Mehdi Hasan Niazi is a 19-year old formally-trained Indian classical singer, born and raised in Hong Kong. He was trained by his father and grandfather since the age of 7, being part of an illustrious musical lineage. Mehdi belongs to the Rampur-Sahaswan Gharana. He takes inspiration from Indian singers like Hariharan and Sonu Nigam, admiring their vocal adaptability and aiming to reach their level one day. Mehdi usually sings ghazals or playback vocals and like to give classic music his own spin. In fact, even Mehdi’s cousin brothers are part of the Astitva.
During his musical journey, Mehdi has had the opportunity to share the stage with many a renowned classical artists such as Grammy Nominee Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and Pakistani folk music legend Attaullah Khan Esakhelvi. Apart from that, he has also collaborated on music projects with artists like Bhuvan Bam (better known as BB Ki Vines), Nitin Malik of Parikrama, Palash Sen of Eurphoria as well as Bollywood playback singer – Akhil Sachdeva.
Mehdi tells us that his target audience is Ghazal listeners from both India and Pakistan, since both countries have a rich heritage in the genre. He spends about an hour every morning on vocal practice in lower octaves, known as “Khharaj ka riyaaz” in Indian classic music. Looking forward, he would like to work with Mike Milosh from the band Rhye since he thinks their sound would be a perfect match for his classical sound. Not surprisingly, Mehdi’s favorite instrument is the harmonium.
