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Pak singer's warm note
Mahmood Khan says the most memorable moment of his career has been his association with the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Since he was six, Mahmood Khan knew music was his calling. By the time he was 12, the popular Pakistani singer had learnt the piano, followed by the guitar.
At 18, Khan left Pakistani shores for Los Angeles to work as a sound engineer with Jam Power Productions. Here he got to work with popular musicians like Dr Drey and Vanessa Williams. “I honed my skills for 13 years in LA. Then I launched Fairytales, my first album, in 1995. But a moment I still cherish is working with the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan for the album Only One, released in 1997,” says the singer. In the Capital to launch his album Ajnabee, Khan says his association with Nusrat was special. “The track Tere Yaad from Only One later made way into a film called Kartoos. The time we spent together has been the singular most rewarding experience of my life,” he adds.
Without thinking about the commercial aspects, Ajnabee offers unadulterated music says Khan. Not just has he done the lyrics but also sung and produced the album. “I exercise artistic freedom and since there are few opportunities back home, I understand why Pakistani groups like Strings or Fuzon look towards India as a platform,” says the Islamabad-based singer.
Khan has written seven Hindi songs for his album with the exception of one English number Now and Forever. The perfectionist prefers to work alone and says he hasn’t found anyone committed enough to assist him. “I’m obsessed with hitting the right chord and music is what makes me get up every morning and look forward to the day. I’ve grown up admiring music composers Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Bee Gees, Kishore Kumar and Stevie Wonder who professed purity of music. The purity has got lost somewhere and I am trying to bring it back,” he says.
