It’s hard to keep track of the many talents of Risham Faiz Bhutta, or RFB as she prefers to be known. She is multi-faceted and has dabbled in art, theater, music, and has her own tattoo parlor called Ink It Slow. You can also see most of his un-tattooed canvas artwork on the Ink It Slow Instagram page.

In terms of music, she has collaborated with most of the usual suspects and rising stars of the underground music scene. There is his partnership with Hasan Raheem on ‘Darr’, with Rozeo on ‘Fittay Mu’ and with Rap Demon on ‘Saan Ruk Janda’. If you haven’t seen her perform live in person, you can still check out the YouTube videos of her performances. There is no lack of confidence here; RFB enjoys the limelight and is a natural artist.

As a singer, RFB tried to create an identity as a person with a punk-goth-emo aesthetic. Both in terms of personality and the way she sings – low, almost buzzing into the microphone, which at times seems somewhat dark and scary. Sometimes you want her to show us more of her voice, because you really want to know what she’s really capable of, but alas, not right now.

She has stayed true to this style in her last two releases, “Sitaaray” and “Khushbu”. RFB wrote and composed these two songs. While Sitaaray is a pretty decent song that is good to listen to, Khushbu is even better.

Risham Faiz Bhutta shows off his vocal talents in his latest moody releases, “Sitaray” and “Khushbu”

‘Sitaaray’ is an electropop track that begins with a powerful electro-percussive rhythm that sets the tone for the song. Most of the song is RFB which sings the chorus and the post-chorus lines in a loop.

She gently sings the following chorus line: “Chalein sitaaray / Saaray jahanon se aagay chalein tou milengey / Banein puranay / Sapno se bhi hum tau tang aa ke kartay bahanay.” The lyrics are probably meant to convey a general feeling of boredom and cryptic longing that they are not to be understood literally.

The tabla intro in the second half of the song keeps ‘Sitaray’ from getting too monotonous.

His latest release, ‘Khushbu’, begins with a more complex, yet understated electronic intro. The song is entirely in Punjabi. Again, most of the time it’s RFB singing the chorus, first lightly then (vocally) really, really giving it everything: “Hoo machawan sab shor / Bulawan teri or / Murr jawan aihoi morr / Bethi mein raat din jithay tu / Kahani ais pyaar di jaadu.”More cryptic messaging.

In ‘Khushbu’ we finally hear some more of Risham Faiz Bhutta’s voice and it has a sweet tonal quality. She also allows herself to open up much more than in the past. He is an artist who shows a lot of potential. I wouldn’t say it’s there, in terms of producing a truly memorable masterpiece, but it’s on the right track.

Originally posted in Dawn, ICON, December 12, 2021