PHOTOS: SHEIKH MEHEDI MORSHED

SADI MOHAMMAD SHAHNEWAZ

There was no music director more sought-after than Fuad Almuqtadir in the 2000s. Single-handedly responsible for the careers of many musicians that you know and love today, Fuad is responsible for timeless albums including Variation No. 25, Bonno, Maya, Re/evolution, among many others. He built careers for fresh new musicians, uplifted dormant ones, and created an entire sub-genre that to this day, musicians follow.

How in the world have you lost so much weight?

(Laughs) Thanks for noticing. After multiple health scares, I have taken my fitness very seriously. I wake up at five in the morning to do my cardio. The other day, I even took Elita (Elita Karim) to Shahabuddin Park to take a walk with me! I must say, I feel much, much better.

What are you up to at the moment?

I am currently recording a tribute album, one that I’d been planning for a long time. It will feature reimaginations of the ‘90s songs that we dearly love, voiced by the talents of the 2000s – It’s the ultimate ‘what-if’ scenario.

That sounds great. Which artistes that will be featured in this project?

While I can’t divulge all the details, okay scratch that – I’ll give you a peek. It features Elita Karim, Zohad Reza Chowdhury, Shakib Chowdhury, and Raef Al Hasan, alongside my lineup of FnF (Fuad and Friends). The project will consist of live performances and music videos.

Your name was synonymous with hit albums over the years. However, as time passed, songs from you have become relatively scarce. Why is that?

Priorities change as time goes on. My priority has always been my family and loved ones, and over the years it has increased manifold. Add to that my health concerns – I’ve been through a lot. That’s not to say that I am not regularly working on music, I really am. However, I am very critical of myself nowadays, constantly finishing tracks and finding them to be lacking according to my own standards.

To add to that, I often ponder how musicians will adapt to the prevalence of AI. It is truly scary.

I was under the impression that musicians have nothing to worry about, since AI cannot really capture human emotions/imperfections.

That’s not true at all! Think about it, it is a learning model that knows how you think, how you will react to particular notes and lyrics. It will even replicate the minor nuances or mistakes that make you human! Irrespective of how confident musicians are that they’ll sustain, they absolutely have to consider this new reality. It literally takes a five-minute prompt to make a catchy song that you’ll like!

That may be, but can it replace live performances by musicians? I feel like that is the connection that audiences will still crave.

You may be right, but unmanned concerts are already gaining prevalence. The youth are consistently being attracted to EDM concerts, which need little human input. Now, I say all of this not to discourage musicians, but this has to be talked about, since AI is already starting to take over jingles and short-form musical OVCs. We have to adapt.

It’s been a year since we lost Shafin Ahmed, an absolute legend in Bangladeshi music. I believe that you brought out a different side of him. What do you miss the most about him?

I just wish that he could see how much people love and miss him. I’ll always say that amidst senior artistes, Shafin bhai had the best sense of humour, as proven by RExposed and the promotion of my song Legend , where we pretended to have an online beef! In my twenties, when I did dumb stuff, he always forgave me. I miss him terribly.

Is there anything you’d like to say to a younger generation?

Nothing comes to mind. Oh- there is one thing. When you say Gen Z, don’t pronounce it “Zyan Zeee”. Sounds super awkward!