Dawn Images

Farhad Humayun, the founder and drummer of the iconic Pakistani band Overload with a musical career spanning over two decades, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 42.

The news was announced by the band's official Facebook page.

"The magnificent Farhad Humayun left us for the stars this morning. Stoic in the face of challenges, uncompromising in his values, generous to a fault, witty as hell! Fadi was far too ahead of his time, both in spirit and art," read the post announcing his death.

"He would want us to celebrate his life, so we request his family, friends and fans to honour him and say a prayer for him today. We can almost hear him say these words by David Bowie: 'I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring'. Godspeed our gentle giant and thank you for creating a Riot."

The post did not mention the cause of Humayun's death but in 2018 the musician, revealed that he had a brain tumour that was being operated on by the "world's greatest surgeon". His cousin, Taimur Rahman, told Images that the musician had undergone two major operations for the tumour in Lahore and Dubai but had still been suffering from it.

He was laid to rest on Tuesday afternoon at the Mian Meer Graveyard in Lahore. He is survived by his mother, Navid Shahzad, and sisters, Sarah Shahzad and Reema Bukhari.

The bandleader behind the percussion-based act was also running Riot Studio, a recording studio and live gig venue.

An ace drummer

Humayun's musical journey didn't start with drums but the instrument appeared to be his calling from the start.

"I got into playing music when I reached the eighth grade, and made friends who were like-minded [...] I used to play the guitar until someone advised me to try playing the drums. And when I did, I got to know that this was the instrument for me," he said in a 2013 interview with Dawn.

"Even before I got my hands on a real drum kit, I used to imitate drumming on different objects using sticks and pencils, as if I were playing a real drum kit."

"I produce music for myself, Overload, and other bands, and also direct videos. I don’t keep myself limited to a particular thing, and keep exploring new facets," he had said.

Speaking about his foray into singing as the frontman for Overload, he spoke of how he had so far stayed away from the limelight. "Due to the nature of the instrument I play, I’ve been mostly behind the drums, and playing the drums for almost 20 years now."

Back in 2010, Humayun launched a track online of himself singing verses of Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare, calling it "my adventures in falsetto and respect to William Shakespeare, Bryan Ferry and David Gilmour".