Another band bites the dust as Auj parts ways with their vocalist

Abdul Rahman Sajid, the singer for Pepsi Battle of the Bands winners Auj, has decided to part ways and pursue a solo career. This isn’t surprising—many singers in this part of the world feel they can offer more as solo artists than in bands. Auj also confirmed creative differences as the reason for letting Sajid pursue his path.

Fateful dissolution

Bands are becoming rarer in today’s Gen Z era. Global trends and the exploitative practices of streaming services have pushed musicians to speed up the music-making process. Making music as a solo artist is easier, considering scheduling conflicts, budgets, and other constraints.

Even though Auj won the final season (so far) of Pepsi Battle of the Bands, they never gained the same momentum as their predecessors, Kashmir, one of the few bands still releasing original music as a collective. Part of the blame goes to the COVID pandemic, which caused a sharp decline in live shows and brand promotions.

Despite not having the promotional backing that was promised to them, the band continued to play live shows and released their debut album, Sifr in 2021, which did fairly well for a first record from what was then a rather unknown band. The band also went on to make a soundtrack for an Amazon Prime series.

Despite these early successes, it seems that the band was struggling to get enough shows to keep the venture amicably afloat. The lead vocalist Abdul Rahman Sajid has been seen playing various solo shows throughout the country, under the moniker Havi, for over a year. Havi dropped his first single about 10 months ago, raising more speculation that this split indeed may have been in the think tank for quite some time.

In separate statements by Auj and Sajid, they seem to have parted ways amicably, with mutual respect and support for each other’s decisions. This makes one wonder what the future will hold for both Auj and Sajid, or as he now likes to be called, Havi.