Rehman Afshar, a.k.a Mannu, currently working on his first EP, talks to Instep about becoming a musician in a country where most newcomers are hesitant.
We recently noticed Rehman Afshar or Maanu at one of the Live at True Brew gigs in Lahore. He caught our attention because of his catchy lyrics and the sheer range of music he had to offer. He wasn’t someone doing covers of popular songs but this college student had written songs that most people in the room could relate to and shake a leg to.
Although Maanu hasn’t officially released his first track yet, producer Jamal Rahman is working on his first EP to be put out soon.
Instep caught up with the budding artist to talk about his sheer conviction of becoming a musician in a country where most newcomers are rather hesitant.
“I originally started writing because I was sick of listening to covers and I felt that was all our industry was doing, at least in the mainstream,” he told Instep. “I wasn’t always serious until I heard a recording of one of my songs and realized that it was good and I could listen to my own music.”
Maanu has produced his first song, ‘Baad ki Baatein’, which is set to release in a few weeks. Discussing the lyrics of the song, he mentioned, “It took me a year to convince my family that I could do this; everyone would be worried about my future and asked me ‘Baad mein kya karo gay.’ The song starts with “Baad ki baatein baad ke liye hi rakhein hain” so it’s a procrastinator’s anthem and my answer to them.”
What was noteworthy on the day of the gig was how he seamlessly went from an acoustic song to more electronic, hip hop and RnB music. It seemed like a natural transition for him and one that he could sustain as a one man show with a loop peddle. He explained that his EP is going to be a lot like that – a variation of different genres coming together. “There’s also diversity in the music on the album so I would not want to tie myself down to one producer. The second song is called ‘Darwazay’ and is produced by a Russian producer.”
Maanu revealed that he is a follower of the Pakistani indie scene with his favourites being Sikandar ka Mandar, Janoobi Khargosh, Faris Shafi, Talal Qureshi with only Faris having directly influenced his music. “I’ve been influenced by indie musicians a lot but I wouldn’t want to be labeled as an indie artist only. I’d want to play both indie and commercial and not be put in a box.”
When asked whether it was a difficult decision to pursue music full-time, he shared that it entirely depends on the kind of music one wants to make. “If you’re trying to make hip hop and RnB you can contact musicians online and buy licenses easily, and the other way is to find instrumentalists and a producer. It’s a slow process but I’m learning something new every day,” he concluded.
This is only the beginning of what we hope will be a long and illustrious musical career for the singer-songwriter. Maanu’s first track will be out in a few weeks and we can hardly wait.
