Q & A Session with Haroon Sheikh of Aag the Band

By Hani Arif

AAG BandQ: Why the name Aag for your band, which is a word, used daily and is not very striking because of being such?

A: If one observes Heraclitean philosophy, he sees that fire represents “Becoming”. The name AAG describes us perfectly because of its ever changing nature. Never forming the same pattern twice, AAG as a band seeks to be versatile, showing the different perspectives each of us have of music, which are moreover, ever-changing. Heraclitus described it best by saying, “One cannot step into the same river twice, for fresh waters are ever flowing upon one’s self”.

This phenomenon of ‘Becoming”, surely a predominant one in life is what AAG shall explore, and the journey will be shared with our fans and listeners. Hardly something that doesn’t strike, for it touches the inner core of the human soul.

Q: Do you think because of your name, if you get a record deal with Fire Records, it will cause a lot of confusion, cause it will be all Aag, Aag and Aag ?

A:AAG by AAG The Band, airing on AAG T.V, signed to Fire Records“… Feels more memorable than confusing to me. But we haven’t signed any deals as yet.

Q: Who are the members of the band and what are their inputs?

A: Haroon Sheikh is the frontman, on vocals and lead guitar, Along with brother Usman Sheikh on drums, and Nabeel Hussain on Rhythm Guitars. As far as input goes, we get together and jam, and let the songwriting take care of itself.

Ideas come to us naturally whether it be composition/lyrics/feel/anything. We like to keep the process organic and go with the flow. Sometimes we take a 180 degree turn and get abstractly experimental with our sound. The focus is always on originality.

Q: What are your inspirations for making music?

A: Anything under the sun basically or above it. Whatever catches our eyes or even doesn’t, a song can be written about it. Whether it’s something as profound as love, or some homeless guy screaming at a dog. Whatever, the strangest things are often the main inspiration for some of the greatest songs in the world.

As inspirations from other artists go, it’s an endless list. On the eastern end, we find Rahat Fateh Ali Khan to be breathtaking. His tone and the way he expresses each word like he’s telling a story. Its hard to believe that a human being can be this magnificent. Our western influence come from pop, rock, metal, jazz, reggae, etc. Muse is one band we really dig. The complexities of their arrangements with the mind boggling live performances are just astounding. Also bands like Noori, eP and Junoon are wonderful to listen to; Noori’s song and lyric writing are things any upcoming bands should be aspiring to emulate and take inspiration from. That and ‘eP’ with their amazing energy in live performances, that’s one band that really knows how to get a crowd going.

We’re also heavily inspired by the phenomenal producers in our industry. Greats such as Rohail Hyatt, Sarmad Ghafoor, Faraz Anwar, are awe inspiring. These pioneers are the ones responsible for the great songs we’ve grown up listening to.

Q: Have you taken lessons in singing or guitars?

A: All of AAGs members are self taught musicians. I used to figure out how to play guitar by ear. Used to lock myself up in my room trying to replicate everything I heard, from TV jingles to video game music to classical pieces of J.S Bach…Everything! The sound of the guitar always fascinated me. I could seriously track down its sound from miles away.

My brother Usman has been playing drums since he was 7. He’s a monster behind the kit, and probably the main cause of our energy in live performances. Moreover, he’s a multi-instrumentalist and will play anything he puts his hands on mashallah.

Whereas, Nabeel used to go to Al-Hamra, a while back. But I believe that he learnt it mostly by himself as well. I believe that it’s observation, common sense and practice.

Q: Your debut single Aag, is quite a track with a message in it, why did you decide to go for a simple performance video for it when it could had a complex story based video?

A: A Major part of our philosophy as a band focuses on being as original as we can be. It’s rather expected for a patriotic song of this nature to have a video with visuals of dead politicians giving speeches and a few snippets of the flag. The ones ignored are those ordinary people who gave their lives and sacrificed everything for their country.

AAG as a band chose to tell the never-ending story of those ignored. Sure, we could’ve put together some footage of the migrants making their way to Lahore, with insertions of a needlessly burning guitar but we didn’t do that. We chose to appeal to the subconscious mind through the use of color and a thematic nature of editing in order to build nostalgia.

The response for the video has exceeded our expectations, and we now seek to inspire the people more with our next single.

Q: What genre do you think your first album will be in?

A: Who says you need a genre? We need to come out of these boundaries to be able to explore.

Q: By when do you think you’d be able to complete work in your album, is it ready for release?

A: We’re currently working on the album. Some tracks are down, others aren’t. We’re aiming to release early next year Inshallah.

Q: What is going to be the next release by the band?

A: You’ll find out soon enough =) & keep checking Aag official facebook page for updates.

Q: Being relatively new in the industry do you see yourself being successful as musicians at the current state of conditions in the music industry?

A: The industry is at a state currently where it’s looking to take new shape. After the industry’s “revolution” early on in the millennium, it’s this point in time where it is searching for a new direction. We as a band seek to showcase a new sound which has not been witnessed before, and are already appealing to the industry’s greats.

AAGs earthy yet modern sound has been praised by the legends and veterans. Greats such as: Strings, Arshad Mehmood, Ahmed Butt (eP), Omran Shafique, among countless others. The success we have gotten over the past few months has been amazing, and we seem to be getting noticed.

Q: What advice would you give to other musicians who are starting out on their journey of making music?

A: Do what you feel like, release it, and see what happens.

Hani Arif writes full time on HaniArif.com