SOUNDSCAPE: IN SESSION WITH THE ALBERTS
It is a spacious three-room basement — a veritable haven for those who want to cut themselves off from the mundanity of real life, and just create art. The walls are slightly bare, except for the posters of Nirvana and Slayer on one side of the room that make their presence felt.
A dog-eared poster reads ‘No smoking, eating or drinking inside the control room please’. Inside, the faint glow of monitor screens light up the dark room with padded walls. In an adjacent room, guitars stand seductively waiting to be held, a couple of amps sit like rocks, and an old faithful Korg keyboard is ready to stir up some trouble.
On this quiet May afternoon in Lahore, Farhan Albert, with his usual solemn demeanour, remembers how he and his brother Salman landed in music, and how far they have travelled. It has been 30 years since they first dabbled in music and, today, after collaborating with several artists including Junoon, Mekaal Hasan, Shahzad Hameed and Jal — some of whose songs have also won national awards — the brothers have now begun working on their own material under the name of Farhan aur Salman. They have a variety of influences and are not restricted to any one style. Their new song, Sapnay, is an edgy and intense track with heavy progressive rock influences. It speaks of their journey and talks about band experiences through thick and thin.
“Music was never alien to us because of family,” begins Farhan. “Irene Parveen, who did lead vocals on the film song Tumhi Ho Mehboob Mere, was my paternal aunt. Her brother and my uncle, Sohail Basil, played the guitar in a band called the Wanderers, and my maternal side, though not professional musicians, would bring out their tabla and harmonium to family gatherings, and would sing the night away.”
It has been 30 years since brothers Farhan and Salman Albert started to dabble in music, but for many they remain just sessions players. They are determined to change that
Musical performances were a tradition at Christmas, Easter and other family events. As children, the Alberts would often tag along with their uncle Sohail to see him perform. It was the ’70s, and in Lahore live music was the ‘thing’. It would have been rare not to have a live band playing at a wedding, a birthday, a party or any other kind of celebration. The Wanderers were a product of the golden age of rock ‘n’ roll that hit Pakistan too, but were probably one of the first few bands of Lahore. Most of the time, they played western music, such as the Bee Gees and the Beatles, playing every day by the poolside of the Intercontinental Hotel.
“I was stunned to see the level of appreciation,” says Farhan. “There were hefty tips and people danced to the music. When the country still served alcohol openly, people even sent bottles of whiskey to the band. That was when there were more foreigners here, too. Occasionally, the bands had more bottles than money!”
Visits to the hotel played a large part in the brothers’ exposure to music, for right in the main hall of the hotel was a grand piano, and Farhan, for one, was deeply marked by its echoing tinkles belting out all kinds of compositions. There were other inspirations: the church choir definitely helped.
“Our father played tabla and harmonium and taught us how to play Jaanay kahan gaye woh din” from the Indian film Mera Naam Joker,” he remembers. “Soon, we began working out other songs on our own, especially ghazals by Mehdi Hasan and Ghulam Ali which we also sang at family events.”
It was in 1988, when Dil Dil Pakistan by Vital Signs came out, that the Alberts’ fascination for music turned into a yearning to make it real. “When I saw Rohail Hyatt play his two-tier keyboard, I was hooked!” says Farhan. “I used to go to my room, and pretend to do the same with a couple of book shelves on my wall,” he laughs, remembering. “So I begged my father to get me a keyboard, which he did, and Salman got an acoustic guitar.”
The choir boys helped a little, but music is innate says Farhan.
“We picked up music so easily, it was proof that we were born with it. I strongly believe that artists are born not made from scratch.”
A bunch of boys converged and formed a band with Farhan on keyboard and Salman on guitar. They were nameless till, at a hired event, a friend introduced them as the Eastern Boyz. The name stuck. Before DJs monopolised weddings and parties, bands would be hired to play, which was how they mainly survived. The Eastern Boyz had their fair share of competition. They met many other budding musicians and singers in bands such as String Fellows, Avengers, Night Creatures, Wet Metal (Najam Shiraz), Music Math and Jupiters. And they could also feel a rising popularity. “We were relative unknowns who suddenly shot to fame,” says Farhan.
Affection and admiration brim up inside him as he speaks of his younger brother — who is not yet in the room. “Salman is an exceptional case,” he says. “I have never seen anyone like him before. He plays three different instruments professionally — bass, lead and drums — and performs in different bands all at the same time!”