Arif Lohar is one of the ‘Legends of Pakistan’, son of the late celebrated Pakistani folk singer, ‘Alam Lohar’. The Lohar lineage has come of age as son Arif sways to the rhythm of his Chimta, an instrument that generates a crisp and clean sound of a metal percussion instrument. Shadowed by the towering personality of his father’s greatness, singing is his all consuming passion. Arif has kept alive the tradition of his great father and has established himself in his own right as one of Pakistan’s most successful artists, winning prestigious awards in his native country.
Arif was ten years old and reverberated to the sound of music. Watching his father at his daily ‘Riyaaz’ (rehearsal), Arif would be mesmerized. Seeing Arif’s consummate passion with music the senior Lohar found it futile to restrain him. Thereafter Arif became a pupil of his illustrious father who had by then passed the travails of getting himself acknowledged. Arif’s passion of the art coerced Alam into giving the best to his son. Alam taught Arif for 5 years, where there were hours and hours of sheer hard practice, learning the masters by heart and constant repetition of ‘Heer’,’ Sassi’, ‘Saiful-Mulook’, the ‘Marsiyas’, and ‘Soz, all traditional and legendary philosophies.
Arif has the power to rouse even the most unmusical minded with his stage presence and his vocal range, which most male vocalists would struggle to compete with. The powerful combination of his Chimta and the allure of a resounding voice have a place of their own. Apart from being a considerable stage-artist, he has also earned a name on television by rendering folk and romantic poetry through his strong and powerful voice.
Living by the philosophy of music he continues to sing his way into the eyes, ears and souls of us all. With numerous albums, Pakistani Films and Dramas under his belt, Arif came back with an album called, ‘21st Century Jugni’, which was produced by ‘Mukhtar Sahota’ in 2006, bringing his sound to the 21st Century. The album received an exceptional response from around the world and received awards for, ‘Best Folk Pop Album’, ‘Best Non Residential Punjabi Vocalist’ and ‘Best Pop Folk Vocalist’ at the ETC Punjabi Music Awards in India in March 2007.