Maha Ali Kazmi ( ur, ) is a Pakistani singer-songwriter who was born and grew up in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

and is of

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, their language People with the name * Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...

descent. She completed her higher education from

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Australia, and upon returning to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

she began her musical career as the back-up vocalist for Cornetto Music Icons in 2013. She released her debut single "Nazar" soon after. Maha Ali Kazmi trained under Ustaad Rauf Saami as well as Abdullah Haroon, and also took contemporary Western vocal training in Singapore.

Early life

Maha Ali Kazmi was born in

to Ali Asghar Raza, a civil engineer of

descent and Fatima Ali Asghar. Music is a heritage passed down to her from the Hindustani classical artist

Wajid Ali Shah Mirza Wajid Ali Shah ( ur, ) (30 July 1822 – 1 September 1887) was the eleventh and last King of Awadh, holding the position for 9 years, from 13 February 1847 to 11 February 1856. Wajid Ali Shah's first wife was Alam Ara who was better k ...

, the ancestor from her mother's side. Maha Ali Kazmi is the great-granddaughter of Prince Abbas Mirza (1904-1976), grandson of the last king of India, King

Awadh Awadh (), known in British historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a region in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It is synonymous with the Kośāla region of ...

. Prince Abbas Mirza was a pioneer of advertising in Pakistan, a poet, a patron of the arts, and a great philanthropist. He married Maha's great-grandmother, who was a princess in her own right, belonging to the esteemed royal family of

Purnia Purnia ()(also romanized as Purnea) is a city that serves as the administrative headquarters of both Purnia district and Purnia division in the Indian state of Bihar. Total geographical area of Purnia Urban Agglomeration is which is nex ...

Career

Maha Ali Kazmi started singing and joined her very first underground band at the age of 16 in

However, after graduating high school she decided to pursue her education and moved to

. Upon completion of her studies she returned to

soon after which she auditioned for Cornetto Music Icons and thereupon ex- Vital Signs' Shahi Hasan selected her as a backup vocalist for the show which was aired on

ARY Digital ''ARY Digital'' ( ur, ) is a Pakistani pay television network available in Pakistan, the Middle East, North America and Europe. The ARY Group of companies is a Dubai-based holding company founded by a Pakistani businessman, Abdul Razzak Yaqoob ...

. This experience gave her exposure to working alongside some of the biggest names in the music industry in

, namely Rahat Fateh Ali,

Ali Azmat Ali Azmat Butt (born 20 April 1970) is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He is best known as the lead singer for the influential Sufi Rock band Junoon and for his subsequent solo career. In 2001, he became part of the first ...

Strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

and Alamgir to name a few. She released her debut single, Nazar, produced by

Farhad Humayun Farhad Humayun (; 5 October 1978 – 8 June 2021) was a Pakistani singer, drummer, record producer and video artist. He was popularly associated with the Pakistani drum jam band Overload which he founded in 2003. Farhad started his career as un ...

, the front man and drummer of

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

based band Overload in 2013 Her second single Jana Nahi, produced by Shahi Hasan was released in 2014. She has since released a number of singles which have been very well received including a collaboration with guitar maestro

Aamir Zaki Aamir Zaki (April 8, 1968 – June 2, 2017) was a Saudi born Pakistani guitarist-songwriter and composer. Zaki is considered by many as one of the most influential guitarists in Pakistan's history. He is considered to be among the pioneers of Roc ...

in the form of a song called Aaj Sun Ke Tumara Naam which was released on his one-month death anniversary as a tribute to the Pakistani guitarist. Maha Ali Kazmi is a Kashmiri state subject and she has represented the Kashmiri people in a number of TV shows including Bakhabar Savera of

ARY News ARY may stand for: * Abdul Razzak Yaqoob, a Pakistani expatriate businessman * Andre Romelle Young, real name of Dr. Dre * Ary and the Secret of Seasons, an action adventure video game * ARY Digital, a Pakistani television network * ARY Digital Ne ...

Geo News Geo News is a Rank Number 1 Pakistani news channel owned by the Jang Media Group. History The Geo Television Network started out with the launch of its flagship channel Geo TV in October 2002 but has since launched several other channels whic ...

and

Samaa TV Samaa TV ( ur, سماء) is a Pakistani Urdu language news channel owned by Aleem Khan. It is the fourth-largest news channel in Pakistan with a market share of 7 percent. The word 'Samaa' ("سما") is Urdu for 'sky' or 'heaven'. It is broadcas ...

. In 2020, Maha Ali Kazmi featured in We Are One (global collaboration song) produced by

Kashan Admani Kashan Admani ''(Full name: Muhammad Kashan Admani) (Urdu: کاشان ادمانی)'' is a Pakistani musician, composer, music producer, film producer, film director, guitar player, founder of music band Mizmaar, and the CEO of Dream Station Pro ...

. We Are One featured 40 artists from 7 countries all coming together to give a message of hope during Covid-19 Pandemic. The song also featured Grammy Award-winning American violinist

Charlie Bisharat Charlie Bisharat is an American violinist known as a member of Shadowfax and for his work in film and with other New Age Jazz artists. He was born in Inglewood, CA in 1963 to parents who immigrated to the United States from Palestine in the 1950 ...

, who has earlier played for the soundtracks of countless Hollywood movies including Titanic and Transformers; Grammy nominee Simon Philips; bass virtuoso

Stu Hamm Stuart Hamm (born February 8, 1960) is an American bass guitar player, known for his session and live work with numerous artists as well as for his unconventional playing style and solo recordings. Career Born in New Orleans, Hamm spent his chil ...

; and percussionist Gumbi Ortiz from the US, to name a few.

Discography

Singles

Covers

*"Bhool Na (Original song by Pakistani band Sequencers") (2015) *Sahibo -

Acoustic Station ''Acoustic Station'' is Pakistan's first music web series that produces live music performed in a studio featuring new and established artists. A concept of Kashan Admani, ''Acoustic Station'' focuses on introducing the sound of acoustic ensembl ...

(2019)

References

External links

Maha Ali Kazmi
on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

Maha Ali Kazmi
on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

Maha Ali Kazmi
on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

Maha Ali Kazmi
on

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali Kazmi, Maha Living people Pakistani women singers Singers from Karachi Monash University alumni Kashmiri people Pakistani people of Kashmiri descent Pakistani emigrants to Australia English-language singers from Pakistan 1992 births