Mekaal Hasan Band
| Mekaal Hasan Band | |
|---|---|
 Mekaal Hasan Band - Live in Canada at Celebration Square, Mississauga | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Genres | Alternative rock, Sufi rock, Jazz |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Labels | EMI, MHB Music, Sadaf Stereo |
| Associated acts | Junoon, Zeb and Haniya, Noori, Entity Paradigm, Jal, Rubberband |
| Website | www.mekaalhasanband.com |
| Members |
Mekaal Hasan Mohammad Ahsan Papu Sharmistha Chatterjee Sheldon D'Silva Gino Banks Agha Ibrahim Akram Amir Azhar |
| Past members |
Asad Abbas Riaz Ali Khan Sameer Ahmed Javed Bashir Kami Paul |
Mekaal Hasan Band, sometimes shortened to MHB, is an international sufi rock band formed in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan in 1999 by composer-songwriter, guitarist Mekaal Hasan.
The band members have roots in different genres, including jazz, classical music, soul music, and sufi rock, the combination of each member has created a sound which has earned them fans from a variety of quarters.[1]
The band achieved mainstream success with its debut album, Sampooran, released in 2004. Its following studio album, Saptak, released in 2010 continued the band's success. Mekaal Hasan Band won a number of awards and nominations for its recordings, videos and live performances.
Despite being signed to both EMI and Sadaf Stereo, the band have their own record label, MHB Music, which they use to launch some independent releases and their albums.
History
Early years (1995-2004)
Songwriter Mekaal Hasan, born in Lahore, Pakistan, was surrounded by music since childhood. His father, Masood Hasan, passionate for jazz music influenced him throughout his early years. After graduating from Government College, Lahore, Mekaal studied music at the Berklee College of Music, Boston and his stay there exposed him to a wide variety of music and musicians, many of whom are influences to this day.[1]
In March 2001, Mekaal collaborated with Pete Lockett in a series of concerts countrywide featuring music written for Pete and classical artists by Mekaal.
Sampooran (2004-2008)
Mekaal Hasan Band released their debut album, "Sampooran", in 2004 by EMI/Virgin Records.
Saptak (2009-2010)
Mekaal Hasan Band, released their second album in October, 2009. They also released their video of a single "Chal Bulleya" on 2 October 2009.
On 3 February 2010, Javed Bashir(Vocals) decided to part ways after working along with the band for 8 years. On 26 December, in an online poll by Dawn News the band's video for their single, "Chal Bulleya", was voted as the best music video of 2010.[2]
Andholan (2014-Current)
Mekaal Hasan Band's latest album featuring the all new lineup was released September 2014 in Pakistan and India across iTunes, Taazi, Amazon Music and other platforms. Mekaal Hasan Band released just one video from a live performance of the track 'Ghunghat', despite being a live performance it won song of the year in Express Tribune's Critics Choice and in the reader polls[3] and also won song of the year by Dawn News.[4]
Discography
- Studio albums
Band members
- Current
- Mekaal Hasan – lead guitar (2001–present)
- Mohammad Ahsan Papu – flute (2001–present)
- Sharmistha Chatterjee – lead vocals (2013–present)
- Sheldon D'Silva – bass (2013–present)
- Gino Banks – Drummer (2013–present)
- Former
- Riaz Ali Khan – lead vocals (2001–2002)
- Sameer Ahmed – bass guitar (2001–2009)
- Asad Abbas – lead vocals (2010–2011)
- Javed Bashir – lead vocals (2002–2010,2011–2013)
- Amir Azhar – bass (2009–2013)
- Kami Paul – Drummer (2012–2013)
References
- 1 2 Mekaal Hasan – Interview Retrieved on November 06, 2009
- ↑ Opinion Poll: Who ruled 2010? Retrieved on 30 December 2010.
- ↑ http://tribune.com.pk/story/814573/top-10-songs-of-2014/
- ↑ http://www.dawn.com/news/1152906