lahore – Recently there has been much hype on the subject of ‘Overload’ splitting up. Farhad Humayun of ‘Overload’ takes an initiative to explain, “First of all there is no split! I heard the same question for months when Pappoo Sain made an exit.
Later our percussionist Hassan Mohyeddin left for England and people asked me what I was going to do since the band had broken up. I said as long as I’m alive ‘Overload’ will stay alive!” Farhad goes on to affirm that he’s the pioneer of the band “I made the band and brought in the Dhol players, then later Sheraz and Hassan. I’m still true to it and so is Sheraz. We have a great working relationship.
‘Overload’ has always collaborated with different artists and we’ve featured many musicians and singers. We’ve made history being the first instrumental band and being a hit! Concert organizers have benefited immensely from ‘Overload’ and so have we, but now its time to move on and make new music with other people.”
When asked if audience should expect Meesha Shafi to join the band some years down the lane, Farhad assertively proclaims, “She’s played the role she came to play. There will not be any more collaboration with her.”
He further adds, “There’s no split. It was done by mutual consent purposely. I’d call it restructuring.
Of course the challenge is to carry the band as a singer as successfully as I’ve done as a drummer and since I’m still also playing drums for the band this becomes a strenuous job.” Farhad is still confident about his decision, “I will be singing for ‘Overload’ permanently but we’re still open to collaborating with other singers.
I know I’ll get mixed reviews initially because a singer is the front man and always gets the limelight. People usually need to get used to new sounds. I’m a rock artist and I will do justice to the kind of music we play.
But, of course, there is always room for improvement just like there is in my drumming.” He also acknowledges that he is undergoing training from a vocal coach and draws inspiration from all the good singing he has ever heard.About his current commitments, Farhad discloses, “We’re working on new sounds and are making more music in the studio.
We’re preparing for a Middle East tour in March. We’ll be playing in Muscat, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Doha. At the moment we’re doing singles and videos and I’ll be doing my solo songs and videos also. We want to concentrate more on playing live.”
As for the band’s future projects, “We have enquiries for the US and Canada for August and we’ll be doing our usual Scandinavian spell. The rest is a blur. We don’t know.” Meesha Shafi’s exit from the band is sure to begin a new era for the band and at the moment one can’t say much about how successfully the band will adjust to this change. Recently a number of leading musicians have commented that they expect ‘Overload’ to thrive. Commenting on this, Farhad humbly states, “I’m glad people have faith in ‘Overload’ and in me. I’d like to thank Amir Zaki, Gumby and Arieb for their words of support.”
Meanwhile Farhad and Sheraz are bonding well. As the former reveals, “We’re drinking coffee, making music, laughing senselessly, keeping the brotherhood intact, and being best friends who watch out for each other and kicking up a storm every time we go on stage!”
‘Overload’s first music video after the ‘restructuring’ will be out in a couple of weeks. It is a performance video that “captures the energy, essence and madness of the band” and is directed by Farhad Humayun and Hassaan Ashraf.
