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Mahmood Khan represents an exclusive rare breed of singer/songwriters to emerge out of Asia who, amongst extreme difficulties, kept their art alive and dedicated a lifetime to celebrate the resilience and adaptibility of the human spirit. An experienced sound engineer, producer, writer, lyricist and performer, he has pioneered the fusion sound and has continually brought hope to his niche listeners around the world with his spiritual pop oriented songwriting and philosophy.

Born in Pakistan to parents who migrated from India after the 1947 war he wrote songs at an early age and started off as an assistant sound engineer in Los Angeles at a company that was a hub for R&B, Rap, hip hop and Funk genres. Jam power productions led by visionary Tom Berry was based in Northridge, California and was home to producers Chuckii Booker, Livio Harris, Damon Thomas, Budd Ford and Ronni Van among many others. During these years he also worked with artist Mortesa Barjesteh.

Connection with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

In 1996 he produced his first solo album in English which was released on his self owned label in the US. The work was noticed by the legendary World music Artist from pakistan Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. His second solo album Only One was released in 1997 and it featured performances by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Songs from the album were pirated by a major Bollywood film that stripped him of all royalties and credits from the album.His next project was album panahwhich was released by Magna Sound India and same year he recorded another album "Alive" for Dubai based record label Vanilla Music. He also wrote, performed, produced and directed the music video for "tere baghair" a song dedicated to the people who lost their lives in the 1947 Indian war. The video went on to become the most aired song in the history of Pakistan. In 2004 he was hired by the Government of Pakistan to compose music for the 9th SAF games opening and closing ceremonies. During these years Mahmood also developed and invented the mahmoodKhanFunk project based around a new genre with a unique sound comprising only of Eastern instruments and gypsy guitars arranged in a Black song format. He named the genre "modern folk" and is now known as MahmoodkhanFunk.

MahmoodkhanFunk

It took almost 5 years to find, connect, rehearse and develop a new sound which became known as mahmoodkhanFunk. The idea was to gather skilled musicians proficient in Eastern music and culture and fuse them with an understanding of Black music and lace it with gypsy guitars and then record and mix it as a pop record. Pakistani traditional musicians had never seen the American way of investing in music and were fascinated by the idea of dedicating a few years collectively to 'find ' a new sound. They were exposed to the Funk way of doing things. From the very first day Mahmood knew the sound would work because he heard it in his 'head' and knew it would take a bit of time to make it all happen.

First followers

Six months into the project the excitement of this new sound which was being rehearsed at Mahmood's dad's house on the oukskirts of lahore started bringing in interesting people who Mahmood called 'islands'. These 'islands' would come and watch the band rehearse all day while Dad kept everyone well fed. Change of circumstances brought the band to rehearse in Islamabad next to the grounds of Sufi Saint Bari Imam and the sound grew exponentially. Rehearsing in the capitol city of Islamabad exposed the band to an International audience and the French were the first ones to accept the sound. Alliance Francaise Islamabad supported the sound followed by friends like Rashid Qureshi, Embesat khan, Sattar Khan and a niche market started to develop just as the band started to play better. During these years many recordings were made and will be released digitally in the near future supported by an International tour.

A new single 'we could be paradise' is now available on itunes. This song is part of project downunderand recorded with 30 Australian Artists for charity. Currently he is working on the mahmoodkhan songs digital reissue program of his body of work to capture devoted listeners globally.

Latest update

Mahmood became the first Pakistani singer/songwriter to perform all original songs at the Sydney Opera House March 14 2009.

JOURNEY OF A NEW SOUND Mahmood Khan known for his battles in the music industry from Los Angeles to lahore, notable work with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, contribution to the hip/hop and Funk genres and now the first singer/songwriter from the Pakistan to have scored a Number one hit on Australian Pop charts. His remarkable adventure in the music world from humble beginnings as a sound engineer/producer in a Black music production house in Los Angeles, his experiences with names like Rick Rubin, Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, Naushad, Indian music Guru Piyarelal,And the Pakistani Legend Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and an account of hurdles he had to over come in an effort to spread his music will be told in the documentary called ‘Journey of a new sound’ currently under production.

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