently undergoing gentrification like every other ‘edgy’ place in the world). It has probably the most fried chicken shops per square yard of any place in London and there was a drive-by gang shooting at one of these, which really summed up the area for me. This song is about Shepherd’s Bush moulding me from an early age and knowing I wanted to go further than that.
“Breakbone Fever”: When we were writing the bulk of the album in Sri Lanka, Travis became very sick. As I was also sick with food poisoning around the same time, we assumed it was that and forced him to play a gig, propped up on a stack of amplifiers. The next day, we finally took him to a doctor and he was diagnosed with the (sometimes fatal) dengue fever, otherwise known locally as breakbone fever, because it feels as if your bones are breaking inside your body. One day, while he was sweating it out and hallucinating in bed, I had a nap and dreamt that the virus was hoards of American soldiers invading Afghanistan. I woke up convinced Trav had died, but, thankfully, he was far from 6 ft under.
“Silver Hyena”: This is about my firsthand experience of seeing security contractors and hired mercenaries fight it out in a Kabul speakeasy. The guys in question started the night by burning a stack of (taxpayer funded) furniture on the front lawn of their 100k a month house (also, thanks to the US taxpayer), drive drunk to the bar and then start fights. Sadly, sometimes the ex-pat scene in Kabul attracts scum as well as the bright and best.
“Petrol Sucker”: One evening, as we were rehearsing, the power went off. This was not surprising. 24 hour electricity only came to Kabul in 2009 and powercuts are an almost daily occurrence. We went to turn the generator on, but we were out of gas. The only fuel in the House of Rock (where we live together) was in Trav’s motorbike. Trav and Andreas siphoned the fuel out by sucking through a hosepipe. The fumes made them giddy and fall about until I started giggling. Then Trav told me that kids do that sort of thing in Australia for fun. So I wrote a song about it.
“Frozen in Rock”: This is a song about the last days of Pompeii, as Vesuvius was covering it with lava and ash.
“Last Plan”: This is a song about a young Afghan girl, betrothed at an early age and growing up in the rapidly developing city of Kabul, where garish shopping malls go up amongst slums with narco-cash. She resolves to get out of the city to a world she knows is waiting for her. It’s now or never.
“Pistol in the Hood”: When I was queuing for a late-night bar one night, a security contractor asked me if I would carry his gun in for him, as weapons aren’t allowed in. He asked me because he knew the Afghan guards don’t search women. I said no, but as I was going in, he snuck up behind me and put his 9mm in the hood of my jacket. I didn’t notice until I was inside and he claimed it back from me. I was so angry and asked why he needed a gun in the bar anyway. He pointed at the Afghan guards and said, “they’ve got guns, so we’ve got guns”.
“Belly Deep”: This is about an Afghan woman left behind by her American lover.
“Honey Goliath”: This is an elegy to the last bumblebee on earth.
“Perfect 10”: “Perfect 10” is a wild motorbike ride across the plains of Afghanistan, imagining what lies underneath the burqa from the perspective of another woman.
“Pivo”: This is our touring anthem from the ‘stans. In Russian, pivo is beer, vodka is vodka (obviously), travka is grass (and also Travis’s nickname) and suka is bitch. It’s a sort of stupid road song for White City...
What’s with the break on “Pivo” after 2:50 minutes and the “weird music talks” we hear on the last 1 and a half minute?
R: That’s a mixture of our band, mascot, Chiburashka (he’s sort of the Soviet Mickey Mouse) and me messing around on a Hammond in the studio processed through Trav’s pedals.
How did you choose to cooperate with Jaime Arellano Gomez (Cathedral, Guapo, Turisas, Art Brut etc.) in the first place? I can tell that the excellent final outcome exceeded my expectations! Are you totally satisfied too?
R: We call Gomez THE MASTER, because he knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s been a long-term friend of mine, an amazing drummer and he has a musician’s ear for recording. He is a slave driver, too, but that’s what we needed. As fans of Mike Patton, sludge, stoner and prog rock, his client list made us wet too.
Why did you decide to release your album on your own?
R: We’ve always been DIY, from setting up our own gigs, tours, even festivals. So it was a no-brainer to release the album on our own. Plus, as an international band with fans all over the world, it would have presented a challenge to a label and there aren’t many record labels in Afghanistan!
