Peace message through music

Aziz Mian Qawal, John Denver, Stevie Wonder, David Foster and Arif Mardin. He grew up listening to singer/songwriters such as Van Morrison, John Denver, Cat Stevens, and also was influenced by West Coast hip hop.

Singer, composer, performer and recording artist - Mahmood Khan is all of these and more. Mahmood is gaining increasing popularity worldwide for his advocacy of peace, and his trip to Sydney is a statement of his attempt to achieve global harmony.

Born in Pakistan, Mahmood was raised by his parents who moved from India after the war. He started writing music at an early age, drawing inspiration from his surroundings, and family and friends. As he grew older, he felt the need to move out into the world and push his boundaries, so he moved to Los Angeles, taking on the role of an assistant sound engineer at Jam Power productions in California, a hub for R&B, rap, hip hop and funk genres led by visionary Tom Berry. Mahmood says, “That was an exciting period in my life where I was able to work alongside and with the likes of Chuckii Booker, Livio Harris, Damon Thomas, Budd Ford and Ronni Van, among many others.”

His first break came in LA when a song he wrote won the Los Angeles Songwriters Showcase song competition, and through this, he got a gig with veteran music producer George Tobin. Mahmood’s inspiration comes from legends such as Barry Gibb, Michael Omartian, Paul Simon,

Mahmood says he wanted to learn as much about music as he could simply because it was and is his passion, so he started off with sound engineering and because writing lyrics came naturally to him. But he reached a point in his life where he needed to do more; producing and playing music just wasn’t enough. That when he turned to spirituality and he claims to sing of hope is very rewarding indeed. “I am perhaps the only singer/songwriter from the Indian region that does not believe in values that Bollywood represents,” he says.

Talking about his style of music Mahmood reveals, “It’s a new genre called world/pop. I develop different sounds for my songs by fusing exotic instruments while keeping the American funk song formation as the foundation, original melodies and lyrics as the soul and South American inspired gypsy guitars as the bed. I think the combination of my music and the onstage chemistry between the players makes a once-in-a-lifetime concert performance.”

On playing in Sydney he says, “It is both exciting and humbling that, considering my geographic disposition, I get the opportunity to play at the Sydney Opera House.” “There are some amazing moments we captured on film while shooting the documentary Journey of a sound, covering the events which have been nothing short of miracles leading up to the concert,” Mahmood adds.

Mahmood can recall several memorable highlights of his career, including collaborating with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on his album Only one, internationally released in 1997. The songs from that album became the sound track of film Kartoos. More recently, 30 Australian independent artists recorded his composition for a charity song for The Red Cross. Local artists involved with Project Down Under included Amanda Easton and Tania Murray who co-wrote the lyrics with Mahmood, as well as Jo Elms, Yolanda Thomas, Evelyn Duprai, Snez, Melanie Griffiths and Ellen Arthur. The song also includes a beautiful Sitar solo performed by Rosie Henshaw. Mahmood was also commissioned by the Government of Pakistan to compose for the 9th SAf (South Asian Games) games opening and closing ceremonies, which was a big honour for him.

Mahmood is currently touring Australia and is very happy with the warm welcome he has received. “This is a land of endless abundance and sometimes I say that one of the greatest accomplishments of my life is that I found Australia. If feels good to be here and I’m writing the best songs of my life living here,” he reveals. He intends to keep on producing and writing more music and campaigning for peace, as it is his calling. “Peace is the single most attractive quality that I have always strived for in my life. It all starts with peace within yourself and I am lucky to have music as a vehicle to spread the word around through it,” he says. His message is simple, “I would like all readers to think of the fact that ‘thought is an inventor’. Everything that you see in the world was a thought at first. So think good creative thoughts and don’t let anything stop you from doing what you passionately want to do,” says Mahmood.