Art should be free from Boundaries, says Xulfi

Xulfi is learning to play the flute

A toy piano has played a crucial role in Aao Wish Karein’s composer-lyricist Xulfi’s life. It was his mastery over that toy piano that made his brothers gift him a bigger keyboard. And Xulfi, a self-taught musician and the ex-lead guitarist of the first Pakistani mainstream rock band Entity Paradigm, made the most of it.

Xulfi broke into Bollywood with ‘Laaree Chootee’ from Ek Chalis Ki Last Local, and has composed music for four Bollywood movies since. The founder of the band Call, and a rebel at heart, Xulfi is excited about releasing Call’s album Dhoom, working in Bollywood and wishing for a collaboration with Linkin Park.

From Jilawatan’s metal rock to Aao Wish Karein’s essentially pop rock, has Bollywood been constraining your music or do you have the freedom of composition?
Bollywood hasn’t constrained my music at all! Since I started listening to music, I have heard and appreciated music of every kind. Yes, I am wild on stage. I want to rock on stage. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to express softly as well. With the kind of varied listening I have, it’s actually pretty natural for me to do all kinds of music. I even did a dance remix for my own song – ‘Yeh Pal’ from the movie Aasma – along with my friend Sami; I love listening to it every time I am out on a long drive.

Yes, most of my released work is rock. Most of that happened pretty early in my music career. It was a maturing phase in my life and I used to believe that the guitar is made to sound heavy. I am a rebel by nature. But that rebel has understood that a certain kind of music (in this case, rock) should not constraint me from expressing what I want to express and how I want to express it. I won’t be a rebel if I am constrained, right (smiles)?

With Aao Wish Karein, you have branched out into a solo career. What kind of effort went into composing, writing and recording for the movie?
It was lovely creating these songs. Both ‘Kuch Aisa’ and ‘Reh Jaane Do’ happen to be my most cherished compositions to date, and both are of paramount emotional importance to me. I never knew I am making songs for a movie while I was making them! I got to know Aftab long after I was done with these songs. It was pretty surprising to see the songs relating quite well to the situations they were to be placed in, in the movie.
I cannot ever write without feeling what I am trying to express through words. If you make me sit and tell me to write for a certain situation, I would take years. But if I end up feeling the emotion in my life, then it will take me less than an hour! I wrote ‘Reh Jaane Do’s initial verses two and a half years back. It took me one and a half more years to feel the same in order to complete it. Also, ‘Reh Jaane Do’ was a difficult song to sing, as it creates a melancholy mood, which ended up affecting me quite intensely when I was rendering its vocals.
On the other hand, ‘Kuch Aisa’ was written in one (wonderful) night. And yes, recording the songs was a lot of fun too. ‘Kuch Aisa’ has a very interesting instrumentation with violin, cello, and duff, coupled with live drums and acoustic guitars. All of this actually created a very new sound, which gave ‘Kuch Aisa’ a certain fresher edge against other love songs in the same category.

‘Kuch Aisa’ has two versions. Which one is closer to your heart?
The original one. Most people wouldn’t know that I sang the song in one take. I liked it, even with all its imperfections.

Since you are a lyricist and a composer, what do you keep in mind while composing a song and what comes first – lyrics or music?
I do not plan anything as to what should come first. With ‘Laaree Choote’, the melody happened first; with ‘Dharkay Jiya’ (Aloo Chaat), the lyrics. Whenever I make a song, I try to make sure that even if I am writing about a topic which has been done to death, I am adding a bit of myself to it, so that it and sounds new and fresh. And, I also make sure that musically there isn’t any part that sounds weak to me.

Are there any special moments from the movie that you want to share with us?
Because of the prevalent tension going on between the two countries, I haven’t been able to attend Aao Wish Karein’s music’s launch or the movie premiere. I dislike the fact that all this so adversely affects art. I have always thought that it’s one thing that shouldn’t have a boundary, specially a geographical one. For artists like me, it is discouraging. I hope our governments make policies that don’t stop art from spreading itself.