What are the advantages and the disadvantages when you go independently, without having a music label to back you up?
R: The advantages would definitely be artistic control and having the record exactly as we like it. Plus, we have the satisfaction of knowing we did this all ourselves. The disadvantages are possible lack of exposure and also having that financial backing. We had to graft for five years to put together the money to record and release the album properly.
R: Amazing! Exhilarated! Relieved! These songs represent years of blood, sweat and tears, not to mention experiences that will last a lifetime. It’s been a long labour, but the baby is beautiful!
OK, let’s start with the obvious stuff. Why did two guys & one gal leave the “safe Western World” in order to live in Kabul? What forced you to do so?
R: Nothing forced us apart from various urges: adventure; compassion; curiosity are among some of those. For me personally, the opportunity came up and I sat down and asked myself, what would I say to my future imaginary daughter if she learned that I’d had a chance to go to somewhere like Afghanistan and I’d turned it down. That was all it took for me.
How did you start rockin’ in Kabul in the first place? You started out as a cover band in 2006 but you evolved over the years.
R: The boys in the band were playing covers in their spare time with an ever-changing array of ex-pats who came and went. There’s a lot of creative people in Kabul – journalists, artists, diplomats, charity workers, even soldiers like to rock out. Also, due to the security situation, people end up having a lot of spare time and they often pick up an instrument. It’s also a good way to de-stress. When I turned up in 2009, I wanted to play some bass for fun. I heard about White City and that they were looking for a singer. I hadn’t sung lead before, but I thought, “why not”. Kabul’s a very small scene and everybody knows each other, so after my first rehearsal with them, Travis (guitarist) exclaimed, “where have you been hiding?”!
Is it hard to be a rocker in Kabul after all? What do the native people think of you?
R: It’s very strange to be recognized in the street. I was featured singing in a promotion for a popular children’s channel and all kinds of people were waving to me on the street. So far I haven’t had one single negative reaction. Sometimes the positive attention can be a little overwhelming and the crowds a little crazy. One time I was knocked over by teenagers trying to get a photo with me and had to be dragged to my feet. It’s amazing how fast the kids have “got” rock ‘n roll, though. In the beginning, some of our fans didn’t know how to dance to rock, they’d dance in a traditional style to metal. But now even the girls are headbanging and making rock signs with their fingers.
I think that you must face the most major problems being in a Muslim country. Can you tell us a couple of funny ones? I bet wearing a hijab is the most common thing huh?
R: I wouldn’t say problems. Sometimes the reactions are funny. I’ve had a lot of marriage proposals. One kid asked me why my boobs were so small. He wasn’t trying to be rude, he just hadn’t a clue how to talk to girls. I dragged him up on stage for that and told the audience what he’d said and let them judge whether that was right or wrong. But I also shook his hand and made clear that, as long as he didn’t say stuff like that again, we were friends. Some days I love my hijab (like bad hair days), some days it gets in the way. Any Muslim girl will tell you the same thing. But Afghans understand I’m western and I’m not Muslim, so, if I didn’t wear one, I’d probably attract more (unwanted) attention, but it wouldn’t be a huge problem.
Back to the album again. Why did you choose to feature three tracks from the “Space Cadet” EP in 2012? Did you re-record them?
R: We recorded the EP in Pakistan at the end of a major tour of Central Asia. We think the songs are great, but the session was rushed and we felt they didn’t quite get the sound we were aiming for – something heavier, earthier. We’ll always love “Space Cadet” and “Spoons”, but we felt like they didn’t quite fit into that sound.
What does the album title “Landlocked” state? Is it kinda personal?
R: Not at all. It’s a direct reference to Afghanistan, a landlocked country. It also stands as a metaphor for being closed in on all sides without a clear exit. In environments like that you find creativity thriving despite all odds.
Since every track tells a story do give us a hint about them…
R: “Drive by Nandos”: This is a story of my origins. I grew up in an area called Shepherd’s Bush, which is traditionally a deprived area (although currently undergoing gentrification like every other ‘edgy’ place in the world). It has probably the most fried chicken shops per square yard of any place in London and there was a drive-by gang shooting at one of these, which really summed up the area for me. This song is about Shepherd’s Bush moulding me from an early age and knowing I wanted to go further than that.
