Mahmood Khan

Mahmood Khan (born August 4, 1967) is a Pakistani-Australian singer, songwriter, filmmaker, sound engineer, and music producer. He is best known for tracks including “Ginoo” and “Merry Go Round,” which have seen considerable commercial success both within Australia and Pakistan, as well as his pioneering approach to fuse elements of world music and Western pop. The new genre–which he calls “world pop” or “Oz world pop”–has taken root in Australia, with Khan currently holding the #1 spot on iTunes for both an album and a single.

Over the course of a variegated and internationally-focused career, Khan has achieved a number of firsts within his field. Commercial success came as far back as 1997, when Khan became the first Pakistani-born artists to feature on the U.S. World Music Charts. In 2009, Khan recorded “Like a River” with the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra outside the Sydney Opera House, leading the Rudd government to grant him honorary dual citizenship in recognition of his contribution to the alternative music scene in Australia. That same year, Khan became the first Pakistani-born artist to hit #1 on the Australian Pop Charts.

In more recent years, Khan became the first Asian-born artist to have performed live on national television, after appearing on Channel Nine’s Kerri Anne Show to celebrate 50 million views on YouTube with a rendition of “Like a River.”

Khan is a celebrated public face of the Pakistani-Australian community, which numbers around 91,000 according to the latest data available from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)–largely spread between the states of New South Wales and Victoria. Khan regularly interviews with SBS Urdu, the dedicated division of Australia’s publicly-funded foreign language broadcaster.

Early life and Education

Mahmood Khan was born to Matloob ur Rahman Khan and Durdana Matloob, in Lahore–capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. His parents migrated from India after the Indo-Pakistani war of 1947. According to an interview with triplejunearthed, he found his passion for songwriting at an early age, after studying and learning piano at one of the most prestigious schools of Pakistan.

After relocating to the United States in his adolescence, Khan enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Career

In 1985, Khan moved to Los Angeles to seek fame and fortune in the city’s burgeoning music industry. He soon found work as a sound engineer at Jam Power Productions in Northridge, CA; which focussed on R&B, jazz, and hip hop. Serving at the studio for the next 12 years, he cites assisting with production on Coolio’s “Gangster’s Paradise” as a career highlight during this period. Within the space of just a few years, Khan assumed the role of chief composer, producer, and engineer within the agency, collaborating and writing for producers and artists such as Chucki Booker, Mary J. Blige, Eazy E, NWA, Vanessa Williams. It was also at this time that Khan began planning to embark on a solo career, learning to write music, produce, and sing independently.

In 1995, Khan released his first album, “Fairytale.” The work attracted the attention of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, an internationally-acclaimed Pakistani vocalist, musician and director primarily associated with Qawwali, a form of Sufi Islamic devotional music. The two collaborated in 1997 on “Only One,” which was released by Anarkali Records that year. Releasing works in quick succession, Khan then penned the track “Alive,” which was picked up by Dubai-based label Vanilla Music. Reports at the time stated that the single was considered by many in the industry to be “ahead of its time.”

Prior to emigrating to Australia in the mid-2000s, Khan returned to Pakistan for several years. Producing music for female singer and national icon Fariha Parvez, he also continued to work on video production and digital editing skills. Khan was commissioned by Islamabad to compose music in support of the 9th South Asia Games (held 2004 in Pakistan). He was then signed to Mumbai’s Magnasound Records, where he produced the album “Panah” (feat. Nandini Srikar). That year, MTV announced Khan Artist of the Month.

Khan relocated to Australia in the mid-2000s, achieving mainstream success with break-out hit “Like a River.” The song was an ARIA pop #1 hit, and footage for the clip was recorded live at the Sydney Opera House. He was awarded honorary dual citizenship by the Rudd Government in 2009 for his contribution to the Australian music scene and the Pakistani-Australian community. That same year, he also released the album “Made in Australia”; which featured, amongst others, keyboard player Doug Emery (who currently serves as musical director for Sir Barry Gibb), Grammy-winning Drummer Lee Levin, legendary saxophonist Ed Calle, bass player Julio Hernandez and the late Dan Warner.

In March 2020, Khan went viral internationally after releasing a suite of new singles.”Runaway” reached #1 on the iTunes Australia charts and #2 in the United States.

His May 2020 track “Ginoo” once again hit #2 on the iTunes US charts. Sources in the industry say that this is the first that a Urdu/Hindi song has broken into the US charts.

Notable collaborations

Khan has worked alongside numerous famous artists including, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Dick Marx, Damon Thomas, Gary Grant, Julio Hernandez, Easy E, Leon Sylvers, Ed Calle, Lee Levin, Dan Warner, Chuckii Booker, Shibani Kashyap, Nandini Srikar, and Stevie B.

Recognition

In 2011, the Australian Government recognized Khan as a “Distinguished Talent.”[5] He has also been endorsed by Apogee Electronics.[15]

UPDATE: In 2020 Mahmood had a string of top-charting singles in the USA and Australia. 'One line down' stayed at number 2 on the Itunes USA charts for 3 weeks. 'GINOO' entered the US Billboard charts at number 8. (This is the first time ever an Urdu song achieved this success.) His album TERE BAGHAIR became the first foreign-language album to debut at number 1 on the Australian Itunes charts. "RUNAWAY' also topped the Australian Charts. And- 'MERRY GO ROUND' made its debut at number 1 on the Australian Itunes chart!

Personal Life

Khan is married to Shakeela Matloob.

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