A rising star: Nimar Zar

Lahore pulled out a small crowd of music enthusiasts last week at the Levis Live event. While Jimmy Khan headlined the night, Nimar Zar, a relatively newer name for Pakistan opened the show. The singer-songwriter’s unique look with his curly hair may be your first impression but once you hear his music, it’s definitely not the last. The night was a culmination of what the platform set out to achieve two years ago – introducing new artists and having experienced artists play alongside them and creating an environment that is conducive to more music being produced.

Zar, who is dropping his debut album soon caught up with Instep after the show and shared what his musical aspirations are and how they brought him back to Pakistan.

Nimar Zar started playing the guitar at the age of 11 but revealed that when he was younger he didn’t have the patience to learn an instrument. “A few months later however, I got a piano and kept working on it and managed to master it. Soon enough, I got into singing because people pushed me to get into it. I was 14 when I joined my first band and since then I’ve played with different bands including Madlock and Raag and many other bands as a drummer and vocalist playing different gigs and shows in Pakistan,” he shared.

Eventually, he moved to California to study and dove straight into western music. “I was never really into eastern music although I did play with those bands. In California, I started recording music, producing and soon enough was playing small town gigs all over California,” he said.

Seeking more experiences that would then help his music, he went to London to study cinematic arts and technology but came back before getting his degree. He also recollects going to LA with a friend for nine months where he started producing a lot of music – a lot of which is material for his debut album.

“I want to create a wave in Pakistan,” he added. “I was originally into folk and R ‘n’ B music and transitioned into hip hop and rap, but my first album coming at the end of the year consists of a mix of all those things and I’d say the album is very diverse.”

With a music journey that is constantly evolving, his upcoming album will have a lot of pop, folk and R ‘n’ B. “Hip hop is just my alter ego but I would consider myself a pop and R ‘n’ B artist,” he asserted. Zar is currently shooting a music video for the album and then another in a few months - with one in Pakistan and the other in California to be able to capture both his influences.

At Levis Live, he performed a mix of his original songs and covers. ‘Mississippi’, ‘Raincoat’, ‘On My Way Up’ and ‘I Got You’ - a song he wrote for Levis Live - all got the crowd roaring. The covers included ‘Use Somebody’ by Kings of Leon, ‘Oceans’ by Seafret, ‘Fast Cars’ by Tracy Chapman and a snippet of ‘Seven Nation Army’ on everyone’s request.

We wondered whether he feels it’s a good time to be a musician in Pakistan. “I think yes because audiences are evolving in general and it’s easier to experiment in Pakistan because of the variety of people listening to all kinds of music. At the same time, I find it risky because of turbulent tastes and people not supporting local artists as much as international artists. With music it’s a really fast moving industry and people want the next big thing. It’s a worldwide thing but more scary in Pakistan.”

For Zar’s genre of music it’s probably true that the people who listen to it are more inclined towards foreign musicians but here’s to hoping the local scene develops to the extent that people take interest in local artists just as much.