TPR Pod

Danny's on the show! Fresh off the massive win that was bringing Boiler Room for their first ever production in Pakistan, we talk about his multiple decade participation and eventual career in the Karachi and Pakistani music scenes. From his many bands and acts, to tales of exploitation, to travels abroad and his ventures that he hopes to lead into the future, so much good stuff in here! Jump in!  

Things discussed in this episode:  

00:00 Intro 

02:20 Karachi rain resilience! 

05:40 How Danny got into music, Karachi’s music scene in the 90s 

10:35 The Brian O’Connell connection, joining Messiah 

15:55 Talking about T2F and the pivotal role it played in Karachi’s arts & culture scene in the 00’s 

19:07 Joining culinary school, meeting new people, the LBDN, Orangenoise & Lussun era 

26:29 Leaving culinary dreams, embracing electronic music & self producing albums, the golden age of indie music in Pakistan 

34:11 Short aside on cyclical nature of “underground music” scenes in Pakistan 

36:58 Going to Nepal, immersing himself in the thriving scene there, coming back to Pakistan 

45:31 Why make SO MUCH EFFORT in Pakistan’s seemingly desolate music scene? Tales of shitty exploitative people being shitty and exploitative 

56:29 How they brought Boiler Room to Pakistan 

1:03:21 The real and perceived “impact” of bringing Boiler Room feat. our colonial hangovers 

1:08:55 Talking about legacy, keeping a clear head and open eyes, believing The Work is worth doing 

1:15:33 Jinn story! 

1:17:39 Outro  

LINKS: 

Danny's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/alienpandajury  

Support the podcast by becoming a monthly patron on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/tprpod) or send a one-off token on Ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/tprpod)!   Find all our previous episodes on SoundCloud, Spotify & Apple Podcasts and follow us all on Twitter! Links to everything below!  SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tprpod Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PvTahp... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tprpod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TPRPod  Ali: https://twitter.com/themaholupper Rizwan: https://twitter.com/RizwanTakkhar Sarkhail: https://twitter.com/Sarkhail7Khan

Long in discussion, our collab episode (series??) with Hamnawa is finally here! Recent podcast guest and smart guy Zeerak returns to talk about the July playlist of Hamnawa. Also, if you thought he just puts together some songs he likes and is done with it, such simple approaches are 100% not the Zeerak way and the level of complexity is a delight to hear.   

Check the link below for the playlist!  

Things discussed in this episode:  

00:00 Intro, refresher on what Hamnawa is and how it works, YouTube vs Spotify releases 

05:58 The Stunners Universe 

11:40 “Tamasha” by Dijay Khalifa & superdupersultan - Language barrier not a hindrance 

14:46 “Shub Deep Singh Sidhu” by Kh44ki - Sidhu Moosewala, India Pakistan’s strong hiphop connections 

23:29 Why is there so much hip-hop in Hamnawa 

24:56 “EKDOUTEENCHAAR” by Rozeo’s, his versatility, Instagram’s place in the music scene 

30:35 Outro  

LINKS: 

Hamnawa's July Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5BEHZ9JCGLHCblzRJN3bya

Hamnawa's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamnawa_net/  

Support the podcast by becoming a monthly patron on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/tprpod) or send a one-off token on Ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/tprpod)!   Find all our previous episodes on SoundCloud, Spotify & Apple Podcasts and follow us all on Twitter! Links to everything below!  SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tprpodSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PvTahp... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tprpod/Twitter: https://twitter.com/TPRPod Ali: https://twitter.com/themaholupperRizwan: https://twitter.com/RizwanTakkharSarkhail: https://twitter.com/Sarkhail7Khan

These week we have Neelam Shoaib, one of the co-founders of Shadiyana.pk on the show! Shadiyana is a startup she and her friend Izzah started aimed at easing the process of actually putting together a wedding. From venues to makeup artists to photographers, they offer a comprehensive list of options in the Islamabad-Rawalpindi area, along with a popular content creation push aimed at addressing the many problems in and around weddings and married life in Pakistan. Good chat!  

Things discussed in this episode:  

00:00 Intro 

02:00 Why are they reaching out to podcasters? 

03:38 Why did Neelam decide to study software engineering? 

07:56 Deciding corporate jobs are not for them, moving into post-grad programs 

12:44 When does The Idea occur? 

