District Unknown

District Unknown
Origin Kabul, Afghanistan
Genres Progressive metal, Psychedelic metal, Post-metal
Years active 2009–present
Members Qasem Foushanji
Pedram Foushanji
Yo Khalifa
Sulleiman Omar
Past members Lemar Saifullah
Qais Shaqasi
Sasan Fanoon
Fa'ez Soltani
Nasir Ahmad

District Unknown is a psychedelic metal band from Kabul, Afghanistan. Formed in 2009, it is thought to be the first heavy metal band from the region. After a number of changes, the lineup currently consists of founding members Qasem (bass guitar, synthesizer) and Pedram (drums, percussion), Yo Khalifa (lead vocals, keyboards) and Sulleiman (lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals).

History

District Unknown was formed in 2009 by cousins Lemar and Qais, and brothers Qasem and Pedram through filmmaker Travis Beard. Originally starting as a doom/thrash metal band, the quartet began experimenting with psychedelic music in order to carve out their own sound. Originally playing small shows with a series of covers and original songs "The Nightmare" and "The Dying Bride", threats towards the band began arriving from ultra-conservative and Taliban militants who were opposed to the group making music, so the band had to play in secret, wearing masks and not revealing their names. In 2011 the band experienced a change in lineup with Lemar moving abroad, with Sason and Fa'ez joining the band to bolster the lineup and Nasir Ahmad of Afghan pop group Arian joining temporarily on keyboards. After stopping wearing masks the band began to gather attention from international media outlets who gained an interest in their story, such as the BBC,[1] CBS[2] and Rolling Stone.[3] 2012 saw further changes in the band as District Unknown reverted to a 4 piece band, with Yo Khalifa joining as the new lead vocalist and Sulleiman joining on lead guitar. In August 2014 the band released their debut album, Anatomy of a 24 Hour Lifetime, and in June 2015 the band, along with documentary film Martyrs of Metal, won the Global Metal Award at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards, held in London on June 15, 2015; the film was eventually retitled Rockabul.[4]

In 2016 the band regrouped and released new track "64" on July 8.[5]

Members

The spellings of certain romanized names may vary[6]
Current lineup
Former members
  • Lemar Saifullah - lead guitar, clean vocals (2009-2010)
  • Qais Shaqasi - rhythm guitar (2009-2012)
  • Nasir Ahmad - keyboards (2010-2011)
  • Sasan Fanoon - lead guitar, backing vocals (2011-2012)
  • Fa'ez Soltani - lead vocals, keyboards, violin, cello (2011-2012)

Discography

  • Anatomy of a 24 Hour Lifetime (2014)

In film

References

  1. ↑ Rocking Kabul: Afghanistan stages secretive rock event BBC, 4 October 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2014
  2. ↑ Afghan youth rock freedom of expression at festival CBS News, 3 October 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  3. ↑ Amplifiers in Kabul Rolling Stone. 7 December 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2014
  4. ↑ "RocKabul". 22 December 2017.
  5. ↑ EXCLUSIVE: District Unknown release new track "64", discuss life since Anatomy Rocksins. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  6. ↑ District Unknown 2012 Project Archived February 8, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. District Unknown. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  7. ↑ "Documentary film about RocKabul band". 24 September 2018.
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