After making waves with the band’s appearance on Pepsi Battle of the Bands, Aaroh is splitting up as the lead singer Farooq Ahmed goes his own way.
Speaking exclusively to ProPakistani, Farooq Ahmed talked about his solo career and musical influences. He recently caught Imran Khan’s attention with his track ‘Jaag Pakistani Jaag’
“I have just released my first solo song ‘Jaag Pakistani Jaag‘ which has been shared across all social media platforms of PTI and Imran Khan. Although I have never taken sides or supported any political party in the past, this time, I was compelled to speak my mind and give my two cents.”
Jaag Pakistani Jaag! 🇵🇰
New anthem by @FAROOQVox and @AhsanBariMusic is available at the following link 👉🏻 https://t.co/NujZkWtFWy #امپورٹڈ__حکومت___نامنظور
— PTI (@PTIofficial) May 20, 2022
The track has an impressive number of views. So this has got to be the singer’s favorite work right? Not exactly. He actually has a separate place in his heart for all his works.
“I think of all of my musical creations and songs like babies. Some grew up better than others but I love them all dearly.”
Even all the work he did with Aaroh. He looks back at his time with the band quite fondly.
“That was a long time ago in the early 2000 when we auditioned for the first season of Pepsi BOB and went all the way to winning on that show. It was a lot of hard work but it was all worth it. We got massive exposure because of Pepsi and overnight we were getting calls to do concerts and make appearances. It was a life altering event.”
However, as the musician looks ahead toward a solo career, he has his own career takeaways.
“Music is an art form and one should never be pressured or rushed at making art. Creativity takes time so never make music for the sake of releasing a song. Take your time and only put it out in the world when you know you are fully satisfied with your effort. Audiences are not stupid. They know when you have put in a half-assed effort.”
Music Influences and Music As a Career
While he had so much going on for future prospects with a solo career, we also looked back into his musical past. Farooq Ahmed talked more about what got him into music.
“Music has been in my life for as far as I can remember. Both my parents would sing classical songs at our house and even my brother and sister can belt out some tunes. On top of that, I was classically trained by Ustad Nizam Uddin Khan (Delhi Gharana) for years. I was also exposed to Western rock music through my cousin. Which is why my music and songs are an amalgamation of eastern classical and rock music.”
He added how his musical inspirations are a blend reflecting the same.
“Mehdi Hasan Khan Sahib, Abida Parveen, Ustaad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Mohammad Rafi from the subcontinent and Sammy Hagar, Bono (U2), Steven Tyler, Jon Bon Jovi, Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder from a Western influence perspective.”
With the predominately rock influences from the West, the Aaroh frontman described how the genre has evolved with time. However, he’d like to see more modern Funck Rock music being made.
“I feel like every genre has evolved to incorporate elements of other genres. There are rock songs that have elements of electronic, dance, disco, rap etc. and you can say the same for R&B, Hip Hop and Pop songs that incorporate elements of Rock. It’s all evolution really and people who fear change and want to hold on to traditional ideals will become irrelevant. Adapt or Fade Away, …. I would say there are still a lot of rock songs coming out that have Heavy Metal or Blues or Electronic leanings. I myself would like to see more Funk Rock songs. The ones you can listen to on your headphones but also make people want to get up and dance. Raag Neela is a song based on Funk Rock as an example.”
On the other hand, Farooq Ahmed is just as in touch with Eastern music. He’s actually an Ali Sethi fan (who isn’t).
“I’m a big fan of Ali Sethi. I think he has a phenomenal voice and his enunciations of words and vocal delivery is mindblowing.”
On a completely separate note, the musician also talked about how he will tap into his classical training more. Especially when doing so in the past made his track Na Kaho blow up.
“I am planning on leaning more into my training as a classical singer and writing/producing more love ballads and even thinking about doing covers of some old ghazals. There is a reason why Na Kaho is my most famous song because I approached it vocally from a classical point of view. That song resonated more than any of my other songs with audiences and I want to give them more of that.”
A Post-Pandemic World
Given all his future plans how does the former Aaroh frontman plan on navigating a post-pandemic world? He shared how the global situation actually opened avenues for him.
The Houston resident has quite a positive outlook on this saying ‘every challenge is an opportunity.’
“On the contrary, given I reside outside of Pakistan and physical distancing protocols, it actually provided me with more opportunities as everything became Digital. I can record a song in my house in Houston and send it over to a producer or engineer in Pakistan to mix and master or they can send me finished instrumentations on which I can add my vocals. Every adverse event also has a positive outcome. I know it’s very ironic but that’s literally how the world works.”
So how do you feel about the Aaroh frontman parting ways and his future plans? Let us know in the comments below.
