November 20, 2004

The frenzy of music effusing from Pakistani artists these days is enough to give anyone a head rush. The newcomer band, Rungg, clearly stands out among the lot with its sensational brand of pop-rock music.

Rungg comes from artists who have expansively experienced the raw energy of the underground circuit. The band stormed into the music charts last year with the dynamic ballad, Hum Na. Their subsequent funky single, Meri Duniya, considerably consolidated their fan base and added impetus to their artistic credibility. The facet that best distinguishes the band from all the other musical entities of the country is the innovative use of distinctive sounds in the backdrop of the sonorous and superlative vocals by the versatile lead vocalist, Iftikhar Habib.

The guitar deliberations and riffs from guitar wizard Sarmad also gel in quite well with the band’s overall sound. A melting pot of many genera of music, Rungg’s singular sound is a whiff of fresh air for our music industry. Their self-titled debut album, comprising at least ten original tracks is on the table and will be released shortly.

Rungg started off interestingly enough. It was a chance meeting that set things in motion and from then on there has been no looking back for the band. Iftikhar Habib (aka Ifu) gives us the scoop, “I was looking to work on an album in Urdu. I was very lucky to get Sarmad interested despite his being in a different city. He came down to Lahore. We jammed for about two days and wrote some songs. We felt that there was good chemistry and so we went ahead with doing an entire album.”

Ifu, who was ambitious and always up to something as a teenager, believes that Rungg has been the cohesive force that has brought and kept the members together. “I was looking to form a band and got in touch with Sarmad. Now we are very close friends. Zulfi and Wasim have also become good buddies now”.

Rungg has a defined music manifesto. Ifu explains both the vision for Rungg as well as the kind of intonations that it emanates, “We see Rungg as a pop-rock band from this part of the world; bringing to people, music that is accessible and something they can relate to. A band which has its own unique characteristic sound and whose music does not sound manufactured. We see it as a very successful and exciting band in the times to come, Inshallah.”

As I change tracks to the origins of the name “Rungg”, the interview takes an interesting turn. “Sarmad and I were thinking of a name for our band while we were busy recording stuff in his studio. We wanted a name that was reflective of both lyrical and compositional diversity and was colourful, passionate and had a lot of verve; everything that our music is! Initially we thought of a name, which is a phrase in English: “True Colours”. Over the lunch table on a sunny afternoon, this was converted into “Two Colours”. Then, about three days later, Sarmad called me up, saying that it had to be “Rungg”. I loved it from day one!”

Every band makes music keeping a specific audience in mind. What kind of audience is Rungg targeting? Ifu replies, “It has been interesting to see how people from diverse age groups have responded so well to the two singles on air so far. Speaking in a larger sense, our target audience remains the younger people. However, we have met fans ranging from a 6-year-old girl to a 58-year-old man”.

Coming to the topic of music videos, Ifu opines that band members should actively participate in the drawing board as well as execution stages of a video. He explains his stance, “There should be harmony between the audio and the visual. This harmony comes largely from how the band would like its audience to perceive a certain idea or song. If the production of the video is being handled highly professionally, I would personally never like to interfere at the execution stage”. A good video can only be successful in catapulting the popularity of a good song. Both sides of the equation have to be balanced. Ifu believes that a video ultimately becomes very important, as long as the audio is strong enough to support and sustain itself. It is true that music is seen ‘first’ rather than heard because usually album releases come after video releases. It is the visual identity of a band’s music that creates the first impact.

Coming to their album, this scribe enquired if it would be a thematic album? Ifu gives details about what the album has in store in terms of composition and lyrical content, “The album is not really thematic in any way. We wrote and recorded stuff as it came to us. That is why we feel that our song-writing sounds very subtle at times. The album has ballads, popish stuff and a few more tracks, more reflective of our rock influence. Generally it is easy listening with a lot of influence on melody and simplicity. Our love songs were not written about some romantic fantasies, but about the emotion itself, in a particular relationship, or situation. They are influenced by our own real life experiences and observations.

We have written about a certain frame of mind that we were in at a particular point in time. We have written about hope, about issues relevant to our society, and how nothing can be compared to being best friends with God, the Ultimate Creator. Once again, it is interesting to see how diverse the album sounds, even in terms of genre, at times. If you compare Hum Na and Meri Duniya, it is very clear that both songs are way apart in every aspect. Of course, the pop-sensibility remains very obvious throughout the album.” Ifu feels that “originality”, “unique flavour of music” and “musical arrangements” are what set the band apart from the other bands on our music scene.

Ifu is of the opinion that live performances are a musician’s high, “Each gig is a great learning experience. Every good performance adds to an artist’s confidence. After the remarkable success of Hum Na, our biggest disadvantage was that Sarmad and I were in two different cities. When Hum Na earned us a fan following, we were without a band to back us up in live shows. It was very hard for us to capitalize on our success and so we hardly ever played live in the last ten months or so. Things have been a lot better since Meri Duniya came out recently. Lately, we have performed some shows in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. So far, every show has been quite interesting in one way or the other”.

Regarding the most memorable moments from Ifu’s career, he gives a long list from the first autograph he ever signed to the first fan mail he ever read to the first time he ever saw their video on air. But what remains the most memorable of them all is his first ever meeting with Sarmad at the historic Minar-i-Pakistan, “Sarmad had just arrived on a bus from Peshawar with a six-string on his back. The base of the monument was our meeting point, as I had never met him before, and could not really recognize him. It was funny and unforgettable. Imagine Minar-i-Pakistan with a million people around in shalwar kamiz. From within this sea of people, arrives Sarmad, recognized by his attire and his guitar, with me standing there, humming a favourite tune and with eyes full of hope!”

So, what is lined up for us in the coming months, apart from the release of the album? “Well, we have already begun songwriting for the second album and we are hoping to play live extensively in the future. Then, there is the album launch itself and two more videos”.

Rounding of the session, these music savvy and down-to-earth guys extend their sincere gratitude to all their fans in these words, “Thank you for your support, it means everything to us!”