17:15 Identifying the problem they were trying to solve - Pakistan’s nightmare shaadi logistics 

23:41 Issues faced by vendors in the age of social media and how Shadiyana could help 

28:04 Convincing users and vendors about the idea, having to explain what a website is 

32:06 What is their business model? How did they decide the company would fund itself? 

38:17 Young women in tech - how did the wedding market react? How do their parents feel? 

46:09 How Neelam & Izzah split their responsibilities, extra scrutiny on women in the market 

50:28 Shadiyana’s operations - how many customers & vendors they have, site traffic 

54:51 Shadiyana’s finances - their thoughts on outside investors, their current finances 

59:31 How Pakistan’s economics link to their work, challenges with future expansion to Lahore & Karachi 

1:04:58 How thoughtful & intentional content creation is a key part of their outlook, not just marketing 

1:08:54 How important is content creation for them? Would they ever pivot to it completely? 

1:12:06 Jinn Story! 

1:14:56 Outro  

LINKS: 

The website: https://shadiyana.pk/ 

Their instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shadiyana.pk/   

Support the podcast by becoming a monthly patron on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/tprpod) or send a one-off token on Ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/tprpod)!   Find all our previous episodes on SoundCloud, Spotify & Apple Podcasts and follow us all on Twitter! Links to everything below!  SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tprpod Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PvTahp... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tprpod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TPRPod  Ali: https://twitter.com/themaholupper Rizwan: https://twitter.com/RizwanTakkhar Sarkhail: https://twitter.com/Sarkhail7Khan

Zeerak Ahmed is a #smartguy. We have managed to bamboozle him into coming on the show. The idea was to talk about his great music blog/newsletter and accompanying playlists under the heading of Hamnawa. And we did. But what the main chunk of the conversation turned out to be was about masterplan to revolutionize (my allegations, not his) the Urdu typing interface in the modern age.   

Discussions about language, aesthetic obsessions with fonts, the flaws and troubles that are unearthed in trying to fix this and more ensue!  

Things discussed in this episode:  

00:00 Intro

03:12 We’re going to talk about Zeerak’s WHOLE LIFE LGS JOHAR TOWN

07:24 Why did he choose to study Computer Sciences, the rise of big tech careers

13:23 Was there any culture shock when he moved from Lahore to the US? Big things, small things

20:33 How and why he got into software design

The Urdu Keyboard Idea "Matnsaz"- attempting to refine and revolutionize the Arabic/Urdu keyboard:

Hamnawa, his monthly newsletter on new Pakistani music:

1:14:02 Ali complaining about the podcast not being popular

1:19:15 What tech progress should NOT be made/we are getting old

1:22:50 Outro

LINKS: 

His Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zeerakahmed/ 

His Twitter: https://twitter.com/zeerakahmed  

matnsaz.net aka The Keyboard Project (he doesn't call it this) 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matnsaz_net/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/matnsaz  

hamnawa.net 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamnawa_net/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hamnawa_net 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/gopyek4heuirx7fhapzd86orn  

Support the podcast by becoming a monthly patron on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/tprpod) or send a one-off token on Ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/tprpod)!   Find all our previous episodes on SoundCloud, Spotify & Apple Podcasts and follow us all on Twitter! Links to everything below!  SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tprpod Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PvTahp... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tprpod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TPRPod  Ali: https://twitter.com/themaholupper Rizwan: https://twitter.com/RizwanTakkhar Sarkhail: https://twitter.com/Sarkhail7Khan

This week on the show we have Usman Rafique, a young YouTuber from Lahore! Usman got popular after a few of his videos went viral that showed a side of Lahore that might not be visible in the mainstream content scene, including videos about his days at the government school he goes to and his dad's store in the inner-city.   

We talk about how and why he started his YouTube channel, how things have been going, and his plans for the future!  

Things discussed in this episode:  

00:00 Intro 

02:40 When did usman start making YouTube videos? \

07:45 His first few videos, early response, and his first viral video 

12:42 Getting serious after his viral video, concerns about growth rate, how interviews helped 

17:00 How did he manage so many YouTube videos with school? 

20:45 Did he ever get negative comments?

