Ali Azmat – Pakistan’s king of sufi rock

Today (April 20) is the 50^th birthday of renowned Pakistani singer – Ali Azmat. Born in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Azmat is one of the iconic singers and songwriters of Pakistan. He has proved his abilities not only as a musician but as an actor as well.

Ali Azmat is best known as the lead singer of the influential Sufi rock band ‘Junoon’. The scale of fame can be judged by the fact that Ali Azmat was the first Pakistani musician to perform at the United Nations General Assembly.

Let’s take an in-depth review of the life of the renowned singer, Ali Azmat.

Early Life and Career

Ali Azmat Butt was born on April 20, 1970, in Havelin, Abbottabad District. He grew up in Garhi Shahu, Lahore, into a family of ethnic Kashmiri descent. His life is filled with a lot of struggles, dares, sacrifices, and rewards to those struggles.

Azmat stepped into the music industry at a time when musicians mostly prefer solo singing. However, he took up the challenge and started one of the first pop-rock bands of the country, namely ‘Jupiters’ in 1986. The band later released an evergreen song and anthem for the youth, ‘Dosti’ (Friendship).

However, the band was disbanded in 1990 and Ali Azamt joined the most famous band of South Asia ‘Junoon’. The band struggle in the initial stage and failed to make an impact.

In 1995 the band released a combined album called ‘Kashmakash’ which became the first compilation of such sort in Pakistan.

The 1996 album ‘Inquilaab’ was a major hit and its only single Jazba-e-Junoon was a super hit and topped the chart. Jazba-e-Junoon became the signature song and national song of the 1996 Cricket World Cup and Pakistan national cricket team.

Azmat gained further success after the release of Sayonee from their fourth album Azadi (1997). The fourth album ‘Azadi’ was the most successful album of the music group which received a platinum rating in South Asia.

Solo Career

Ali Azmat released his first solo album Social Circus in 2005, whose single ‘Na Re Na’ received a positive response and became a major hit in the country.

The debut album gained a titanic triumph and won 13 awards in Pakistan including Best Album, Best producer, Best single for “Na re Na,” and best new video.

Ali released his second solo album in August 2008 named ‘Klashinfolk’. He further released three solo albums, namely Josh-e-Junoon (2010) whose title track Josh-e-Junoon became the anthem for Pakistan in the 2011 Cricket World Cup, Bum Phatta (2011) and Chalta Main Jaun (2011).

International Tours

Ali Azmat has toured extensively around the globe. He had performed in Europe, Middle East, and China and at the renowned European rock festival, Roskilde in June 2000, where Pearl Jam, Iron Maiden and Travis performed, among others.

In 2003, he appeared live at the Royal Albert Hall. It can be seen that Ali Azmat is one of the truest international icons of Pakistan who not only made his mark on national but also on the international stage.

Coke Studio and Bollywood

Ali Azmat has also been part of the famous Coke Studio Pakistan since the beginning. He was the first singer alongside Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in season 1 episode 1 to appear and sing the inaugural song ‘Garaj Baras’.

In season 8 of the show, Ali appeared again and sung “Rangeela”. In the latest season of the show, season 9, he sang “Mun Kunto Maula” which was a mix of Sufi and classical music.

Azmat stepped into Bollywood in 2003, when his single “Garaj Baras” from Junoon’s album Azadi was used for the movie Paap. In 2012, Azmat recorded two songs ‘Yeh Jism Hai Toh Kya’ and ‘Maula’ for Bollywood’s ‘Jism 2’.

Awards

In 2004, on the South Asian media scene, Ali’s new group was awarded ‘best band’ by Indus Music.

In India, Ali was also nominated for Best Sound Track and Best Song for his single “Garaj Baras” for the Indian hit “Paap” at the Sahara Awards London.

At the 2012 IM Music Video Awards, Ali’s song ‘Na re na’ won the awards for ‘Best Video’, ‘Best Costume’ and ‘Best Art Direction’ while ‘Deewana’ won the award for ‘Best Animation.’