Catching up with Farhad Humayun

Farhad Humayun has had a long and illustrious career. From playing in an underground band called Mindriot in the nineties to playing with the likes of Noori, forming the music group Overload and appearing on Coke Studio (not only as a performing artist but also as a member of the house-band in season five), he seems to have done it all. Though Overload may have lost a lot of members over time, as long as Humayun is around, the band will never be dead.

In addition to his many roles in Overload over the years, in recent memory, Humayun has also released solo material including an English track as well as an Urdu one called ‘Mur Ke Dekho’, both of which announced a change of sound for the artist. Furthermore, last year, the singer-songwriter/producer/director also confirmed that he is planning to release a solo record called Mera Naam.

In this interview with Instep, Farhad Humayun speaks about reprising the role of producer and director for the upcoming season of Levi’s Live, which includes a series of live music performances and music videos. He also expands on how the focus of the platform has shifted to budding musicians such as Maria Unera Qureshi, Abdullah Qureshi, Arsalan Hasan and Keeray Makoray, among others.

Over to Farhad Humayun…

Instep: What has your association been like with the Levi’s company?

Farhad Humayun (FH): This is a campaign for the Levi’s company and of course, I work under the guidelines given to me, but the brand talks about authenticity and youth culture. There are clearly marked lines about who knows what department best. It gave me an opportunity to put out original Pakistani music and look out for exciting new acts.

It is truly the best organization I’ve worked with on a creative level. Levi’s isn’t the biggest company in Pakistan but they come to musicians and producers because they understand that music is a vehicle to convey anything they want. This is why Coke and Pepsi do music; it speaks to people of all age groups and demographics, it has no boundaries, no religion or you could say it has all of the above.

Instep: The first season of Levi’s Live featured a number of well-known musicians but this year’s season features newer names. Why?

FH: We want original content, we want young people’s voices to be heard and I not only speak for the Levi’s company but also the progressive, enlightened people of Pakistan. In this landscape of political unrest and turmoil, art gives people a break.

In the earlier days, you had names like Ahmad Faraz, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Sadequain, who had distinct original styles, and now you have Imran Qureshi, Rashid Rana or Momina Mustehsan and Ali Sethi – they’re all extraordinary talents.

We’re not really looking for artists who are already something, they’re most welcome, but frankly, they don’t fit the budget. We don’t have the money to call artists from Virginia or London, or Karachi even. Sometimes their schedule converges with ours, but it isn’t as big of a project that we fly people down. It happens here, at the studio, which I’ve converted into a live space.

In round (season) one, we had to pull in a lot of favors. We asked our friends to come and play for maybe half the amount they charge, and though we couldn’t convince some of them, at the same time, there was just so much interest and support.

Noori wanted to come and play and Ali Noor has been at every session we’ve done. Fawad Khan does not appear in public much but he showed up to watch. That’s when you know that Levi’s Live has become a platform and venue to see class acts and have a great evening, which people are dying to attend. It’s not a decadent club party; it’s a clean environment where all sorts of art, activities and discussion are encouraged. That is basically the idea we are reiterating this time around.

Instep: Despite the music videos, do you feel the music industry at large benefits from a platform like Levi’s Live, considering it’s an exclusive, invite-only event(s)?

FH: You see we can’t open it to the public because it’s not safe. This is a private venue and we secure it as best as we can. We invite certain people who are influencers and their words have some weight and who will go out and talk about it. If somebody lands in Lahore, we don’t have a Timeout magazine, but you have something to tell them about through this event, which happens per month.

We also gauge the interest of the fans of the artists that are performing. For instance, in Abdullah Qureshi’s case, we would look at his fan base and reach out to certain people ourselves. Native Rock (the PR firm behind Levi’s Live) and I try to get a new audience every time. Some are constants, some recommended, but people can reach out to us over social media, we do respond.

Instep: On an artistic and monetary level, how do you think being included in the Levi’s Live circuit has benefited and helped its participants?

FH: We try to capture the energy of the live shows to get people to see how well the artists perform live. A lot of them are much busier than they were last year when they played at Levi’s Live. Other platforms are heavily post-produced, adding brand value to the artist. This adds artistic value and grit instead. We’re not trying to fit them into one box by interfering with their musical character and artistic integrity. We never tell them what to play or what to wear and we don’t even give them a house band unless they ask for it. All we ask them is to bring their talent and taste; some fail miserably but some have done really well for themselves like Rizwan Anwer or Noorzaade. It’s an intimidating space to perform at since we have about 200 people in the studio. If the artist can win this crowd over, it means they have significant amount of talent; it is also an opportunity to polish their expertise further.