interview
Singer Faakhir Mehmood has been a well-known presence in the Pakistani music scene since entering the industry two decades ago. The performer who first saw fame with his band Awaz in the '90s has since established a thriving solo career and has a number of successful albums under his belt.
Last year, the singer returned to the music scene, following an extended break, with his new album Jee Chaahay, making a comeback after taking some time off for personal reasons. “Yeah, I took a sabbatical, and it lasted longer than I'd have thought,” he concedes. “It started when I lost a loved one, and that changed my entire perception towards life. By the time I completed Jee Chaahay, the dynamics of album releases had changed worldwide significantly over a period of time due to digital downloads; now singles have become the norm. However, I still went ahead and released a full length album to mark my comeback.”
Now he is releasing the video for his song 'Kho Jaaoon', which stars Meera and the Veet Miss Super Model finalists. The clip has been directed by Sohail Javed, with designer Fahad Hussayn responsible for the wardrobe. “'Kho Jaaoon' was actually picked [for the video] by Frieha [Altaf] to associate it with the Veet Super Model contest that she's recently produced,” says the singer. Frieha also chose Sohail Javed to direct the video, and the Veet girls and Meera were all “chosen, contracted, and coordinated by Frieha” as well.
The song, 'Kho Jaaoon' is a ballad that sees Faakhir create a sound that is different from his regular pop arrangements. “'Kho Jaaoon' is a romantic ballad, and its audio went through wholesale changes after I did not like its earlier music arrangement which sounded very "house",” Faakhir reveals, “so I sat again on its music and changed its sound to what it is now. Its concept is straight forward: serenade the one you love, and celebrate the beauty, aura, and effect that person has on you.”
The concept of the video came about as a result of brainstorming and went through some changes. “Frieha and I had a few sessions to work out the concept for the video and actually ended up shooting more than one scenarios,” he divulges. “However, the final edit seems to have eliminated that complicated storyline we once agreed upon, and looks like a straight forward beauty shots oriented music video.”
Faakhir says the idea of working in collaboration with the Veet Miss Super Model contest came about because “sharing random ideas with friends sometime results in projects like these.” This isn't the first time he is working with a sponsor, and he says he is comfortable with the idea of doing sponsored assignments. “I have worked on quite a few sponsored projects in my career,” he tells, “and I feel it's a synergy of various forces that sometimes result in a win-win situation for all. I'm not at all opposed to working on such projects.”
The singer has also been busy touring, and has been working on ideas for new material as well. “Alongside my hectic touring and travelling for live concerts, I'm constantly working on new ideas and songs, because an artist cannot stem the flow of ideas, creativity, and compositions that come naturally to him. To be honest, it's a very enjoyable process,” says the singer. “I'm working on a couple of projects at present. Let's see which one comes out first.”
- By Sameen Amer
Instep Today, The News - 12th December, 2012
Singer Faakhir Mehmood has been a well-known presence in the Pakistani music scene since entering the industry two decades ago. The performer who first saw fame with his band Awaz in the '90s has since established a thriving solo career and has a number of successful albums under his belt.Last year, the singer returned to the music scene, following an extended break, with his new album Jee Chaahay, making a comeback after taking some time off for personal reasons. “Yeah, I took a sabbatical, and it lasted longer than I'd have thought,” he concedes. “It started when I lost a loved one, and that changed my entire perception towards life. By the time I completed Jee Chaahay, the dynamics of album releases had changed worldwide significantly over a period of time due to digital downloads; now singles have become the norm. However, I still went ahead and released a full length album to mark my comeback.”
Now he is releasing the video for his song 'Kho Jaaoon', which stars Meera and the Veet Miss Super Model finalists. The clip has been directed by Sohail Javed, with designer Fahad Hussayn responsible for the wardrobe. “'Kho Jaaoon' was actually picked [for the video] by Frieha [Altaf] to associate it with the Veet Super Model contest that she's recently produced,” says the singer. Frieha also chose Sohail Javed to direct the video, and the Veet girls and Meera were all “chosen, contracted, and coordinated by Frieha” as well.
The song, 'Kho Jaaoon' is a ballad that sees Faakhir create a sound that is different from his regular pop arrangements. “'Kho Jaaoon' is a romantic ballad, and its audio went through wholesale changes after I did not like its earlier music arrangement which sounded very "house",” Faakhir reveals, “so I sat again on its music and changed its sound to what it is now. Its concept is straight forward: serenade the one you love, and celebrate the beauty, aura, and effect that person has on you.”
The concept of the video came about as a result of brainstorming and went through some changes. “Frieha and I had a few sessions to work out the concept for the video and actually ended up shooting more than one scenarios,” he divulges. “However, the final edit seems to have eliminated that complicated storyline we once agreed upon, and looks like a straight forward beauty shots oriented music video.”
Faakhir says the idea of working in collaboration with the Veet Miss Super Model contest came about because “sharing random ideas with friends sometime results in projects like these.” This isn't the first time he is working with a sponsor, and he says he is comfortable with the idea of doing sponsored assignments. “I have worked on quite a few sponsored projects in my career,” he tells, “and I feel it's a synergy of various forces that sometimes result in a win-win situation for all. I'm not at all opposed to working on such projects.”
The singer has also been busy touring, and has been working on ideas for new material as well. “Alongside my hectic touring and travelling for live concerts, I'm constantly working on new ideas and songs, because an artist cannot stem the flow of ideas, creativity, and compositions that come naturally to him. To be honest, it's a very enjoyable process,” says the singer. “I'm working on a couple of projects at present. Let's see which one comes out first.”
- By Sameen Amer
Instep Today, The News - 12th December, 2012
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