IN the past few years, Said Omar has surged into the Afghan music scene in the West and has added new quality as well as his own influence. His solid voice, rhythmic music and profound lyrics follow closely the Amatouri (Amateur) Musical Movement of 1970s Kabul, which he was a part of at Istiqlal High School.
His 1999 released CD Dukhtar-e Zargar, with some new variations of contemporary Western tunes, still retains the Amatouri Movement style. Praised by many, he has become one of the most prominent Afghan singers of recent times.
Said Omar extended to us the privilege of a candid dialogue:
Question: When was your earliest encounter with music and what was it like?
Said Omar: I think I was 9 or 10, and I was naughty at home and breaking things and
destroying things. I was not allowed to touch any musical instruments that we had: harmonia, tabla, a guitar and mandolin. And when everyone
was gone to work or school, I would sneak in there and get the harmonia and start playing. And learning actually by watching my uncle and my
brother. I was getting better than everyone of them. There was a guy teaching my brother tabla. And I would sit down and watch.
And one day I surprised everyone when they asked my brother to play the harmonia and sing.
And then I said, "Can I play the tabla?"
And he said, "You can't play the tabla!"
And I said, "Sure I do!"
And I started playing. I could hold a rhythm. I was allowed to play the harmonia and tabla after that. And that is how it started. My uncle was
very good in playing harmonia and singing.
Question: So you think your uncle influenced you?
Said Omar: Oh yeah. In a couple of things: calligraphy and music. He was very talented, but doing it only at home.
I think I remember Mahsor Jamal [a musical conductor of Radio Afghanistan] come to our place once because he was my uncle's friend and
some of my uncle's other friends would come and play music. And it was encouraging me. It was fascinating to watch and listen.
Question: When you gave your first public performance, what was it like?
Said Omar: I think it was in the 10th grade. Before that some of my classmates, you know those buddies that come to your home, they heard me play the
accordion. And they liked it. And then I remember one of my teachers, his last name was Qayoumi. He actually was singing in Radio
Afghanistan. And he was our Dari, Persian, teacher. And they had a concert for 'Jashen' [Independence Day].
And I asked Mr. Qayoumi if I could play, and he said, "Well, if you have an accordion, that is fine."
I said, "Yes, I do."
I had a Russian accordion that my uncle brought from Russia a long time ago; it was still working. I remember when I went to the auditorium, and
Mr. Qayoumi, introduced me to the other kids. And Nasrat Sharqi was there. Nasrat was originally playing the accordion. And Mr.
Qayoumi asked me to play, and the group liked it a lot. Me and Nasrat were playing the accordion and some guys were playing the bongo. And
the other group was playing the harmonia and tabla.
So, we had a good concert in the Jashen. It was held at the department of Education Administration, they used to call it "Club",
but it was a big concert place, and it was kind of designed for concerts and weddings... And it was outside. We were supposed
to play one night, but since the audience liked it a lot, we...I don't remember, at least we played three nights.
Question: How did you feel about it? Where you nervous or excited?
Said Omar: Of course, I was excited. The first time I was also very nervous. And then once you get into the music, and you see the reaction of the people,
you get confidence. And then you see other kids, and you realize that you are doing better than them. That gives you a little boost.
And then next year, I started singing. I asked Mr. Qayoumi. He didn't know that I was singing; I was doing it at
home. And the next year, when we all gathered for the concert festival I, asked Mr. Qayoumi asked if I could sing.
He said, "Oh yea, sure!"
Then when I started singing, they were very excited-- much more excited than when I was playing the accordion.
Question: What was the music scene like in Kabul in the mid-1970s? What was the feeling?
Said Omar: At that time, Ahmad Zahir was the man. And I was actually encouraged by one of my family members. I was singing [Ustad] Zaland's and Ahmad Wali's and everybody's songs, including Ahmad Zahir's. And then my relative asked if I could sing Ahmad Zahir's song.
She was like, "Oh my God! Your voice is very close to him."
She was encouraging me every time to sing Ahmad Zahir's songs. And that is why I got hooked to it. And whenever I was singing, it was all Ahmad Zahir's songs that were requested.
So that was the time Ahmad Zahir was very popular. He had new ideas in music. And especially being the son of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abdul Zahir; Ahmad Zahir changed the whole thing about music. And back then there were only a particular group [Kharabati] who were playing. Then performing music in public came into the regular, middle-class families.
