Former Vital Signs guitarist returns with RockLite, his music group with an improved line-up, a retro single, ‘Kon Hai Woh’ backed by a music video directed by Zeeshan Parwez. Instep talks to the man about RockLite, Vital Signs and what’s coming up.
INSTEPOverVIEW
Former Vital Signs guitarist returns with RockLite, his music group with an improved line-up, a retro single, ‘Kon Hai Woh’ backed by a music video directed by Zeeshan Parwez. Instep talks to the man about RockLite, Vital Signs and what’s coming up.
When Rizwan ul Haq “left” Vital Signs - pop music’s pioneering music group that included the trio of Rohail Hyatt, Shehzad ‘Shahi’ Hasan and the (late) Junaid Jamshed after featuring on the group’s second and third album - he continued to play music.
As he tells Instep, from 1995-1996 onwards, he played in an underground band called RockLite that also featured drummer Allan Smith, a veteran who has played with the likes of Junoon and Ali Azmat, and bassist Imran Hanan, who is lesser known but a veteran nonetheless.
The trio played cover songs in the underground scene and as Rizwan admits, he was non-serious about music in a sense.
“I was on my own and there was a song I made called ‘Teri Gali Aana Hai, Teri Gali Jana Hai’ and that became a success. I wasn’t even thinking that something would come out of it but back then, because MTV India had come to Pakistan, it went on the charts in the top 50.”
However, the success of the song didn’t convince Rizwan to pursue music in the larger sense. “For some time, I was non-serious about music because I had seen the good days; I had a lovely time with the Vital Signs,” he says.
“When something like that goes away,” Rizwan tells Instep from Islamabad, “you tend to take the backseat. I did that.”
However, the realisation to do something more struck him approximately seven to eight months ago. He shares, “I realised you don’t live forever and I needed to go out there and do it again, basically. I went to the studio and the first song I recorded was ‘Kon Hai Woh’”
Adding more members to the group that Rizwan admits he created, he went on to include (apart from himself of course) Bilal Ashraf, Allan Smith, Imran Hanan, and brothers Varqa Faraid and Parham Faraid - who are also members of music group Saakin, who blew pretty much everybody away with their single, ‘Saqi-e-Bewafa’ in 2018.
RockLite went from being an underground trio to a full-fledged band, and Rizwan started taking things seriously. The result: their first single, ‘Kon Hai Woh’ is both sonically and visually charming.
Even though the song has a strong retro feel running through it, complemented by a music video, courtesy of ace director Zeeshan Parwez, it doesn’t actually sound like an eighties song but a retro song made in 2019.
Part of the reason is that the band, as Rizwan says, is a mix of veterans and youth. He also notes that he doesn’t interfere, for instance, when brothers Varqa Faraid and Parham Faraid add their ideas and music to the song. “They are so talented.”
‘Kon Hai Woh’ ultimately grows on you and is a surprisingly strong number. And RockLite, the music group based in Islamabad has no plans to disappear with another single in the pipeline that will be released once director Ali Sattar – who directed ‘Saqi-e-Bewafa’ is done with it. Another video, an animated one, is being directed by Zeeshan Parwez.
Like most artists, RockLite will release songs as singles, backed by music videos.
As for Vital Signs comparisons, Rizwan is not worried. As he notes, “Junaid Jamshed has unfortunately passed away. Rohail Hyatt and Shehzad ‘Shahi’ Hasan have become producers, with Rohail having started Coke Studio and I think he may be coming back to the music series; Shahi is producing Pepsi. I’m performing, which is something very different.” He hopes that both Rohail Hyatt and Shahi Hasan will be pleased that he is performing.
If you’re finding Vital Signs influences in ‘Kon Hai Woh’, some of it is deliberate because Rizwan does belong to that era but that doesn’t mean the focus on original music will lessen or how sound has changed and evolved over the past few decades.
Given RockLite’s eighties-nostalgic video and a catchy sound, RockLite has the potential to revitalise the musician in Rizwan ul Haq and give us a unique band along the way. Watch out for their next release; it is just as thrilling as its predecessor.
