Fuzön (band)
Encyclopedia
Fuzön is an alternative rock
band from Karachi
, Sindh
, Pakistan
formed in 2001. The name has been derived from fusion
as the former vocalist Shafqat Amanat Ali
describes the band as a fusion of Indian classical music
and modern rock music
.
The Fuzon art insists on setting feelings above mere technique; and creating an individualistic genre of mold breaking music. Above everything else Fuzon is stylistically different. Born out of diverse western pop/rock and eastern classical influences, Fuzon started in 2001. The trio, consisting of studio sessionist Immu, Shallum and vocal exponent Shafqat, rediscovered its credentials as a serious cutting-edge band, fusing deeply meditative ragas with rock and jazz.
Fuzon encompasses hybrid styles of exquisite melodies and everlasting pop/rock instrumentation, hence carving out a special niche for the threesome. The three seasoned collaborators of the band consider their debut album as a labor of love as well as a message of hope to all.
and Imran Momina
were the founding members, who decided to put their heads together as they realised that their musical ideas and tastes were identical. They developed several tracks together, but lacked a quality vocalist.
Meanwhile, Shafqat Amanat Ali
who had been singing for a few years had happened to drop into Immo's recording studio for an assignment. Shafqat's vocals so impressed the duo, that Shafqat was signed up with Shallum and Immu to form the band "Fuzon".
Shafqat had to leave the band to concentrate more on his solo projects, Rameez Mukhtar has just joined Fuzon as the new vocalist.
In 2008, it was announced that former Pakistani cricket
er Wasim Akram
, along with his wife Huma, would star in the band's music video for the track "Soona Soona". Wasim, sporting a suave new look, told reporters, "I love experimenting with my looks and used to do it even when I played cricket." The band claimed that he loved their new songs and was keen to partake: "When we were working on the song "Soona Soona", which is a sad love song, we thought of him."Its ironic that Wasim Akram's wife Huma Akram, who was his co-star in the song "Soona Soona"-- died suddenly after organ failure on Oct 25th, 2009. She was 42 and has left two boys behind.
Technically proficient, self-tutored Fuzoneer, Imran has a universe of possibilities at his disposal. Imran aka 'Emu' is a charismatic keyboard exponent. Emu is a fine studio tactician whose feeling-based work has been making sweeping statements for over a decade.
Emu has an uncanny knack for orchestrating memorable music which is dominant in Fuzon's gilt-edged tracks. Emu's immaculate and unparalleled keyboard maneuvers on one hand impart a euphoric essence to the debut album 'Saagar', and on the other his artistry is what makes the band tick.
As a musician, Emu has composed and produced music albums for a number of leading artists including Ali Haider
and Najam Shiraz.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band from Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
formed in 2001. The name has been derived from fusion
Fusion (music)
A fusion genre is music that combines two or more styles. For example, rock and roll originally developed as a fusion of blues, gospel and country music. The main characteristics of fusion genres are variations in tempo, rhythm, i a sometimes the use of long musical "journeys" that can be divided...
as the former vocalist Shafqat Amanat Ali
Shafqat Amanat Ali
Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan is a Pakistani classical singer belonging to Patiala Gharana lineage. He is the youngest brother of the late Asad Amanat Ali Khan. He was the lead vocalist of the Pakistani rock band Fuzön...
describes the band as a fusion of Indian classical music
Music of Pakistan
The music of Pakistan includes diverse elements ranging from music from various parts of South Asia as well as Central Asian, Persian, Turkish, Arabic and modern day Western popular music influences...
and modern rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
.
The Fuzon art insists on setting feelings above mere technique; and creating an individualistic genre of mold breaking music. Above everything else Fuzon is stylistically different. Born out of diverse western pop/rock and eastern classical influences, Fuzon started in 2001. The trio, consisting of studio sessionist Immu, Shallum and vocal exponent Shafqat, rediscovered its credentials as a serious cutting-edge band, fusing deeply meditative ragas with rock and jazz.
Fuzon encompasses hybrid styles of exquisite melodies and everlasting pop/rock instrumentation, hence carving out a special niche for the threesome. The three seasoned collaborators of the band consider their debut album as a labor of love as well as a message of hope to all.
History
Fuzön began in 2001. Shallum Asher XavierShallum Asher Xavier
Shallum Asher Xavier is a Pakistani guitarist, composer and music producer. He has been recording professionally for 15 years, and has played as a session musician and recorded with most of the renowned Pakistani mainstream artists including Ali Haider, Najam Shiraz, Zeb and Haniya, Hadiqa Kiyani,...
and Imran Momina
Imran Momina
Imran Momina, also known as Emu is a Pakistani pianist and composer, a member of Pakistani band Fuzon.Imran Momina is a multi-dimensional pianist and a composer, who has been playing since the age of 13...
were the founding members, who decided to put their heads together as they realised that their musical ideas and tastes were identical. They developed several tracks together, but lacked a quality vocalist.
Meanwhile, Shafqat Amanat Ali
Shafqat Amanat Ali
Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan is a Pakistani classical singer belonging to Patiala Gharana lineage. He is the youngest brother of the late Asad Amanat Ali Khan. He was the lead vocalist of the Pakistani rock band Fuzön...
who had been singing for a few years had happened to drop into Immo's recording studio for an assignment. Shafqat's vocals so impressed the duo, that Shafqat was signed up with Shallum and Immu to form the band "Fuzon".
