Stardom is glittery and glamorous, but no one ever actually knows ‘behind the scenes’ of this journey. Daily Times had a candid discussion with the celebrated singer, songwriter and music director Qurram Hussain aka Q in Lahore about this musical journey. Qurram is the brain behind the music of multiplatinum Indo-Pakistan band JoSH which produced four award winning albums and 27 music videos including timeless songs JoSH Nal Pao Bhangra, Khabi, Payar Ho Gaya, Rock Your World and Nasha Payar Da. Qurram shared how he joined JoSH band and what hurdles they faced in getting their first contract from the leading music company of India and how he literally shattered into tears on a roadside in Mumbai. The ‘Aye Mausam’ singer believed that people who matter should also share their failures, setbacks and rejections with their followers instead of just talking about their success. Qurram called upon the young singers to never get dejected by rejection, telling that there were many moments of setbacks and rejections in his life as well, but he always had a belief that his intentions and efforts towards his passion i.e. music were pure and one day he would succeed. Recalling the ‘highly energetic’ days of his life, the singer says he used to attend engineering classes in the morning, work for a software company in the evening and give rest of the time to music i.e. jamming and performing covers Talking about joining JoSH in late 1990s in Canada, Q said “Rup (who had already formed JoSH with his brother Rick) and I used to take the same bus to the college, where we found our common interest in music, and then the journey goes on.” Initially, the band used to sing covers. As, there was no social media at that time, so they used to perform LIVE at different functions. “I remember those highly energetic days of my life when I used to attend engineering classes in the morning, work for a software company in the evening and we dedicate rest of the time to music i.e. jamming and performing covers,” Qurram said. “Maybe, our life would have remained the same if the boss of our firm, Raj Vadavia, had not motivated us to create our own music which changed our life,” Q said. He further revealed, “Raj told us that he had booked a recording studio for them for Sunday, and if they didn’t go and record our first composition, the money, he spent on booking, would go waste.” After this, JoSH got in touch with few production houses from North America who wanted them to sing collaborated compositions in French and Spanish. But luckily, Qurram said, they realised that this would never connect them with the audience, so they decided to move on with our music, the desi pop. So the JoSH band, Qurram, Rup and Rick, flew into India. Qurram said that they were so inexperienced and tightly budgeted that they inadvertently booked a very shady hotel online. So, they spent their first night in India with different kinds of insects wandering around them in the hotel room testing their patience and determination. “Seriously, we were barren with any knowhow who to approach and where to go. We got our first clue of a recording studio from the backside of a cassette cover which had an address of a known recording house. Keeping the demo tape in our bags, we hopped up into a rickshaw and dropped off our piece of hearts at different studios,” he said. Qurram said that they believed the experience they have had in Canada would give them an edge over everybody. But this was just a thought as they were treated like everyone else in routine and this happened with them everywhere they went. “I literally became very sad and shattered into tears at a footpath in Mumbai. But this rejection further strengthened my resolve, so I became more serious and passionate towards my music,” Qurram said. The JoSH singer said that this cycle of coming back to India and going back with some heart wrenching rejection letters, followed by some life learning lessons, had continued for few years. “Meanwhile, we also improved our music. Actually in 1997-1999, Bhanghra and dance songs were highly popular. Comparatively, JoSH was producing soulful and tender music due to which it took some time for us to find some recognition,” he added. But in that struggle period, we had a major setback; two of our highly valuable band members decided to end their music journey and set up their own businesses. So, JoSH turned into two boys’ band; Rup Magon and Qurram Hussain. “Everyone is not as passionate as you are; their goals are different than yours, so never give up if people leave you at any point. Every failure facilitates your inner growth,” said Qurram. Though it was difficult time but Qurram says that “he is always thankful for such a tragedy in life because this caused further progress.” Qurram said that it was most sixth tour to India when they got a deal from Tips Music, and after that there was no looking back, and many of our hits and collaborations followed it; JoSH won the MTV Award for the Best Newcomer for their second Album ‘Kabhi’ which connected very well with the audience in India and Pakistan. “It was not that our journey was smooth afterwards. There are challenges and hurdles every day but we work hard to overcome those. I must appreciate the determination and passion of Rup Magon,” he added. Later, he says, time came in 2016 when he wanted to explore a new sound which didn’t match the sound of JoSH. So, he did his first music collaboration outside JoSH with Komal Rizvi for Desan Da Raja (Suni Kuri) which was a major hit and won the Google Award for being one of the most watched music videos in Pakistan. Talking about his experience as music director for ‘Rangreza’, Q said that film music was another challenge for him because in the last decades, he had followed his heart but for film he had to also follow a particular theme and situation given by the directotr. “Just keep your direction right and intentions pure, because this is the only key to the toughest of bolts in this universe,” he concluded. Published in Daily Times, May 15th 2018.