from childhood. His father's passion for jazz influenced him
throughout his early years. After graduating from Government
College, Lahore, Mekaal studied music at the Berklee College of
Music, Boston. His stay exposed him to a wide variety of music and
musicians, many of whom are influences to this day. Returning to
Pakistan in 1995, Mekaal set up a state of the art recording
facility, Digital Fidelity Studios where many of the top artists of
Pakistan record. His reputation as a guitarist gained even more
momentum with his instrumental record ‘Square One’ ,written after
his return from Berklee. From the instrumental rock jazz writing
style of ‘Square One’ from 1996 to 2000, Mekaal made a dramatic
shift of writing and composing in the ending of 2000 when he then
focused on writing around eastern classical musicians and hence
formed The Mekaal Hasan Band. Out of this shift in direction came
the band’s groundbreaking record, Sampooran. Along with being the
band leader, composer/arranger and guitarist for MHB, Mekaal Hasan
is one of the most in demand record producers around, producing and
engineering records with artists as diverse as Noori, Jal and Ali
Azmat. Mekaal’s versatility makes him an asset to any musical
situation at hand and MHB’s unique sound and style are very much
because of Mekaal’s unique writing and compositional abilities as
well as his production skills.
Sameer Ahmed developed a love
for music as a child. His earliest influences go back to Tom
Jones. In his teens, he got into Iron Maiden whose work inspired
him to take up guitar. Out of all the bands in the 80's, Maiden
was Sameer's biggest influence and remain a favourite of his till
this day. Later on, into the 90's, Sameer was smitten by the sound
of bands like Soundgarden and Alice in Chains which led up to his
forming Dog Tag, arguably one of the leading underground bands in
the burgeoning Lahore rock scene. During his studies abroad at
Rutgers, Sameer also took up bass guitar and after his Bachelor's
in Economics and Political Science, Sameer returned to continue
playing music and joined MHB as a bass player. He has an active
session player scheduele both as a guitarist and a bass player,
having played with the likes of Gumby, Mekaal Hasan, Hamza Ali
Jafri, Raaz and Salman Albert. As his influences developed over
time and over exposure to many different artists, Sameer also
started listening to artists as diverse as Jeff Buckley, Stevie
Wonder, Weather Report, Ani Di Franco and Faith No More. Sameer
Ahmed is a prolific songwriter and is also working on his own
material which will feature him on guitar,bass and vocals. His
versatility and creative drive make him an invaluable part of MHB.
Javed Bashir was born on 8th
August,1975 and has been singing since childhood. Javed's father,
Bashir Ahmed Khan, was a qawaal and this style of singing is the
one Javed has been commonly associated with over the years. Javed
Bashir studied extensively under the great classical singer,
Ustaad Mubarik Ali Khan, and displays his command of the classical
tradition in his work with MHB. In fact, Javed has already
ventured into the realms of pop,dance and bhangra by being
featured on hit tracks like Dewanay Nachdey, Ghar Aa Jaa and Nahi
Tera Ja Aur Disdah by Bally Sagoo. He is also featured on the UK
releases Anything But Silent, Simply Rich, Romance and Dance with
Bally Sagoo and All or Nothing. Javed Bashir has been singing with
The Mekaal Hasan Band since 2002 and is an essential part of the
band’s powerful and soulful sound. His exceptional talents have
earned him the greatest of respect amongst his peers and
contemporaries.
Papu started playing flute in 1973. He studied with Ghulam
Hussain Jalandri, Fida Hussain and Ghulam Haider. Papu has been a
leading session player for Pakistan's film and TV industry, having
performed on numerous PTV shows and Lollywood movies. He has also
contributed heavily to Indian blockbuster movies such as "Bandit
Queen". Apart from this, Papu has been an in demand player for all
of Pakistan's leading entertainers and artists which range from
folk singers Atta Ullah Esa Khelvi, Alam Lohar, Arif Lohar, ghazal
singer Tina Sani, pop artists like Jawad Ahmad and Adnan Sami Khan
and the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Papu was featured on the
"Dam Mast Mast" album as well as all of Nusrat's recordings. He
has played world over in Europe, Australia, The Middle East and
India and has won numerous awards for his outstanding playing. He
joined The Mekaal Hasan Band in 2001 and is a vital part of the
band's sound and eclecticism. He is not only an unbelievable
improviser, but is also a great craftsman, preferring to make his
own hand made flutes. His great knowledge of classical music, his
tremendous choice of notes and phrasing and his relentless
virtuosity, along with his versatility as a musician who can play
on just about any kind of music given to him, makes him a vital
part of the band.
Album:
Meekal Hasan Band - Andholan
Andholan.mp3
Album:
Meekal Hasan Band - Sampooran
Darbari.mp3
Late
Moon.mp3
Sanwal.mp3
Waris
ShAH.mp3
Ya Ai.mp3
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