“Breakbone Fever”: When we were writing the bulk of the album in Sri Lanka, Travis became very sick. As I was also sick with food poisoning around the same time, we assumed it was that and forced him to play a gig, propped up on a stack of amplifiers. The next day, we finally took him to a doctor and he was diagnosed with the (sometimes fatal) dengue fever, otherwise known locally as breakbone fever, because it feels as if your bones are breaking inside your body. One day, while he was sweating it out and hallucinating in bed, I had a nap and dreamt that the virus was hoards of American soldiers invading Afghanistan. I woke up convinced Trav had died, but, thankfully, he was far from 6 ft under.
“Silver Hyena”: This is about my firsthand experience of seeing security contractors and hired mercenaries fight it out in a Kabul speakeasy. The guys in question started the night by burning a stack of (taxpayer funded) furniture on the front lawn of their 100k a month house (also, thanks to the US taxpayer), drive drunk to the bar and then start fights. Sadly, sometimes the ex-pat scene in Kabul attracts scum as well as the bright and best.
“Petrol Sucker”: One evening, as we were rehearsing, the power went off. This was not surprising. 24 hour electricity only came to Kabul in 2009 and powercuts are an almost daily occurrence. We went to turn the generator on, but we were out of gas. The only fuel in the House of Rock (where we live together) was in Trav’s motorbike. Trav and Andreas siphoned the fuel out by sucking through a hosepipe. The fumes made them giddy and fall about until I started giggling. Then Trav told me that kids do that sort of thing in Australia for fun. So I wrote a song about it.
“Frozen in Rock”: This is a song about the last days of Pompeii, as Vesuvius was covering it with lava and ash.
“Last Plan”: This is a song about a young Afghan girl, betrothed at an early age and growing up in the rapidly developing city of Kabul, where garish shopping malls go up amongst slums with narco-cash. She resolves to get out of the city to a world she knows is waiting for her. It’s now or never.
“Pistol in the Hood”: When I was queuing for a late-night bar one night, a security contractor asked me if I would carry his gun in for him, as weapons aren’t allowed in. He asked me because he knew the Afghan guards don’t search women. I said no, but as I was going in, he snuck up behind me and put his 9mm in the hood of my jacket. I didn’t notice until I was inside and he claimed it back from me. I was so angry and asked why he needed a gun in the bar anyway. He pointed at the Afghan guards and said, “they’ve got guns, so we’ve got guns”.
“Belly Deep”: This is about an Afghan woman left behind by her American lover.
“Honey Goliath”: This is an elegy to the last bumblebee on earth.
“Perfect 10”: “Perfect 10” is a wild motorbike ride across the plains of Afghanistan, imagining what lies underneath the burqa from the perspective of another woman.
“Pivo”: This is our touring anthem from the ‘stans. In Russian, pivo is beer, vodka is vodka (obviously), travka is grass (and also Travis’s nickname) and suka is bitch. It’s a sort of stupid road song for White City...
What’s with the break on “Pivo” after 2:50 minutes and the “weird music talks” we hear on the last 1 and a half minute?
R: That’s a mixture of our band, mascot, Chiburashka (he’s sort of the Soviet Mickey Mouse) and me messing around on a Hammond in the studio processed through Trav’s pedals.
How did you choose to cooperate with Jaime Arellano Gomez (Cathedral, Guapo, Turisas, Art Brut etc.) in the first place? I can tell that the excellent final outcome exceeded my expectations! Are you totally satisfied too?
R: We call Gomez THE MASTER, because he knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s been a long-term friend of mine, an amazing drummer and he has a musician’s ear for recording. He is a slave driver, too, but that’s what we needed. As fans of Mike Patton, sludge, stoner and prog rock, his client list made us wet too.
Why did you decide to release your album on your own?
R: We’ve always been DIY, from setting up our own gigs, tours, even festivals. So it was a no-brainer to release the album on our own. Plus, as an international band with fans all over the world, it would have presented a challenge to a label and there aren’t many record labels in Afghanistan!
What are the advantages and the disadvantages when you go independently, without having a music label to back you up?
