From Hum Na to Meri Duniya, your music seems to be very diverse in terms of musical expression. Are you trying to find your niche or this diversity is an attempt towards generating mass appeal?

Ifu: Diversity is the one salient feature in our album. However it is not an intentional effort for commercial reasons but is just the natural mood resulting from the sort of song writing we did. The music is simple, catchy & accessible. In this creative process if the album had become diverse and thus has mass appeal then it is a very desirable unintentional outcome.

How do you define your style of music and how is it different from your contemporaries?

Ifu: Our style of music is essentially pop-rock and we feel it has a unique characteristic of its own that you won’t find comparable to any other genre of music in our local industry.

When is Rungg’s album coming out? Do you have any special plans for the launch?

Ifu: The album is going to be out at the end of this year (2005) and we have planned launches in the major cities of Pakistan to go with the release. We have also planned the release of a new video with that of the album.

Tell us something about how Rungg came into being? Was it just a matter of coincidence?

Ifu: Sarmad and I met in a jam in Lahore after a chance meeting in Islamabad. We wrote about four tunes in two days. The next thing we knew, we were in a band. Zulfi and Wasim came later.

What are your individual musical influences? Do these influences reflect in your music?

Ifu: I like Pat Matheny as a musician. I also like Sting, Aerosmith, Gn’R, Dream Theatre, Extreme, Skid Row, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen and I listen to and am inspired by all types of music.

Sarmad: I cannot give an exhaustive list, but a few names will give a fair Idea; Joe Satriani, Dream Theater, Tori Amos, John Mayer, Megadeth, Marillion, Counting Crows, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, Jeff Beck, Neil Peart, Bobby Rock, Larry Graham, TTD. Like all genres & yes I try to reflect them in my music.

Zulfi: My inspirations are mostly from the 70’s. A few of them are Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, Jeff Beck, Skid Row, Nuno Betnicourd, Dream Theatre, Eric Johnson and Hari Parsad Churrasia. Like many genres of music & personally I feel they do reflect in my music.

Wasim: As an artist, my motivation and stimulation comes from Sarmad Abdul Ghafoor (lead guitarist) and Mike Portnoy of Dream Theatre. They definitely influence my style of playing.

What is the line-up of the band? Performing live has always been a controversial issue in Pakistani music scene. Do you enjoy performing live?

Iftikhar Habib (Ifu)—-Vocals
Sarmad Ghafoor—-Lead Guitar
Wasim Kamal—Drummer
Zulfiqar Hasan (Zulfi)—Rhythm guitar

Iftikhar Habib and Sarmad Ghafoor are the two founding members of Rungg.

Ifu: Yes performing live is very enjoyable for us and the only important thing for us is that we should get decent time to have a sound check before a show. This area is usually mismanaged by the managers of an event. The sound system has to be up to the mark as well.

Nowadays, making good music is just not enough and you have to do a lot of effort to get your work noticed amongst the plethora of musicians coming up. How do you manage this aspect of the music business?

Ifu: I half disagree with the first part of your question. I think the first and most important step is to make good music that is original. All other endeavors just complement that, such as the way you market yourself, image management, your video and networking etc. Even if you have all of these mentioned areas covered and your music is not good enough, your album won’t sell and people won’t listen to you.

In this age of information technology, many online entertainment portals are doing a lot to promote the Pakistani musicians. How do you see the role of Rewaj.com in promoting the Pakistani musicians?

Ifu: I feel that Rewaj.com is doing more than its share in promoting Pakistani musicians and that also in a very professional way. Your portal is extremely popular and known for its diversity in all areas of entertainment news and information. We are happy to be doing this interview for Rewaj.com.

Any particular message would you like to give your fans at Rewaj.com?

The Band: Hey! Wassup? Thanks for all your support!

Related:

* Listen to Rungg

By Ali Bilal