Musical style
Their dance-oriented sound characteristically blends 1977 punk stylings, with influences from psychedelic rock from around the world (like Turkey and Iran), Punjabi folk music, surf rock, reggae, disco, and dub. Their songs are often self-referential and situational, often challenging listeners to re-evaluate their assumptions of what it means to be American, or Muslim, or punk.History
In 2005, with the release of just two songs on the internet website MySpace, The Kominas found themselves subjects of national news pieces and film and radio documentaries. Initially self-labeled as Bollywood Punk, the band adopted the label "Taqwacore", in reference to a book called ''The Taqwacores'' by American novelistPolitical activism
The Kominas use a variety of ways to identify themselves to their Pakistani heritage. For example, they use the word “brown” on Twitter to evoke their racial meanings. The word is used as an identifier of the people of South Asian and Pakistani origins. It connects them to their heritage and to other similar brands and people. The Taqwacore label was another way the Kominas identified themselves. While Taqwacore consists mainly of Islamic punk rockers, bands like The Kominas don’t like how the religious aspect of the label is what people focus on. The band is just as much about the politics of what Taqwacore is. It is about promoting their heritage in a new and different way: through punk rock and through social media. The Kominas and the label Taqwacore brings together people despite the distance that may or may not be between them. They are united through their identity of being “brown,” their love of punk rock, and/or their religious affiliations. The Kominas’ songs and lyrics have a political aspect. They are meant to cause a change in a predominantly white culture. They wish to create safe spaces for people of color listening to their music. In 2020 and 2021 the Kominas held several online fundraisers to benefit the Farmer's Protests in Punjab, India.Discography
2008 - ''"Wild Nights in Guantanamo Bay"'' (Writing & Composition: Shahjehan Khan / Basim Usmani / Arjun Ray / Karna Ray ~ Production: Dana Chisholm Wellspring Sound in Acton, MA; The New England Institute of Art Brookline, MA; DChizzle Studios Lexington, MA) 2010 - ''"Escape to Blackout Beach"'' (Writing & Composition: Basim Usmani / Imran Ali Malik / Shahjehan Khan ~ Production: Sevan Minassian at New Alliance Studio) 2011 - ''"Kominas"'' (Writing & Composition: Imran Ali Malik / Basim Usmani / Hassan Ali Malik / Abdullah Saeed ~ Produced: Sevan Minassian at New Alliance Studio) 2015 - ''"Stereotype"'' (Writing & Composition: Basim Usmani / Hassan Ali Malik / Karna Ray / Shahjehan Khan ~ Production: Sevan Minassian, Steve Roche, and Haris Usmani ~ Recorded at New Alliance Studios in Cambridge, Massachusetts & Permanent Hearing Studios in Philadelphia, PA ~ Mastered by Nick Zampiello at New Alliance Mastering in Cambridge, Massachusetts) 2017 - ''"No Fun"'' ''(single)'' 2019 - ''"The Systems are Down"''References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kominas, The American musicians of Pakistani descent Indie rock musical groups from Massachusetts Musical groups from Boston Musical groups established in 2005 Punk rock groups from Massachusetts Taqwacore