Your background being essentially alternative rock, was there any specific directive given to you while composing for films?
No, most people in Bollywood do not know that I can write dark lyrics or create hardcore rock music. They know me through ‘Laaree Chootee’, which is not dark but philosophical in its interpretation. And its music is pop with a certain organic touch due to the violins.
In all four movies that I have composed music for (Ek Chalis Ki Last Local, Aasma, Aloo Chaat, Aao Wish Karein), I have been either provided with visuals, or given a brief to get the idea. And I haven’t ever been told to stick to a certain category as far as the music goes.

Who have been your musical influences and how would you define your music?
Influences have been varied since the beginning. I am a traveller as far as my listening goes. Many listeners get stuck on one kind of music. That is alright, but you cannot have one song for all your moods most of the times. In the beginning, I liked Pink Floyd and Iron Maiden. And on the softer side, I was very fond of Jatin Lalit’s music. I love ‘Pehla Nasha’! It is one of the most beautiful songs ever. I have loved A R Rahman’s work since he started making music. Nusrat Fateh Ali’s voice has an unmatchable quality, and I really admire it. Apart from that, I listen to Linkin Park and Bryan Adams.

You joined the band Call when you were just 14. The band has seen many ups and downs since then. Where do see Call in the future?
Future is difficult to predict. And we end up predicting it wrong too, I have learned. I am happy with Call right now. We have done all kinds of music and thankfully have got appreciation from all listeners. What more can we ask for at the moment? We have an album in our hand that we would be releasing in January 2010. Concert tours are planned, but with the prevalent situation in Pakistan, you never know. Having said that, it’s not like concerts don’t happen in our country. Call is here to stay; we aren’t going anywhere.

How is the experience of performing at concerts in India?
Concerts are fun when the audience is on its toes. To see people humming, singing and swinging to your music would make any musician feel good. We actually have more interesting live versions of all our songs than their album covers! Jilawatan has been our long-time favourite to perform live! The most requested song though is ‘Laaree Chootee’.

And what has been the most memorable incident while performing live?
There have been quite a few moments. Once after one of my concerts, a 70-year-old man came to me and told me that he hadn’t heard such groundbreaking music and song-writing coming out of Pakistan since Independence. That meant a lot to me. And I remember when ‘Laaree Chootee’ released, it was always surprising to see the crowd’s reaction. Not just the youth, but even the elderly stood up and danced to that song at our concerts!
Call has been releasing singles on its website for quite sometime now. Any specific reason for not releasing them on an album?
Most of our fans use the net and I am a strong advocate of letting your fans know what is happening right there on the band’s website. However, we release new singles on our website only after they have been on television or radio.

Tell us something about you new album Dhoom. Can anything new be expected from it, given that most of the singles have already been released?
It has quite a few songs that haven’t been released yet. Dhoom has a good 12 songs. It has a bigger, fresher rock sound and a more diverse set of lyrical content. It has a few of the Bollywood singles that we have done, but not Aao Wish Karein’s songs as they my solo endeavour.

Do you feel that a crossover to Bollywood has given you more recognition?
Definitely. And why wouldn’t it? People in Pakistan love Bollywood. It’s followed more than our music or our barely-there movie industry. Naturally, people tend to look at a crossover of a Pakistani artist to India as a prosperous move, as far as the artist is concerned. He is looked at as a bigger star than he was in his own country. In a way, it is not a very positive thought that talent has to cross boundaries to be better respected. But I am fine with it, because that’s how it is and we cannot change it for now.

How do you see your music fitting into the Bollywood scene? In your opinion, how far will mainstream listeners adapt to the original sound of Call?
That will take time. We never thought we would see a movie called Rock On!! in Bollywood, but we did. Everything evolves. I think the audience will too, but only when its time. Not before that.

What next in Bollywood? And whom would you like to collaborate with.
There are a few projects that are currently under discussion. They are interesting projects as the movies have very fresh concepts. In Bollywood, I would love to work with A R Rahman. Internationally, Linkin Park (smiles)!

You are a computer scientist, composer, singer, and lyricist. What next?
I am building my own house. I have heard it’s more difficult than all these things you have mentioned. I hope it works out fine for me though (smiles)! I am learning to play the flute nowadays, and also plan to learn the cello in the future. And yes, I do plan to study more as well. But that too will happen when its time.

Source: Planet Radio City