Shafqat had to leave the band to concentrate more on his solo projects, Rameez Mukhtar has just joined Fuzon as the new vocalist.
In 2008, it was announced that former Pakistani cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram is a former Pakistani left arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman in cricketer and model. who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International matches....
, along with his wife Huma, would star in the band's music video for the track "Soona Soona". Wasim, sporting a suave new look, told reporters, "I love experimenting with my looks and used to do it even when I played cricket." The band claimed that he loved their new songs and was keen to partake: "When we were working on the song "Soona Soona", which is a sad love song, we thought of him."Its ironic that Wasim Akram's wife Huma Akram, who was his co-star in the song "Soona Soona"-- died suddenly after organ failure on Oct 25th, 2009. She was 42 and has left two boys behind.
Imran Momina
Imran Momina (aka "Emu") is a multi-dimensional pianist and a composer, who has been playing since the age of 13. His flair for arranging his own music and experimenting with melodies made him set up his own recording and mixing studio — and is where Fuzon's recording sessions took place. Moving on from humble beginnings, Emu now has a top of the line audio and video unit which caters to the artistic as well as commercial requirements of the country's top musicians.Technically proficient, self-tutored Fuzoneer, Imran has a universe of possibilities at his disposal. Imran aka 'Emu' is a charismatic keyboard exponent. Emu is a fine studio tactician whose feeling-based work has been making sweeping statements for over a decade.
Emu has an uncanny knack for orchestrating memorable music which is dominant in Fuzon's gilt-edged tracks. Emu's immaculate and unparalleled keyboard maneuvers on one hand impart a euphoric essence to the debut album 'Saagar', and on the other his artistry is what makes the band tick.
As a musician, Emu has composed and produced music albums for a number of leading artists including Ali Haider
Ali Haider
Ali Haider is a former Pakistani singer and actor. He has had numerous hits in the early 90s such as Poorani Jeans. He also had a big hit later in the 1990s with Chand Sa Mukhra. Besides singing, he has acted in numerous TV serials on PTV. Among the successful dramas was Chand Sa Mukhra, which...
and Najam Shiraz.
Shallum Asher Xavier
Shallum is fortunate to have music running in his family. Having started to play the piano from the age of nine, he shifted tracks and began `worshipping' the guitar, by practicing for eight hours a day for three whole days. Playing for quite a few local pop acts has brought him to the limelight, and he is now getting recognition for his talent. Shallum, the guitar guru harbours the kind of passion that sets him apart from guitar gods pack. His six-string work encompasses tones in the direction of blues, rock, jazz, classical and everything in between. All his influences are focused towards creation of exhilarating, infectious but most of all moving slipstream music. Shallum is undoubtedly a studio artist of first water. His art on the debut album dazzles in sonic inventiveness.Rameez Mukhtar
Rameez Mukhtar discovered the hidden vocalist within himself at a tender age of nine while singing along with the music maestro, Sohail Rana in shows entitled “Saaray Dost Hamaray” and “Sung Sung Chalein.” Since then, he had been vocalizing varied melodic scores of television serials and best-selling commercials. While thinking back upon the element responsible for kindling the singing passion in the lad, Rameez profoundly expresses the contribution of his siblings who only took singing as a hobby. However, Rameez managed to take it far under the mentorship of virtuoso Nisar Bazmi who made him learnt the intricacies and involutions of the classical music genre and helped him land as a vocalist for a band known as “Sanwal.” Along with the musical pursuit, Rameez continued his academics and has an MBA degree in the discipline of marketing from London to his credit. Besides performing the ballads and leading the marketing department of a certain music channel, Rameez loves spending time with his family. Being blessed with an enchanting voice and a persona imbued with enthusiasm, humility, and modesty, Rameez Mukhtar serves to be a perfect accompaniment to the duo.Discography
Saagar (Virgin Records; CD; Rs. 199, Cassette; Rs. 65) features 12 tracks, with a common strain of rock melodies blended with Pakistani classical and folk vocals. The opening track Aakhon Kay Saagar gave rise to their popularity within Pakistan. Following songs, Akhiyaan, Terey Bina and Khamaaj were played in heavy circulation on the TV and FM stations of Pakistan and India. Fuzon was the first band to release their debut album Saagar concurrently in both Pakistan and India.Trivia
- Shafqat's first entry into BollywoodBollywoodBollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
, India's Hindi languageHindiStandard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
Film Industry, was the song "MitwaMitwaMitwa is a popular Hindi song from the 2006 Hindi film Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna directed by Karan Johar, starring Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukherji, Abhishek Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan and Preity Zinta...
" from the film 'Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna'. - Shafqat can be heard on the soundtrack of the Nagesh KukunoorNagesh KukunoorNagesh Kukunoor is an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter. He is known for movies such as Hyderabad Blues , Rockford , 3 Deewarein and Iqbal .-Early life:...
film DorDorTel Dor , is an archeological site located on Israel's Mediterranean coast, about 30 km south of Haifa. Lying on a small headland at the north side of a protected inlet, it is identified with D-jr of Egyptian sources, Biblical Dor, and with Dor/Dora of Greek and Roman sources...
in the song Yeh Hausla. - Shafqat has released his debut solo album "Tabeer" in September 2008.
- Fuzon's songs "Mora Saiyan" and "Tere Bina" are featured in Nagesh Kukunoor's Hyderabad Blues 2.