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Fusion from Pak band
Fuzon members Imran, Shafqat & Shallum are the guys behind the soulful Tere Bina in Nagesh Kukunoor?s sequel to Hyderabad Blues.
Once you hear Tere Bina in Nagesh Kukunoor’s Hyderabad Blues-II, you’ll feel like listening to it over and over again. That’s the magic of Shafqat Amanat Ali’s voice, the lead singer of Pakistani band Fuzon. Al is a ninth-generation musician from the Patiala Gharana, and the son of legendary singer Ustaad Amanat Ali Khan Sahib.
“My father is happy that I’ve got into music. So what if it’s not hardcore classical. It’s a beautiful mix of eastern classical and western music. My guru and father taught me that music must be melodious. One must never forget one’s roots. That is what I keep in mind before composing my music,” says the Lahore-based musician.
The three-member band was in town on a whirlwind tour, and the best part is that all three compliment each other. Syed Mohammed Imran Momina on the keyboard and Shallum Asher Xavier on the guitar (a huge Pink Floyd and U2 fan), met Shafqat in 2001 in Karachi where he had come for a project. They bumped into Imran and decided to start Fuzon at a jam session.
Their album Sagaar was released in 2002 and the opening track Ankhon Ke Sagaar became the number one song in Pakistan. Shafqat says he creates music from the heart and is an ardent admirer of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan sahib, Pandit Jasraj, Ravi Shanker and Manna Dey. He also likes listening to Shanker Madhavan. “I watch a lot of Bollywood films. In Guru Dutt’s films, my all time favourite is Kagaz Ke Phool. Dilip Kumar was beyond compare in his hey day and there’s nobody like Shah Rukh Khan now”.
The songs for Kukunoor’s film happened thanks to Virgin that released their album. “The 10 songs in Sagaar have been sung differently. Even if it’s the same raga, the tone changes. We want to travel with it all over the country,” he adds. Sounds good.