Question: Was this new movement an encouragement?
Said Omar: Oh yeah. That is why you remember Mirza Qalam. Mizra Qalam was a comedian... A lot of groups came out in the 1960s and 1970s and bands. Some of them sucked and some of them, you know, were just decent. And he was making a joke of these people.
And I think the reason why music changed was because of Ahmad Zahir...most of all, besides Ustad Nangalai and the music school [in Kabul]. It was not bad, it was good.
When you are a teenager, you just don't go very deep into the lyrics. But later when you grow-up, you see that Ahmad Zahir not being a Kharbati or a professional singer. Singing was a hobby for him. And there you realize his choices and the lyrics, the rhythms, the melodies, the whole thing. It just takes you beyond these other people.
It is amazing-- this guy, at his age, his instinct and the whole thing. It attracted me a lot. His voice-- just his incredible voice.
Question: In three words, how do you describe Ahmad Zahir?
Said Omar: Three words? I am not sure if I can in three words. [laughs]. But...there is so many things I can say. I mean he was the best in picking the lyrics, the right timing, the melody, the way he was doing it with passion and...feeling. That was his major part of his success. He can be very technical or he can be what do you call it "toned" or on the rhythm. But if music doesn't come out of your heart with passion, you cannot listen to it often. So, his success, I think, was his love and passion.
Question: What is your favorite Ahmad Zahir song?
Said Omar: I love his song, Tanha-to-e, tanha. The lyrics and the whole thing. Just his voice is in my ear when I sing it. His age and his passion are incredible. And I still think later in his life, he lost his momentum. He could have been much better than what he was at the end of his life. Even now a days, none of us can match him twenty years later.
Question: When you left Afghanistan in the early 1980s and came to the US, why did you take a break from music and what made you come back to it in the mid 1990s?
Said Omar: When I think of it now, I was not really thinking of getting into music. When I first came out of Afghanistan, I went
through some depression. Especially in the first days when I came to the United States, I remember landing in Seattle Airport, it was like
somebody took something away from my heart, without me having any control over it.
There is a depression and loneliness; I went through some rough times. Then it came out slowly, but I never paid much attention to music. Not being very passionate about it. And I think all this...the whole drama that happened in Afghanistan, the whole change, the whole revolution, the
invasion, the whole thing affected me a lot. You become desensitized. I was kind of emotionally struggling to get back into life.
After the mid-1980s I was guided. I can say, clearly, I was guided by God. What I learned is just whatever you do in life, we are involved with
God. I started to read the Koran. And for five to six years, I performed no music... Every Saturdays we would gather, and with our groups reading
and studying. Some people used to call me "mullah".
Question: Did you approach your studies in a Sufi manner?
Said Omar: Yea, It was some thing like that. I am still interested. The lyrics [Sufi poetry] that attract me, as you mention, it has to be there-- the connection. Because when you understand the purpose of your being on this earth, and what you are and what you are for,
that gives you that advantage and feeling to understand...you can go back to God and understand God.
Then, music came as another hobby for me. To me it kept me busy. It still is a mysteries thing. I can't answer what music is: a bunch of sounds, a bunch of frequencies, the way you organize it with rhythm? It just attracts you to it. So many people listen to it. It is very attractive if it is not used in a wrong way. It is some kind of hobby for me.
Question: How did you come about selecting the lyrics for your CD Dukhtar-e Zargar released in the winter of 1999?
Said Omar: That is Wahid Qasimi's choice of the lyrics. He was sending the songs which I picked from.
Question: Did you have control on the selections?
Said Omar: He kept sending songs. I liked most of his songs; I just returned a few of them that I didn't like. The first thing that attracts me is the lyrics. And then it is both of them: a combination of both lyrics and melody. Some of these lyrics and melody don't match because
some of the melodies are sad. The way they are [arranged]. And if you are not having the same mood and lyrics it doesn't go too well. But, I mean, he [Wahid Qasimi] did a good job. Wahid Qasimi did a good job...an excellent job.
Question: Which song on the CD is your favorite?
Said Omar: I like the sad song: Bar sar hawa. It just reminded me of those Afghan refugees, the kids, the old people, the homeless people back home and [the Afghan refugees] in Pakistan. If you go through the meaning, it is something like that.
Question: When making a song, what comes first: lyrics or melody?
