Back with Mantra

The year was 2001. Composer and keyboardist Faakhir took off on a solo flight to stardom as a singer. He encountered obstacles and raised many a brow on the way but in spite of the skepticism music lovers had high hopes for him. Today, with the success of his latest album Mantra , Faakhir is being dubbed ‘Pakistan’s latest pop sensation’.more

Faakhir’s new album, launched around two-and-a-half months back, is a mix of diverse compositions which came about over a period of two years. After the release of Aatish , he continued composing new songs. “You don’t leave composing once you are done with an album. It’s not a switch which you can turn on or off.”

Mantra , appropriately called so as to emphasize the spiritual power of music, was after an instrumental which he composed of the same name. The lyrical concept of the song was inspired by a Punjabi poem written by Munnu Bhai called Sawaal Jawaab , and also reflects the concept of Khudi in Allama Iqbal’s verses.

Inspired by Aatish , Faakhir had made a promise to his fans to incorporate the four elements of nature – wind, water, earth and fire – into his work. This ideology arose both out of necessity and out of a desire for exclusivity.

He says: ” Mantra is a powerful name and a musical reality. So instead of forcing myself to sing something related to water, wind, earth or fire, I thought I might as well have four editions of the album with 12 standard songs on every CD and a 13th bonus track exclusive for each edition. This also solved the problem of having more songs than could be recorded. Shahzad Nawaz, who designed the CD covers, came up with the idea of having four different covers incorporating the four elements of nature.”

According to Faakhir, Pakistani expatriates have been able to associate with Mantra more than people at home and the inspirational lyrics of the song Chal Uth Chaliey , a sequel to Dil Na Lagey (Aatish), has been received well both in Pakistan and abroad.

The album was launched live across the world by a Dubai-based TV channel. The high-profile event left many questions lingering about how much money was spent on its promotion.

“I did not put in any money. The event wasn’t even sponsored. It so happened that my record label had non-returnable orders for 500,000 tapes and 200,000 CDs, which got them going and along with the TV channel they arranged the event. I was given an opportunity by my record company and like any artist would, I took it. However, the media alone cannot increase your sales. Quality always speaks for itself.”

What makes his album different is the eclectic blend of instruments that have been used in the arrangement as ‘live sessions’ played and orchestrated by a group consisting of maestros from India and Pakistan. It is supposedly the biggest such assemblage by any Pakistani artist, but Faakhir brushes aside any notion of cashing in on the much-hyped Indo-Pak relations.

“When I started recording the album, the relationship between the two countries wasn’t as great as it is now. There was no planning as such. My record label invited me to record the album in Mumbai. I obliged and why not? I think the recent thaw in relations is a great thing. I returned a few weeks earlier after performing live to an audience of 15,000 people in Simla. I had 10 musicians who played for me. It was great.”

The stormy winds of change, in all professions in general and the music industry in particular, are blowing towards consumerism and the creation of a dynamic visual appeal. This strategy is best implemented in the making of music videos which have caught on and are clinging to big budgets and glamour as a safe selling bet. The strength of the concept and the artistic appeal as a work of art, however, remains a question mark. In all this, the video for Mahi Ve , directed by Asim Reza, is no exception.

“We make videos to the best of our potential and resources. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t,” says Faakhir. “If my videos are glamorous, then so be it. Glamor has value. These days cool sells, arty sells, glamorous sells. Tell me of any recently made arty video in Pakistan which deserves an Oscar? To say we are arty is being cliched. People these days don’t understand art but will still go out and buy art films because they want to be seen as part of the ‘in’ crowd.”

People who have seen the video for Mahi Ve feel that it is in some way lifted from the musical hit, Chicago .

“Look, until I mentioned this fact in an interview, nobody even knew about it and I took my director’s permission to state the same. It was Asim’s idea to go for this Chicago-esque look. Now people who haven’t even heard of the film are saying ‘yaar yeh to Chicago ki copy hai’ . It was an inspiration because our concept gelled very well with the setting of the 1920s and ’30s. It’s being appreciated and we love it.”

The finances for such high-budget videos are usually generated by sponsors, which does sometimes have a bearing on the vision and the execution of the song. But this time round neither the video of Mahi Ve nor the album Mantra itself is sponsored.

” Mantra is not a branded album. As for my videos, Jiya na Jaey and Mahi Ve are expensive, while Tauba Hai is a medium budget video. But none of them are sponsored. Even when I worked with sponsors they never dictated to me. It’s just a myth.”

For many, the launch of Mantra at one of the largest cassette and CD selling centers of Karachi, allegedly involved in the piracy business, came as a jolt to many.

“The distribution launch took place at the office of my record label, which happens to be in that market. If piracy is rampant there, what have I got to do with it? I have always produced original compositions and as far as I am concerned, I’m clear,” Faakhir says.

This brings us to the thorny piracy issue. “Shops are selling pirated versions of my CDs for half the price. I personally have seen shops stocked with fakes but no action is taken. Not only that, our songs are aired on radio and TV but we don’t get a single penny in royalty. We as artists or entertainers don’t have any intellectual copyrights. People are reproducing our music and music sharing and free downloads are a common thing. We have to bear the cost of recording the album, making the video and the cost of marketing and then if we promote our work through sponsors, people start pointing fingers. Someone has to pay for it, our hard work has to be compensated.”

Faakhir feels that the attitude of the people and the media has to change towards a more sensitive approach to the hard work put in by artists. “Here the artist is cheap, and sold short in Pakistan which is the reason why music and musicians are taken for granted. We are used to freebies now and so don’t want to pay for the quality entertainment that we get. These things discourage art.”

On an optimistic note, however, he believes that things are changing for the better.

“We’ve come a long way from worse to good to better, and with the media and music growing by leaps and bounds, I see a very bright future for the mass media and the music industry.”

3 thoughts on “Back with Mantra”

  1. asalam vaallaikum. hi,faakhir how r u.i’m am doing my engg.,i’m ur great fan than anybody in tis world.i heard u 2 an engg.,its really happiest thing.i wish u all the best for ur future insha allah.
    plz plz u have give replay i’ll expect 4rm u.i hope u r going to give amazinghits to ur fans.bye bye.

  2. asalam vaallaikum. hi,faakhir how r u.i’m am doing my engg.,i’m ur great fan than anybody in tis world.i heard u 2 an engg.,its really happiest thing.i wish u all the best for ur future insha allah.
    plz plz u have give replay i’ll expect 4rm u.i hope u r going to give amazinghits to ur fans.bye bye.

  3. asalam vaallaikum. hi,faakhir how r u.i’m am doing my engg.,i’m ur great fan than anybody in tis world.i heard u 2 an engg.,its really happiest thing.i wish u all the best for ur future insha allah.
    plz plz u have give replay i’ll expect 4rm u.i hope u r going to give amazinghits to ur fans.bye bye.

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