He is not your average musician and he is certainly not singing sappy love songs with a band. Instead, he has taken on the challenge to preserve Pakistani folk music by creating rhythms that blend the classical with musical influences from around the world. Take a look at the interesting life of...Arieb Azhar.

How would you introduce yourself to our readers?

I have had a passion for music ever since I was a child. They say I cried non-stop for three days when I was born, so I suppose the only thing I’ve done in the meanwhile is put it in tune! I discovered early in life that I had inherited a powerful voice. I dabbled around in theatre also for a while but singing was what always fulfilled me most. So I suppose that makes me a singer! I usually accompany myself on the rhythm guitar because it gives me a nice groove. I would like to discover myself more through writing and composition, and experiment with different styles of singing as well.

Where did you go to school and tell us briefly about your education.

Although I was born in Rawalpindi, we shifted to Karachi when I was still a child so that’s where I grew up and went to school. I did my O’ Levels from Karachi Grammar School – a place I’ve always had mixed feelings about! I went abroad to study in Croatia (then part of Yugoslavia!), and was there while the war was going on. I fell in love with the place and spent the subsequent 13 years of my life in Zagreb-Croatia, during which I studied Philosophy and Indology (India Studies), and got more seriously into music. I studied as much philosophy as I was interested in and had the opportunity to learn about ancient history from our part of the world as well (Sanskrit, Vedas, Buddhism, Sikhism, the great Epics, etc), but my real education happened in music clubs, pubs and concert halls, and on the streets.

Tell us how you became interested in Sufi music?

Since my parents were involved in the early years of the establishment of PTV, a lot of folk artists used to frequent our house in Rawalpindi. Some of my earliest memories are of Shaukat Ali singing Saif ul Muluk, and later of Abida Parveen. My parents also used to listen to a lot of Eastern and Western classical music. I suppose a lot of these memories are imprinted somewhere in my mind. In Karachi I was more into Latin American and classic rock music. In Croatia, I got into Balkan, Gypsy and ethno music from around the world in general. I played with different bands ranging from Bolivian-Peruvian music to Balkan-Gypsy to Evergreen ballads! Finally I fell in love with Irish-Celtic music and formed a band called the Shamrock Rovers with whom I toured around Croatia and other parts of Europe.

These days’ people are interested in getting into the rock and pop scene, why did you choose Sufi music over other music?

I think people in Pakistan are getting more into the pop, and perhaps, rock scene – not because they are honestly into the music itself, but the whole ‘star’ status that the music brings with it. The music channels, and producers in Pakistan are widely to blame for this – in promoting the glamour before the content!

But, the truth is that I’m not completely comfortable either when people label me as a ‘Sufi’ musician. I am trying to express all that I am through as spontaneous and direct way as possible, using whatever means are available to me at this time. It’s completely plausible that tomorrow I will get labeled as something else!

Where did you learn Sufi music and where does one go to learn this kind of music?

If ‘Sufi’ music means, singing the poetry of well-established Sufi poets, then that’s possible in any style of music. I take ‘Sufi music’ to mean, any type of music which is played with soul. So for me ‘Afro-American Gospel’ music is also ‘Sufi’ (Is there such a thing as ‘Zen’ music?). I think in our part of the world people take Sufi music to mean the folk and Qawwali style of rendering the Mystic poetry of the Subcontinent. What people call Sufi music in Turkey or Central Asia is different, although the texts are rooted in the same philosophy. But I believe the same intent of losing/finding oneself in love can be found all over the world, even where people haven’t heard of Sufism.

What is the future of Sufi music in Pakistan? And what can be done to promote such music?

I think it’s healthier if we let go of labeling music that is created honestly. It needs to be promoted. What we are doing about promoting good music in society today, is what we will have tomorrow. What I find in our society is a paradox. Where honest Art and expression are discouraged, pop and ‘mujra’ art are taking over that space. The same conservative Maulvi, who rants on about the ‘evils of music’, then proceeds to give the Azaan in the most “beysura’ (tone-deaf) of voices. So instead of ‘Surr’, ‘beysurapann’ is being promoted. And here again, the lowest common denominator of pop fills up the void.

Have you released any albums or singles of your music?

I’ve recorded one album so far in Pakistan, which is, off and on, available in the market. The album was called, ‘Wajj’ (Bajj, in Urdu), and consisted of our interpretation of some Mystic Poetry of the Punjab, as well as, what I would call a ‘Sufi song’ from Bosnia. I am now ready to start recording my second album but am still not sure where.

What other interests and hobbies do you have besides your music?

I am interested in understanding the world in me and around me. I seem to be getting more and more into films – at the moment, documentary. Last summer I did a music-travel documentary series (with Hassan Armaghan and Noman Waheed), in Bosnia and Croatia, of 13 episodes for Aag TV. The series entitled, ‘Salaam Balkan’, is scheduled to be aired from the spring.

Lastly your message to the readers of The Saturday Post?

“Forget about what society says about you! Live with an open heart and express whatever comes to you. Enjoy the fullness of the tree, without getting lost in its roots or the high branches!”