My Pod with Farhad Humayun

MULTI-TALENTED artist Farhad Humayun recently released his debut solo single Mur Ke Dekho, which has an eye-catching music video and meaningful message. The award-winning artist is now looking forward to releasing a new album. Eastern Eye got Farhad to choose 10 songs he loves.

Let’s Dance by David Bowie:Great drum sound and beat coupled with a wonderful bass line. Bowie’s most commercial song and album, but I love the way he sings in his baritone register. The best part is that Stevie Ray Vaughan plays guitar on this. Wow!

Always A Woman by Billy Joel:l:Beautiful song writing. Joel complains about “her” then defends her so you can’t join in and condemn her. One of the best love songs ever written.

Take Me For A Little While by Coverdale/Page: Two of my favourites together. Coverdale’s voice at its peak and so expressive in the higher register and I absolutely love Jimmy Page’s solo on this. Great guitar riff.

Jindri Lutti by Mehdi Hassan:Written by Khwaja Ghulam Farid, this is my favourite version of this song. Very sensitive and beautiful piece of writing. Mehdi Hassan sahib takes the liberty of improvising outside his usual style.

Mausam Badla by Ustad Amanat Ali: One of my idols. His melodies are haunting and

surprisingly low in scale and he sings them with such ease. But really it’s very hard to

sing like him. The rhythm work is great and the division of notes is a marvel.

Interstellar Theme by Hans Zimmer: The sound enters my heart and tears it apart. Christopher Nolan apparently wrote one page for Zimmer without telling him anymore. Proves Hans Zimmer is a genius.

Ram It Down by Judas Priest: Absolutely love this band and it’s a major influence on

my life. Living in Pakistan, metal really uplifted us while we were growing up. Rob Halford’s vocal range, tone and vibrato is legendary and the guitar playing is melodic yet still true to metal. KK Downing and Glenn Tipton absolutely rip it up.

Who Made Who by AC/DC: This was my intro to AC/DC and I love every song by them. The quintessential rock’n’roll band. Simon Wright is on drums on this one and is rock solid. Brian Johnson’s signature voice got me hooked the first time heard it.

Mama by Genesis: I have many similarities with Phil Collins. We’re both drummers who became singers when the lead singer left. I also have a minor case of carpal tunnel syndrome in my left arm – apparently so does Phil. The drum break at the end of this power packed and explosive song is so tight and locked in with the bass.

Gimme The Night by George Benson: This song is groovy as hell – the bass line and soft drums. It was my dad’s favourite song too. I heard it in a club in London recently

and it sounded killer. Great vocals and what can I say about the guitar? There’s just a whole lot of coolness in one song.