24:31 Talking about PR packages and brands 

26:33 What are his plans for the future? University and job 

30:31 Food vlogging and meeting fans 

33:18 Meeting other YouTubers, upgrading his cameras, food video plans 

37:05 Jinn Story! 

39:50 Outro  

LINKS: 

Usman's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7_3XjNMjMP-E_4jK6l-NFQ/about 

Usman's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/usman.rafique786/ 

Usman's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/middleclassusmanrafique/  

Support the podcast by becoming a monthly patron on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/tprpod) or send a one-off token on Ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/tprpod)!   Find all our previous episodes on SoundCloud, Spotify & Apple Podcasts and follow us all on Twitter! Links to everything below!  SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tprpod Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PvTahp... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tprpod/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TPRPod  Ali: https://twitter.com/themaholupper Rizwan: https://twitter.com/RizwanTakkhar Sarkhail: https://twitter.com/Sarkhail7Khan

This week we have Ayesha Shahid, a smart person I know off Twitter, on the show! Ayesha's studied Urban Planning and works with the World Bank in Pakistan in the developmental sectors. What lead to my wanting to have her on the show was her very curious decision to start farming! Like proper acquire a bit of land, plant crops, work towards harvest etc. 

We start off by talking about her life, move to Karachi at an early age, KGS, studying in the US and then working with the Benazir Income Support Program. Learning about the spatial aspects that contribute towards poverty pushes her towards the urban planning route, and on her return she talks about how the farming project began and how its been going.

Things discussed in this episode:

00:00 Intro

03:31 How/why she got into studying City Planning

07:46 Army kids moves to Karachi for the first time, and goes to KGS!

15:00 Wait, how old is Ayesha really??

18:47 What was it like going from APS to KGS?

26:00 Going to the US for university, living abroad, choosing Political Sciences

30:03 Working at the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) helped her understand the spatial aspects to poverty and poverty alleviation

36:41 Why does BISP not address the spatial issues that contribute to poverty? Who does, if not them?

42:04 How she decided to get a Masters in City Planning, and her job after she returned

45:18 Why did she decide to start her farming project? What is the question she wants to answer?

54:13 How looking at the utilisation of land can help answer much larger questions about the future of the country and its people

The farming project’s timeline:

57:38 Finding her way to regenerative farming practices and getting a model to start with

1:04:22 How she got land, initial budgeting, the goat problem

1:10:15 Experimenting with what to plant. Challenges with technique, finding labor, depletion of local knowledge and expertise

1:20:32 The downward trend over the past couple years; challenges with mulch & rain, trying to adapt techniques to local conditions

1:31:25 Reaching out to experts in the Agricultural Department, other farmers, considering course corrections in technique

1:35:50 What’s her timeline of success? How long can they keep pouring money into this if there are no returns? What would success even look like?

1:38:57 Abrupt ending to the chat, plans for the future of our collabs with Ayesha, climate change doom and gloom discussion

1:43:57 Outro

LINKS:

Ayesha's Twitter: https://twitter.com/ayesharshahid

Support the podcast by becoming a monthly patron on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/tprpod) or send a one-off token on Ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/tprpod)!   Find all our previous episodes on SoundCloud, Spotify & Apple Podcasts and follow us all on Twitter! Links to everything below!  SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tprpodSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PvTahp... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tprpod/Twitter: https://twitter.com/TPRPod Ali: https://twitter.com/themaholupperRizwan: https://twitter.com/RizwanTakkharSarkhail: https://twitter.com/Sarkhail7Khan

This month's episode of the TPR Roundup is here and we're talking about the 4th season of Stranger Things! At least, the first volume of the fourth season. What we liked, how the characters are doing, fun moments, things we didn't like and more! Jump in!  

Things discussed in this episode:  

00:00 Intro 

01:41 Comparing/recapping the seasons 

05:54 Notable characters in season 4 so far 

10:59 Music will save you + the main villain 

17:51 Predicting deaths 

22:28 Thoughts, complaints, character shoutouts 

26:51 The story arcs we liked in the season and outro  

Support the podcast by becoming a monthly patron on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/tprpod) or send a one-off token on Ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/tprpod)!   Find all our previous episodes on SoundCloud, Spotify & Apple Podcasts and follow us all on Twitter! Links to everything below!  SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tprpodSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PvTahp... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tprpod/Twitter: https://twitter.com/TPRPod Ali: https://twitter.com/themaholupperRizwan: https://twitter.com/RizwanTakkharSarkhail: https://twitter.com/Sarkhail7Khan

The Fake Shamans are on the show! In case you're unaware these guys are an excellent electronic/house music duo based out of Lahore. Their music has all the markings of an exceedingly professional outfit with very clean mixes and great experimentation that takes in influences that you might not expect! 

