Kashmiri Artist Fahd Wani Offers Lush ‘Gusts of Spring’ Song
Dusseldorf-based guitarist-composer tracks his journey from Srinagar to studying in Germany and finding likeminded musicians
Fahd Wani (left) with drummer Sam Schwarzer. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
On guitarist-composer Fahd Wani’s new song “Gusts of Spring” with Duisburg, Germany-based drummer Sam Schwarzer, there’s lightheaded instrumental rock and another touch of diversity to the Srinagar-born Wani.
In the past, Wani has taken on everything from anthemic rock to djent and a hip-hop/metal crossover called “BRBIRL” with Punjabi artist Muzzle and vocalist Hamir. Wani says over a call, “One day, if I start performing, I would like to have a person who listens to heavy metal next to somebody who’s into pop, they’re all there in the crowd and they experience the peak of emotions in different ways.”
Inspired by Linkin Park as well as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen and more, Wani’s early songs like “Pyaraan Pyaraan,” “Cry of a Burning Paradise” and “Home” were more in the singer-songwriter space that highlighted the conflict in Kashmir. The first of those was out in 2020 as an outlet for Wani who was not able to reach out to his family for nearly six months following the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir in August 2019. “I was not able to talk to my family for six months. There was a huge sorrow about not knowing what’s going to happen. It shows the effect of war and conflict on society, even if you’re not present there,” he says.
“Pyaraan Pyaraan” had its chorus in Kashmiri sung by Wani, but most of the song is in English, with vocalist Heather Ventresco. Despite the internet shutdowns and more, Wani found out that a friend’s grandmother often asked for the song. “She doesn’t understand a word, but it was just the melody that was very nice to her. And that was the biggest compliment, in my opinion – that I was able to connect with somebody who’s three generations before me, and this music was able to resonate with her,” Wani says.
It wasn’t necessarily because of the political context for the song, but more so because it was about a collective human experience. “You just hold on to hope and pray for a better future or better life, just focus on things that are good, rather than lingering on something that you have no control over,” he says.
Wani describes how he writes lyrics or poetry and begins to build music around it, changing lyrics, composing choices and arrangements along the way. “Because I cannot sing, that’s why I have these feature artists who sing the way I have written songs,” he adds.
“BRBIRL,” which came years after “Pyaraan,” shows a whole new focus for Wani, with the track about social media addiction in a sense. Like with a few of his collaborators in the past, Muzzle and Wani connected because they were studying engineering at the same university.
“Gusts of Spring” also delivers a totally different setting. Featuring Schwarzer on drums and Wani’s go-to collaborator Relvi Toglovski on bass, it’s a soothing, summertime listen. Schwarzer says about his involvement in the project, “at the moment I mostly play grunge and metal songs, but in the recent years I‘ve tried my way through a great variety of genres to be as versatile as possible. I believe that a good drummer should be able to appreciate the various types of music offered to your specific skillset.”
Perhaps that’s the common ground that brought Wani and Schwarzer together. Wani recalls that his life has been a “rollercoaster” before he came to Germany. Graduating from school in Srinagar and then 12th standard in New Delhi, he was studying in Turkey for two years on a scholarship before “political issues” led to his university being shut down. Wani was back in India and restless for six months before he went to Indore to resume studies, changing courses once again to end up in Germany to pursue industrial engineering.
A constant sounding board he’s often found back home is fellow Kashmiri artist Alif aka Mohamed Muneem. “He’s somebody who has been giving me feedback since day one,” Wani says.
With “Gusts of Spring” out recently, Wani is planning more releases this year, including one of his heavier songs with Pune-based band Nemophilis’ frontman Kshitij Kumar Choudhary. There’s another song with Muzzle that’s been banked as well. Wani describes everything from progressive rock in the vein of instrumental act Intervals to heavier stuff. “My music, where it stands out is, it’s very vast. So there is room for anybody and everybody,” he adds.
