Like in any other music industry, the disintegra­tion of pop bands is a common story in Pak­istan. Think Vital Signs. Think Junoon. Think Aaroh. Awaz. Milestones. Overload. The list goes on.

There is usually one of two aftermaths: either a complete dissolution of the band or its transformation into a new unit, usually with new frontpersons. In most cases, a change of lead singers is usually a death knell for a band. Most listeners identify the band with them. Think Junaid Jamshed in Vital Signs. Or Ali Azmat in Junoon. Think Candi in Milestones. It is rare for a band to recover after its most identifiable face leaves it. There are exceptions, of course, but they are usually rare like Pink Floyd or Genesis, which continued their popularity even after Roger Waters and Peter Gabriel went their own way.

Fuzon had touched the heights of popularity with their first album Saagar. Some of their tracks, such as Aankhon Ke Saagar, Akhiyaan, Khamaaj and Tere Bina skyrocketed them to fame. After the departure of lead singer Shafqat Amanat Ali, Fuzon tried to reassemble, with mixed results. Even though guitarist Shallum Xavier and pianist and producer Imran Momina aka Emu continued to hold the fort with their creative input, the loss of Shafqat’s resonant pipes seemed too big a blow to recover from. In fact, even Shafqat’s replacement, vocalist Rameez Mukhtar, couldn’t cut it for very long in the band. Within a short while, he too was gone. But Fuzon are nothing if not resilient.

Fuzon is back with a new vocalist and is gearing up to release its first studio album in three years

The band is back with a new vocalist Khurrum Iqbal. They are gearing up to release their fourth album, which comes after a gap of three years from their last release, Ik Ranjha. Icon caught up with the band at Shallum’s Point One Three Productions Studio while they were busy in the midst of producing of a couple of music videos to go with the album release due in mid-September.

Three years is a long hiatus for a band that burst on to the local music scene with its first studio album and won instant adoration and fan following. How does Fuzon plan on getting back on the road to glory? “In all honesty we never ever had any intentions of achieving fame and glory since Emu and I started working together as a band back in 2002,” says Shallum. “All we wanted to achieve was a new direction, sound and an approach in music composition and production. By the grace of the Almighty, we introduced a brand new style of music, which became a popular category. Our style of composition and production — an amalgam of Western guitars and Eastern classical vocals — was incorporated by a majority of Pakistani and Indian musicians and bands.”

But it’s been a rocky road since the departure of Shafqat, has it not? The band’s two albums after Shafqat barely created a ripple and it seems almost to have become dormant. “Fuzon has been involved with numerous international collaborations and tours since we decided not to work with our first vocalist for the sake of sanity and humanity,” quips Shallum defensively. “If the criterion in Pakistan for fame and popularity and success is appearances in Indian shows and songs in Bollywood then it’s quite evident that Fuzon’s approach is more diverse as our influences and inspirations all come from Western music. Bollywood has never been on our mind and not important for our goals.” Some wounds it seems are still quite raw.

I try to steer the conversation away from the ghost of Shafqat and ask about the upcoming album. Emu responds excitedly. “It is called Ishq Azad Hai. It has nine captivating new compositions and we are very much looking forward to its launch and release,” he says. “Like our previous albums, it has very strong folk and Eastern classical influences.”

If the criterion in Pakistan for fame and popularity and success is appearances in Indian shows and songs in Bollywood then it’s quite evident that Fuzon’s approach is more diverse as our influences and inspirations all come from Western music. Bollywood has never been on our mind and not important for our goals,” says Shallum.

Shallum and Emu are cordial enough to offer me a sneak peak of their new recordings — the sounds strikes one as mystical. Indeed, a striking difference from Fuzon’s previous studio releases is the incorporation of Sufi poetry of legendary poets such as Baba Bulleh Shah and the indulgence into qawwali. As a result, the album yields something new and fresh in addition to the typical Fuzon signature sound.

Produced jointly at Shallum’s Point One Three Productions and Emu’s Audio Planet Studios, all the lyrics on the album have been penned by Khalish. Rab Rab can be described as a Sufi-rock number. The musical arrangement on Ishq Azad Hai is very much in qawwali style in fact. On the pop-rock front, Sajana is more contemporary. Another track that stands out is Aatish-o-Aab, a rock number with powerful vocals and the soulful notes that seep into the entire album.

There are many other refreshing tracks, namely Ali Maula and the hypnotic Ishq Da Qalma as well as a rendition of the classic Bullah Ki Jana to name a few.

Pakistan’s music industry is passing through a challenging time. With only a handful of concerts being organised and almost non-existent studio releases, does Fuzon think its album can find its mark? “The music scene in Pakistan requires stability and improvement,” says Shallum. “Live music on a regular basis is the engine behind a thriving music industry. We desperately need to see live gigs and concerts not only in the urban centres but also in small towns and villages.”

But there’s a problem largely with the music being produced too. “The music industry [must] evolve on its own without the influence and dictation of brands and corporations,” continues Emu, “Our progress and development slowed down because of the heavy involvement of multinational corporations … corporate support always helps but it’s quite unfortunate that it also kills creative freedom and originality. All we have achieved in the last eight to 10 years are old classics redone in a contemporary manner and very few original compositions.”

I wonder if this is a dig at Coke Studio but Shallum decides not to open that can of worms. “The way forward is to release original tracks. Maximize on live performances and support the real talent [out there]. Not your friend’s cousins and sons and daughters of influential people,” he says.

For its part, Fuzon is not just all talk; it is walking the walk. It launched a music mentorship programme for the youth in Karachi last year. The initiative involved a series of talent hunt shows across Karachi by the US-funded I Am Karachi initiative, through which they selected 16 gifted young performers. Since mid-April this year, all 16 have been receiving singing lessons, and music theory classes twice a week at Shallum’s studio. They are being educated in various musical genres of the world, musical composition and production until October 2017. “Towards the end of this mentorship programme all the participants will be given the opportunity to record an original song at my studio under our supervision,” explains Shallum. “Fuzon will also feature in a couple of tracks to help promote these talented performers.”

“This is to date the first ever music mentorship programme in the history of the music industry of Pakistan,” says Shallum proudly.

Clearly Fuzon has their eyes set on a wider horizon than pop celebrity. But what we will most be looking forward to is its successful resurrection and another memorable new album.

“Every day is a glorious day and we have been living in that glory since we started playing music,” says Shallum, ending the conversation on an optimistic note.

Published in Dawn, ICON, July 23rd, 2017