Atif Aslam

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Atif Aslam
Image:Atif Aslam.jpg Atif Aslam
Background information
Birth name	Atif Aslam
Born	Wazirabad, Pakistan
Origin	Lahore, Pakistan
Genre(s)	Pop Rock
Occupation(s)	Singer Musician
Instrument(s)	guitar
Years active	2005 - Present
Associated acts	Jal

Atif Aslam (Urdu: عاطف اسلم) is a Pakistani musician. He was born in Wazirabad, Gujranwala on March 12th, 1983 and was educated in Lahore and Rawalpindi.

1 Life & Career
2 Discography
- 2.1 Albums
- 2.2 Singles
3 External links

[edit] Life & Career

Atif attended high School at PAF College Lahore, where he played Cricket and became interested in music. He attended PICS (Punjab Institute of Computer Science) to do his Bachelors in Computer Science (BCs). It was at PICS Lahore that he met guitarist and talented young composer, Gohar Mumtaz. This lead to performances at their college and at various restaurants eventually pushing the pair into finding a name for their subtly formed band, which they duly named "Jal" - which means Water - (the issue of which musician was truly responsible for the name “Jal” is still disputed).

Working together, the pair recorded the song Aadat (with the help of Salman Albert, amongst other established and accomplished Pakistani musicians). It became popular on a host of promotional Pakistani music websites. The song was also played on such Pakistani radio stations as FM100 and FM105. The music video for Aadat was shot one day in a warehouse in Karachi. On the base of this one song, “Jal” began their tour of Pakistan—such was the strength of “Aadat”. However, whilst on tour, personal problems led to a verbal bust-up resulting in an unannounced and indefinite hiatus, during which Atif launched his solo career.

Atif Aslam, after leaving Jal, released a new solo album, Jal Pari (ironically meaning "Mermaid") which was a big hit. The Songs Woh Lamhey, Dil Haarey and few others were smash hits on both Pakistani radio stations and Music Channels. As both the Jal, “Aadat”, and Atif’s album, Jalpari, shared certain tracks (such as “Aadat”, “Bheegi Raatein/Wo Lamhey”, “Ankhon se”) an unofficial war over rights began which resulted in both sides claiming to possess hard proof to support their respective claims (that, they alone owned the concerned songs). The hype this feud gave to both Atif and the new Jal was extraordinary and split the musical nation with the fans of each side backing their respective favourite.

Whilst the drama of lyrics & composition ownership continued in Pakistan, Bollywood director Mahesh Bhatt called Atif Aslam to seek his consent to include "Woh Lamhey" in the soundtrack of his new motion picture, Zeher (2005). The song (especially the remix version) became a huge hit & dominated airplay on almost all major FM stations throughout India for a period of 6-8 months. This pattern of a slow playback song by Atif in the movie, supplemented by a remix version released for radio airplay was to become standard procedure with Atif’s songs on the Indian market.

He recorded a song for the movie Kalyug, entitled 'Juda Hokey Bhi' - a slight variation of the ever famous Aadat song. Like with “Wo Lamhey / Bheegi Yaadein”, a slow version became the theme for the movie and part of the official soundtrack, whilst a remixed version was released to hit the radio stations and desi clubs worldwide.

After recording for Kalyug, an Irani director in Hollywood contacted Atif and within very little time, Atif recorded three songs for that same director’s Hollywood movie, 'Man Push Cart' and was rewarded with a small cameo role in the movie.

Atif re-emerged in the subcontinent with a new track, “Tere Bin” (translation: [Without You]) for the Bollywood Movie, Bas Ek Pal. Yet again, the song was remixed and as expected it became popular in a very short amount of time. Once again, Atif’s voice electrified the airwaves on radio stations throughout the subcontinent. The song "Tere Bin" became a hit in India and Pakistan.

In between the copyright war and media war with Gohar ( Jal ) and recording Bollywood songs, Atif has been touring the world and working on his new album.

Atif visited various countries in Asia, Europe & The Americas which include Pakistan, India, UAE, UK, Canada & America—taking his sound to the “pardesi” (expatriates of the subcontinent) worldwide. Atif’s new album has been entitled 'Doorie' and is due to be released in the summer of 2006.