Kabul Dreams was formed in war-torn Afghanistan in 2008. Each of the trio’s founding members (Sulyman Qardash on vocals and guitar, Siddique Ahmedon, and Mojtaba Habibi Shandiz on drums) were uprooted from their homeland during the years of the Taliban’s dominance over the country, living as refugees in Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Iran. Once the Taliban was on the run, they returned home. Though they come from different areas of the country and speak different tongues, they found a common language in music and joined forces in Kabul in 2008.
Their sound is influenced by both punk and metal, but it is the former which takes center stage. Hailed as the first rock band from Afghanistan, Kabul Dreams released its first album, Plastic Words, in 2013. The trio became the fulcrum of an emerging rock scene in their native country but decided to move to California a year later, with Raby Adib replacing Shandiz on drums. After acclimating and performing in their new home, they returned to the studio to record Megalomaniacs, released in 2017.
The group recently performed at SXSW, and we’re crossing fingers they’ll get back in the studio soon to record something new.
Thousand Pieces