We talked about their +10 year journey in Pakistan and internationally, their ambition to continue learning about music and pushing their own creativity, Pakistan's quirks when it comes to accepting new ideas and change, and more! Also, they have a new track coming out this week!

Things discussed in this episode:

00:00 Intro

02:22 Is the band splitting up as soon as the podcast starts??

05:32 Fake Shamans origins - how they met, acceptance of their style of music in the past vs now

13:12 Why did they want to merge eastern classical/retro music in their productions?

17:27 Blowing minds in their first international performance, reigniting their own interests

21:55 Learning to work with eastern classical musicians - experience, homework, compromises

27:47 Their Noam Chomsky song - how the concept piece came about

30:39 Has the recent rise in Pakistani music been beneficial for them and their scene too?

36:14 Increasing global acceptance vs local tendencies to play it safe and not innovate

41:05 Infrastructure gaps in Pakistan’s music scene vs environments in global markets

47:51 Commenting on growing pains in Pakistan’s live electronic music scene

52:01 Future plans - solo pursuits, the Fake Rituals record label and their aims for it

55:53 Quick Jinn story and outro

LINKS:

Their Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fakeshamans/

Their YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/FakeShamans

Their Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3EI9a3jBhsXHQPFYZXJzQi?si=8v3RGBilTOW7yrMq1xTWPw

Their SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fake-shamans

Support the podcast by becoming a monthly patron on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/tprpod) or send a one-off token on Ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/tprpod)!   Find all our previous episodes on SoundCloud, Spotify & Apple Podcasts and follow us all on Twitter! Links to everything below!  SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tprpodSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PvTahp... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tprpod/Twitter: https://twitter.com/TPRPod Ali: https://twitter.com/themaholupperRizwan: https://twitter.com/RizwanTakkharSarkhail: https://twitter.com/Sarkhail7Khan

Hashim Ali is on the show! Art director, production designer, absolutely prolific creative person, and as a result probably one of the busiest people in Pakistan. We talked about his early life, NCA, the conflict and intersection between art vs culture vs identity vs tradition in Pakistan, Coke Studio obviously and more. And there's STILL a whole bunch of things we didn't have time for. Jump right in!

Thanks to Sarfaraz, Natasha & Gul for their help. 

Things discussed in this episode:

00:00 Intro

01:44 Hashim Ali’s dance alter-ego

06:20 Early life, school in Rome, dreaming of art, getting into NCA, not wanting to be a “kanjar”

16:02 How we “found” Hashim Ali, what is his job?

24:02 Trying not to be put in a box, arguments about “originality”, culture vs tradition

32:52 His journey towards being able to believe in himself

36:07 Pakistan’s “generational trauma” translated through boundaries on culture & art

44:06 Pakistan’s tired millennials & surging Gen-Z, people still pushing against resistance

52:05 How did he get hired for Coke Studio?

59:57 Pasoori - Inspiration, team, concept, message, easter-eggs

1:07:11 Mehram - how the lyrics designed the concept, folklore, emo boys unite

1:16:50 Difference between fashion work and music videos - s/o to Zara Shahjahan

1:20:55 Does Karachi differ from Lahore in terms of their art scenes and output?

1:25:38 Hashim Ali’s shoutouts!

1:31:07 Jinn stories!

1:36:26 Outro

LINKS:

Hashim's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hashimali90/

Support the podcast by becoming a monthly patron on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/tprpod) or send a one-off token on Ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/tprpod)!   Find all our previous episodes on SoundCloud, Spotify & Apple Podcasts and follow us all on Twitter! Links to everything below!  SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tprpodSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PvTahp... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tprpod/Twitter: https://twitter.com/TPRPod Ali: https://twitter.com/themaholupperRizwan: https://twitter.com/RizwanTakkharSarkhail: https://twitter.com/Sarkhail7Khan