About
Alif is an Indian band founded in 2008 by the Srinagar-born singer-songwriter and poet Mohammad Muneem, known for setting Kashmiri, Urdu and Hindi poetry to contemporary music. Often labelled Kashmiri Sufi rock, a tag Muneem resists in favour of plain Urdu and Kashmiri poetry with contemporary music, the band has done much to bring Kashmiri-language music to national audiences.
Mohammad Muneem co-founded a college rock band, Highway 61, in Pune in 2008, which was later signed and renamed Alif, after the first letter of the Urdu alphabet, symbolising oneness. The band reached mainstream popularity with the 2017 album Sufayed, whose songs Jhelumas and Lalnawath (the latter winning a Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival award for best music video) became crowd favourites, followed by the album Siyah and singles such as Ride Home and Azizo. Muneem, who also teaches Urdu poetry, has made Alif one of the most distinctive voices carrying Kashmiri music and poetry to the rest of India.
The artistry
At the heart of Alif is Mohammad Muneem's poetry, in Kashmiri and Urdu, and his voice, set against a genre-agnostic contemporary sound that ranges from rock to spare, atmospheric arrangements and uses both western and Kashmiri instruments. Songs like Jhelumas, a tribute to Kashmiri women and the resilience of the Valley, and collaborations with traditional Kashmiri artists such as Noor Mohammad, give the band a distinctive emotional and political depth.
[Atlas Perspective] Alif is a distinctive, poetry-driven band and one of the most prominent contemporary voices of Kashmiri culture in Indian music. For festivals and events seeking literary depth and a meaningful regional voice, they are a strong, differentiated choice.
Alif has brought Kashmiri poetry, language and music into the Indian mainstream through contemporary sound, giving voice to the landscape, resilience and imagination of the Valley. The band has helped bring Kashmiri-language songwriting to national audiences and platformed traditional Kashmiri artists.