R: The advantages would definitely be artistic control and having the record exactly as we like it. Plus, we have the satisfaction of knowing we did this all ourselves. The disadvantages are possible lack of exposure and also having that financial backing. We had to graft for five years to put together the money to record and release the album properly.
You have mostly toured Central Asia all these years and now it’s the first time that you will be in the US. How did that occur and where are you planning to tour/play next?
R: We never had any intention to play in the West. Asia and Russia were more intriguing to us as markets. But after we were invited to SXSW we decided that we should play there.
What are the band’s further plans now that you debut album is out? One goal has been achieved right? What’s after that?
R: Oh you know, the usual, world domination etc.
Time for our “weird questions”! What is the White City and why did you choose to call your band that way?
R: White City is one of the UN’s state of alerts. When “White City” is called, no-one is supposed to leave their compounds. So it takes real commitment to sneak out and see one of our gigs. No matter what the security status, we’ll play.
Do you plan to leave Kabul at some point, if you get the chance? Don’t you miss the Western World & Culture?
R: Well, sure we’d like to leave Kabul and explore the rest of the world. We’d live on the road if we could. But we don’t miss the western world at all. I mean, I sometimes miss a really good cup of coffee, but the chance to see and learn new things is intoxicating. As for Culture – the internet takes care of that. You can ‘be’ anywhere and still play, talk and inform the world wherever you are!
What do you think of the illegal downloading and how can it be eliminated?
R: You can’t put the genie back in the bottle. Illegal downloading can’t be eliminated, record companies need to find a new model and bands need to diversify.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard of you before?
R: It’s the sound of energy, fun, anger, frustration and joy…
How would you convince someone to buy your album instead of hundreds of others that are on the market?
R: I’d say come to one of our shows or watch our videos online. We’re not just an aural experience, we’re the sound of driving through the Afghan desert, of teaching Afghan girls to headbang, of freedom through expressing yourself.
Best rock band at the moment?
R: Blood Red Shoes. We love their energy. Also, District Unknown, Afghanistan’s first metal band.
Most overrated band at the moment?
R: Mumford and Sons…
Best female vocalist?
R: Rhiannon “Ritzy” Bryan from The Joy Formidable…
That’s all Ru! Thank you for this interview. Any last words?
R: Petrol is free if you can steal it.
R: We never had any intention to play in the West. Asia and Russia were more intriguing to us as markets. But after we were invited to SXSW we decided that we should play there.
What are the band’s further plans now that you debut album is out? One goal has been achieved right? What’s after that?
R: Oh you know, the usual, world domination etc.
Time for our “weird questions”! What is the White City and why did you choose to call your band that way?
R: White City is one of the UN’s state of alerts. When “White City” is called, no-one is supposed to leave their compounds. So it takes real commitment to sneak out and see one of our gigs. No matter what the security status, we’ll play.
Do you plan to leave Kabul at some point, if you get the chance? Don’t you miss the Western World & Culture?
R: Well, sure we’d like to leave Kabul and explore the rest of the world. We’d live on the road if we could. But we don’t miss the western world at all. I mean, I sometimes miss a really good cup of coffee, but the chance to see and learn new things is intoxicating. As for Culture – the internet takes care of that. You can ‘be’ anywhere and still play, talk and inform the world wherever you are!
What do you think of the illegal downloading and how can it be eliminated?
R: You can’t put the genie back in the bottle. Illegal downloading can’t be eliminated, record companies need to find a new model and bands need to diversify.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard of you before?
R: It’s the sound of energy, fun, anger, frustration and joy…
How would you convince someone to buy your album instead of hundreds of others that are on the market?
R: I’d say come to one of our shows or watch our videos online. We’re not just an aural experience, we’re the sound of driving through the Afghan desert, of teaching Afghan girls to headbang, of freedom through expressing yourself.
Best rock band at the moment?
R: Blood Red Shoes. We love their energy. Also, District Unknown, Afghanistan’s first metal band.
Most overrated band at the moment?
R: Mumford and Sons…
Best female vocalist?
R: Rhiannon “Ritzy” Bryan from The Joy Formidable…
That’s all Ru! Thank you for this interview. Any last words?
R: Petrol is free if you can steal it.