When we talk about star kids or kids born with a silver spoon in their hands, we usually attach arrogance and a lot of stubborn attitude with them but there are a few exceptions as well in every case, an exception within our country is the multitalented Mr. Shoaib Farrukh, he is professionally a music producer, vocalist, musician, director and an actor as well and in every field he has adopted in such a short run of time, he has mastered them all.
Initially Shoaib was known much more because of his dad Mr. Farrukh Abid who himself is a legend in the Pakistan music industry rather than the industry recognizing him as a truly talented, good looking upcoming Pakistani artist. But with the passage of time he proved his mettle on his own and took over as the new face of the Pakistan music industry as a guy who has a lot to offer with his genuine talent or rather it must be said as talents.
PMR caught up with Shoaib at his home where his studio is as well, where he was preparing the sounds for a local commercial bank and I was the first guy to have a listen to the unreleased version of the commercial as Shoaib told me so. After welcoming me and my team member with all the courteousness, he made us comfortable enough to conduct the interview in a very relaxed and friendly environment. It was really kind of him.
PMR: Who is your biggest inspiration in life?? The force which drives you, motivates you to work??
Shoaib: Music itself is an inspiration to me as it is in my genes; it is in me by default because of my dad and it is the force that drives me to work harder and harder and more and more without even getting me exhausted as music is my passion so work doesn’t seem as work to me rather it is fun for me as I enjoy it a lot. I would advise the youth as well to get huge success in their life; they should be bold enough to take their passion as their profession.
PMR. Since childhood music has been your only interest or have there been other personal interests as well?
Shoaib: Not really, music has been my prime interest since my childhood but there are other things as well I am interested in. For instance I am a huge fan of technology; you will get to see all the latest music gadgets with me, in my studios as I work. Not only the gadgets but all kinds of innovative technology being brought in the telecommunication industry, mobile, computers industry, various software and instruments etc.
PMR. You are an established music producer, do you plan doing it in the future as well?? Has your singing taken the back seat now??
Shoaib: No, not at all; in fact I have shot a couple of music videos and one of them is just on the verge of being released in fact it has been for a couple of months because I have been delaying its release myself ( saying in a very disappointing manner) because whenever I look at the situation of the country, the time doesn’t seem to me as ‘right’ to release the video because all the time the people of this country are tuned into news channels and watching talk shows and discussing the economic, political catastrophes taking place in our beloved country amongst themselves. Therefore I keep on holding the release of my music video and just pray that the situation within our country gets better so that we (the artists) can do our work as ware expected to do and get our deserved appreciation and viewership most importantly.
PMR: Which is your favorite genre to work upon?? Are you a trained singer??
Shoaib: I love to work upon ballads and those songs which have a melodious touch to it; these days I am being a big fan of R & B music too, not the one which has all the electronic music into it but the one which have a melodious touch to it. (Answering to the second question) Yes, I have really worked hard on my singing; I have trained with many ustads, singing teachers etc. because I believe that if you have to achieve something in life you should work hard to get it and take a step towards the direction of your goal.
PMR: All the people know that you go for quality music rather than the quantity?? Do you follow this all the time or sometime while producing music, you change your style??
Shoaib: Thus far you would have already realized that I am a big fan of quality music; so when it comes to making my own music I don’t compromise at the quality of the music at all. But when I am producing music for somebody else then I give the client as he demands; for instance (giving the example of a bubble gum) in an advertisement the demand is to produce the sound of a cat then I have to do it for my client whether I like it or not; so then I have to make a few compromises including changing my own style and just produce as per the demand of my client.
PMR: Carrying the name of your father, Mr. Farrukh Abid, a well known and reputed name in the Pakistani music industry. Is it a hard job to carry his name when doing your own work?? How do you manage??
Shoaib: Yes it is a tough job to carry the name of my father on my shoulders as there is a lot of pressure on me 24/7 whether I work or I don’t work. I manage to ease it of me by producing good quality music for my fans, the people out there and my clients. We (Shoaib and his father) keep all of them happy in such a way that he with all of his experience in the industry; he knows all the old instruments, their sounds, the people of that age demands of music and the rituals of the industry and then with my own experience of today’s young generation’s demand and the latest gadgets & technology used in producing music we form a very fine chemistry in between us and thus the end result is a very fine one and one which is liked by many if not all.
PMR: You are such a good looking guy and since your childhood days you have starred in many commercials, do you plan to act more in the industry other than in your own music videos??
Shoaib. (With a smile on his face he answered the question) Yes I am planning to act more in fact I am very interested in doing a movie which will be a remake of a Hollywood movie; other than that I also do act in my own videos as well. I am doing a song with my younger brother Ali Farrukh as well and you can see me in the music video of that too, So, I am very keen on acting more and more.
PMR. What next for Shoaib Farrukh?? When is the full album going to be released?? And what’s going on, on the production side??
Shoaib: God willing the album is going to be released very soon and I have a lot in store for my fans to amaze them and make them happy through my music. I recently went to India as well and in a Bollywood movie my couple of songs can be heard and I worked a lot with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan too in the recent past. So there are many assignments completed and a few are still in progress both on the production side and on my solo career as well.
PMR. Your views about the Pakistani music? All kind of music? It needs to be improved or is it doing well enough and has a reputed image amongst the audiences??
Shoaib: I feel very pleased to see the young generation really bringing up good music and being so passionate about music and I think that Atif Aslam is the guy who brought about the revolution in the Pakistan music industry; as now many youngsters try to emulate him. It makes me feel very happy when I see every week or so a young solo artist or a band coming up with a very fine song and music and the Pakistan music has a really good image all over the world and it has made many fans all over the world.
PMR: Your message to your fans and PMR??
Shoaib: PMR is a website who is keeping their fans updated every moment about all the happenings taking in the world of entertainment, media and sports both locally and internationally and I advise PMR to even give a thought of having their own channel as the way they break the news so it will be convenient for them to communicate with their fans and PMR is doing a great job promoting the young upcoming talent of Pakistan and also the well established ones. As far as my message to my fans and the people of Pakistan is concerned I would advise them to stay together united and like brothers with each other and establish an environment of peace around us and all over our beloved country and to support Pakistan, Pakistan music and its artists. I wish good luck to PMR.
After the interview had finished I still had the time to be lucky enough to have an insight look of Shoaib’s studios and he briefed to me each and every instrument over there and then on the piano with Shoaib’s toned voice I managed to hear a live version of “tu na jaa” which completely mesmerized me and made me an even bigger fan of Shoaib Farrukh because of his talent, hard work and the true and honest person he is.
Interview By: Adil Ahmed Taj
Photographer: Fahad Zaidi