Asfar Hussain Wiki, Age, Girlfriend, Family, Biography & More

Asfar Hussain is a Pakistani singer, music composer, and songwriter who is best known for being the vocalist in the Pakistani rock band ‘Bayaan,’ which gained recognition after appearing in the first season of the Pakistani show ‘Nescafe Basement’ in 2012.

Wiki/Biography

Asfar Hussain was born on 17 December, and he hails from Chitral in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. His zodiac sign is Sagittarius. In Chitral, where music is an integral part of the culture, Asfar grew up witnessing musical get-togethers i.e., mehfils at home in which his friends and relatives sang the verses of his poet father while his elder brother played the sitar. When Asfar was in middle school, he moved to Peshawar for a while, where he was introduced to Pakistani pop music that was rising in the early 2000s. In an interview, he said,

Because back then in Chitral I didn’t have cable or the internet. Over there [in Peshawar] we did. And so, I got influenced by pop music there.”

Although there was little opposition in his family regarding pursuing a career in music, his father supported his decision. After attending a local school in Chitral, he enrolled in the National College of Arts (NCA) in Lahore, Pakistan, to study musicology. Although Asfar has been singing since he was in 7th grade, he took the center stage for the first time during his college days. In 2012, Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan, the producer and mentor of the show ‘Nescafe Basement’ (2012), discovered Asfar at NCA auditions for the show. For the audition, Asfar sang the songs Raaz-e-Fitna and Tau Kia Huwa. He also participated in the All Pakistan Music Conference (APMC) in which he secured the second position in the Thumri (a style of Indian music) category.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 6′

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

Family

Not much is known about his family. Unlike Asfar, who is inclined towards Urdu and pop music, his elder brother, a Chitrali sitar player, is rooted to his hometown.

Career

Asfar Hussain is a member of the Lahore-based Pakistani rock band ‘Bayaan’. The band came into the limelight after appearing in the popular Pakistani TV series ‘Nescafe Basement’ (2012). It was during the jam and recording sessions for the show that the members of the band, all college students at that time, made acquaintance and became fast friends. Consequently, their musical chemistry led to the inauguration of ‘Bayaan.’

The alternative rock/contemporary pop band consists of Asfar Hussain (vocalist), Haider Abbas (bassist), Shahrukh Aslam (guitarist), Muqeet Shahzad (guitarist), and Mansoor Lashari (drummer).

In 2015, the band gained immense popularity with its first original song, Nahin Milta, which was penned by Asfar.

The song was later compiled under the extended play ‘4 Saal’ (2019), released under the record label Rearts records. Among other songs, ‘4 Saal’ also included the crowd puller songs “Farda” and “Din Dhalay.”

‘Nahin Milta’ featured in the 2017 Pakistani war-epic film ‘Yalghaar,’ marking the band’s debut in Lollywood.

The band first live gig was at the Pak Media Revolution concert in Lahore. At Lahore Music Meet 2020, the band announced the release of its debut album ‘Suno,’ released under the record label Rearts records. The album consisted of the chartbuster songs “Teri Tasveer” and “Mera Musafir.” Raised in the mountainous terrain of Chitral, Asfar wrote the introductory lines of “Mera Musafir” imagining his home.

In 2018, the band went on to win the Pakistani music competition TV series ‘Pepsi Battle of the Bands,’ defeating the band named Xarb. As the winner of the show, Bayaan received a cash prize of Rs. 50 lakhs and an album contract with Pepsi.

The songs performed by Bayaan on the show were featured on various music streaming services. During an interview in 2018, Asfar revealed that besides working with the band, he also worked as a teacher, who taught performing arts and music at a private school. While talking about the hectic schedule of all the band members, he said,

We all have day jobs and beside that we just enjoy making music. Music itself is so time consuming that we hardly get any time to do something else.”

The band reappeared on Pepsi Battle of the Bands’ during its fourth season to perform with the Season 2 winners, Kashmir – The Band. Other singles by the band include Bekhabar (2019), Aaj Bazaar Mein (2020), and Faryaad (2021). All of Bayaan’s music is distributed and licensed by Rearts records. In March 2020, Asfar Hussain, among other artists, lent his voice to PepsiCo Pakistan’s hit cricket promotional song “Khel Ja Dil Se.”

Following the release of the song, Asfar also featured on the labels of limited edition cold drink bottles of PepsiCo in Pakistan.

In February 2022, the band’s YouTube channel was awarded Silver Creator Award, for surpassing 100,000 subscribers.

In 2022, in the Pakistani television programme ‘Coke Studio,’ he sang the song “Mehram,” along with Brooklyn-based Pakistani vocalist Arooj Aftab.

Awards, Honours, Achievements

• LUX Style Award (2022) for Best Song of the Year for the song “Teri Tasveer”

  Asfar Hussain posing with LUX Style Award (2022)

• Shaan-e-Pakistan Music Achievement Awards (SEPMA) (2020) in the category of Best lyrics for the song “Bekhabar”

  Members of band Bayaan at Shaan-e-Pakistan Music Achievement Awards (SEPMA) (2020)

Favourites

• Film: Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011)

• Film Series: Gangs of Wasseypur

• Singer(s): Mehdi Hassan, Kishore Kumar, and Ustaad Ghulam Ali Khan

Facts/Trivia

• Asfar Hussain is an avid dog lover. He posts various pictures with his pet dog named Roussie on his Instagram account.

  Asfar Hussain with his pet dog, Roussie

• He is also known by the name Asfar Chitrali.

• Apart from singing, he is also proficient in playing the rabab, guitar, tabla, and the Chitrali sitar.