An interview with
FAAKHIR

For the average music fan, the vocalist is more than just the voice of a music band he is the image. However, many times the band unjustifiably becomes associated with the vocalist. The point to note is that although the vocalist is an important member of the band, it is the composer who remains pivotal. Faakhir is one such hinge the fuel of the Awaz bandwagon. Reflecting on both highs and lows in his career, Faakhir has come out a man more determined

What is your academic background?
Basically I am an electrical engineer from U.E.T. in Lahore.

So, does being an engineer help in the field of music?
Once you go through an education such as engineering, your mind becomes accustomed to grasping new things quickly. Even when I am working on some new gadget, all I have to do is just go through the manual and I am able to explore and understand the intricacies of that particular technology.

Recall for us your early Awaz days?
I was in my second year in U.E.T. when Awaz was formed. By the time I graduated the band was already a hit. In my student days, I faced tremendous pressure from my studies, parents and music. I had to shift my entire setup to another place and in the morning, when I had to go to college, I used to go to my studio and work on my music. In the evening, when I used to return home, my parents thought I had stayed late to study. But by then I had become very good at handling a lot of things at one time.

How did you meet up with Haroon?
Well, we weren't from the same educational institution but our music was what brought us together. The music scene in Islamabad was very limited, comprising of only a few bands. So we all knew each other from there.

What is music for you?
Music for me has always been a hobby. You see, a hobby usually turns into a profession and profession more often than not into greed. For every musician, music is a passion at first and then it turns into business. This is why I always take time with my music, unlike others. I believe if you are good enough, you'll get what you deserve. You don't need to run after money, it will come your way.

Your very first solo album is about to be released. Tell us a bit about it?:
The album is titled Aatish. It was produced, engineered and recorded by myself, and it has been mixed and mastered by Shahi (Shahzad Hasan). There are a minimum of ten and a maximum of twelve tracks.

Who has done the lyrics?
Sabir Zafar has done more than half of the songs. Tere Bina is written byj Nadeem Asad. `Mien there is one song by Nadeem ulasan; two songs Riaz ur Rehman Saghar; and two by actor, Jamal Shah. so we have a lot of variety there.

What are your musical influences?
Well, there aren't any music schools here and the major influences for all of us remain the different types of music that we have been exposed to over the years. For me, eastern and western music remain the inspiration. The amalgamation of their elements is my music.

How much time did the album take?
Almost a year. Since I was working on so many compositions and I wanted to do justice to all of them, I decided to take my time with it.

When do you plan to release it?
I have finalized a deal with Sadaf Records, the same company who launched Junoon and Ali Raider earlier. Najam, Junaid Jamshed and myself are next in line. I am targeting its release around the end of this month, but that is totally at the discretion of the record label. Because of the scourge of piracy here, they want the international release to be simultaneous with the Pakistan release.

Before your solo career you used to compose songs for Awaz. Have you made a concerted effort to sound different from what you've already done in the past?
Let me tell you something, it's very easy being different. Now, if I make a song without a beat it will sound very different. But if it doesn't sound pleasing to your ears how can it be acceptable to others. Why should I make a conscious effort to sound different when what I did for Awaz was my signature style? I am proud of it.

In the first album of Awaz two songs you sung, Dhund and Jaanay kaun thi hasina were huge hits but you never publicized them as much as the others, why was that?
Jaanay kaun thi hasina was a major hit even without a video. It was even plagiarized by Bollywood. But I didn't make a video because I didn't believe in self projection. You know lead singers have that knack for self projection. Even though I was doing the compositions myself, I was happy having Haroon sings them and take the limelight. I was a team member and I only vied for Awaz's success.

Awaz used to be Pepsi sponsored and there are allegations that sponsors impose themselves on the artists. Is that true?
Well, in the Awaz days Pepsi never tried to impose themselves on us or tried to influence our music. And even now, I did a video with Pantene. It was a huge budgeted video shot in Barcelona, Spain ... and even they never tried to impose themselves in any way.

We have heard that a music company in Spain wanted you to do an album with them?
Yes, this is a fact. This song that I did Dilruba had Spanish overtones and a recording company loved it so much that it wanted me to do a whole album. But I don't have time for it right now, maybe at a later time.

How did you get the Spanish musicians to perform for your song?
Well, it was with the 'Gold Leaf Voyage of Discovery' that I got to meet them. I invited them over to my studio and they were super quick with their music. I just gave them the chords and it took them hardly half an hour to do their part in a ,single take.

Tere bina was basically a patriotic number but the treatment and even the lyrics are quite different. Like you do not hear Meri jaan mujhe lay low baahon mein while referring to your country?
Everybody I meet keeps telling me that in this song it seems you are singing for a girl rather than your homeland. My simple reply to that is, 'can't we treat Pakistan like something you love'. I get a lot of responses from Pakistanis living abroad, that when they listen to this song they cry because it really reminds them of their mitti. I wrote the first line Tery bina dil na lagay, when I was in New York and missing Pakistan. Hence the feel of the song is real as are these lyrics Saath samandar paar teri yaad mujhe pal pal tarpaaye.

Was the lyrics by Nadeem Asad?
I always write the punch line for a song myself and then the lyricist writes the lyrics around the punch line. It is never changed because I need to work on the concept of my actual inspiration. It has to be that way for the song to be powerful. I never change the chorus line, because the words and the melody that you conceive for your song are the best for it. For example, there is a song in my new album, "To gham na kar meray yaar". Now this line is mine and the lyrics have been done by Jamal Shah. Similarly there is another, "Meri aatish bujha dai to", which I wrote and the lyrics have been done by Sabir Zafar. And the same goes for all the other numbers. If there are some other concepts and words that I believe should be in the song, I ask the lyricist to adjust them.

From a part time vocalist to a full time vocalist, what have been the prerequisites of the change?
I make sure I do my riaz (Practice) every morning for an hour and then I take crushed spices powder steam for my sinus problem. I want my voice to be able to hit high pitches so that it does not feel restrained. I also jog everyday to maintain my stamina for concerts.

With all three of your songs distinct in subject and treatment, have you made a conscious effort to touch different subjects? I am not a philosopher and I don't try to be one. Only when I feel strongly about a subject do I make a song about it, therefore there is no deliberate attempt to squeeze in social or political issues just for the heck of it. The album is basically an entertainment album. It is about love and missing your loved ones. It is also about inspiring people to reach for the stars. And of course it has patriotism too. A song of yours kabhi kabhi pyar mein was the title of a television play. How did that come about? Well, I had already made this song and the television people wanted it, so we had an agreement on it.

Everybody worth his salt in Pakistani music is going abroad, what is your comment on that?
International basically means India. If anybody makes it big in India, he makes it big amongst the Indian and Pakistani expatriate communities, but not beyond that. But if you have excellence like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan or Zakir Hussain, then and only then do you make it big in the real sense of the world.

Recently Salman Ahmed got nominated as the United Nations special representative for Pakistan, what do you think of this development?
I think it is an inspiring thing for both music and musicians and Salman Ahmed richly deserves this honor since he is a doctor and a great musician.

Your comments on the advent of music channels in Pakistan?
Definitely a step in the right direction. Just look at India, a few years ago it lagged far behind Pakistan in television plays, ads and even pop music. When such channels came up in India, initially they had very average products. In a four to five years time, their quality has been revolutionized. I firmly believe that if we follow the same positive trend these channels will become very progressive in the near future.