Said Omar: For an example, if you listen to the Arab/Egyptian guy...the Habibi song. We only understand "Habibi"-- [meaning] "lover". But the rest of the music, melody and rhythms, the whole thing attracts you without you understanding it. So, if you are listening to something other than your own language, I think the whole sound and melody comes first. But I personally, go for the lyrics first.
It depends. If you want to make a dancing song or rhythmic song, something fun, you can, and I make up my own lyrics for some songs, which will, Inshallah, come out in my next CD. But if I pick a lyric first, then I go and try to compose it and write the song for it.
Question: How did you feel about your performance on July 2000 at the Flamingo in the San Francisco Bay Area?
Said Omar: I was not very satisfied with it because of the management of the sound and the combination of Afghan and Iranian, which we cannot compete against. I am sorry to say it. Us Afghans cannot compete with Iranians. Iranians are very advanced, very good and have more experience, more money; they get themselves educated. That is the part I didn't like; if you can't compete.
I don't say that our music, lyrics, melody are not good. No. That is not the point.
Most of our music, most of our lyrics are much better than they [Iranians] play now a days. That is why if you follow their [Iranian] music, recently, they have come to Afghan music. And they pick our songs and make beautiful, much better music then most of us [Afghans]. And their song becomes a hit. And that is it. That is the lack of musicians and knowledge [for the Afghans].
Question: You ended the concert in the Flamingo with Dokan-e Rang lyrics from the poem by Raziq Fani; what is your infatuation with that song?
Said Omar: The melody belongs to Gholam Ali; a great singer. With a little difference, I do sing it. Actually my younger brother picked the song. And then there is another friend of ours, Marouf Popal, he actually suggested the lyrics; he said this [poem by Raziq Fani] goes will with the song. And it did. As soon as I heard it, well it just [is] something that you like to do. I love that song. The lyrics are just beautiful. [It relates to] some of the things we do daily like in Afghanistan and [the Afghan refugees] in Pakistan.
Question: What plans do you have for your next CD?
Said Omar: I can't say I am working, I am thinking of working [laughs], because I am busy and going here and there, these weddings, which I am not very fond of it; it has become something of a job for me; the money is good. The rest of the week, I am just relaxing and hanging out with my kids or family.
Question: From the early 1980s until now, a gap in Afghan music has been created which is the lack of use of live musical instruments by
Afghan performers; this has led to the 'one-man-band'. Would you like to make a change in the current status of Afghan music?
Said Omar: Absolutely. I was at Googoosh's concert a couple of weeks ago in New York. It was very exciting, and I was very disappointed when I was thinking and comparing us, Afghans, with Iranian music. It was standard; their music was...Googoosh can play anywhere. And in any of these big halls that Americans or Western musicians play in, it is just the standard. Everyone was playing live. There was no drum machine, no pre-recorded music.
And once you do that, you cannot pass [feelings] into a keyboard. If it is electronically done or pre-recorded after a little while you get used it. There is nothing to look for. You are not going to get excited because it is already played or even recorded. If some one plays right in front of you, that connects you with the audience and vise versa.
Question: Are you planning to fill that empty gap?
Said Omar: I am thinking. I have to gather some people because lack of some of the instruments. As soon as we get interested in music, we [Afghans] pick-up a harmonia or tabla. And that is what we stick with to the rest of our lives. And that is not enough now a days. If you don't have...it is not singing, the music itself, these different sounds, these different instruments they have...give you different feelings. And if you don't have it, there will be that gap that you talk about.
Question: Yes, but would you like to include different live musical instruments in your next CD?
Said Omar: CD, I will work on it, I will get some musicians that I know and some others I will look for that I need, Inshallah. I will make it interesting, and I hope that I can do it. I am not going to say something bigger than what I am able to [do], but we will see, Inshallah.
Question: What advice do you have for young Afghans wishing to get into music?
Said Omar: The first thing is the passion and the drive - that insight. If you want it that bad...just study a particular type of music. Study music overall and see what you can put together professionally - not just for the fun of it. Keep focused, be open-minded. If you are not able [to] pursue it or don't have enough talent or the voice, singing, just get into an instrument. That is my suggestion.
Some of our musicians, they are not support to sing. I mean, they don't have the feelings or voice, but they shouldn't do that [sing].
Be open minded to criticism and let it go. If you can't be good, then just let it go. If you can't capture somebody's heart, if you can't
connect with those feelings, then why do it?
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