User:Onlyonemahmood

Only One

This is perhaps the most notable album recorded by an Artist originating from the Indian Sub continent. The story of the album is inspiring to say the least and is set to pave the road for upcoming musicians and songwriters in the region. The songs of the album were recorded in Los Angeles and this was the last studio recording of Legendary world music Artist Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The songs were written, developed, produced and mixed by Mahmood Khan. The album propelled Mahmood in the International music scene and introduced Nusrat to the American world music radio as an experimental fusion Artist.

The story of the recordings

Nusrat was introduced to Mahmood in Los Angeles when he made the trip to the US to perform for the VH1 awards. At the time Mahmood was working as a producer, sound engineer and songwriter looking for a major break in the industry. The connection of the the Artists was spiritual and it didn’t take long to understand each others artistic ambitions. Due to Nusrat’s failing health a studio was installed in an apartment over looking the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica, California. Nusrat was impressed by the skills displayed by Mahmood, encouraging and mentoring every step of the way. The vocals for the first single ‘another lover’ were recorded at Rick Rubin’s studio in Hollywood and the album was mixed and mastered at Metronome recording studios, Encino, California. The album was released in the US by solid Discs records headed by Industry veteran Jay Warsinske and by Magna sound India headed by Shashi Gopal. The video of the single was directed by Eddie barber and was released to MTV India.

The controversy

Nusrat’s sudden death on Aug 16th 1997 right before the release of the album certainly was a stroke of bad luck and all ambitious promotional plans had to be dropped. Bollywood living up to its reputation as the number one pirate of songs saw an opportunity using its muscle to pull the song off air and releasing it in a  film  ( kartoos) in 1998. The song was credited to famed music director Anu Malik who conveniently had no hesitation in accepting the credits. The album was pirates dream come true and reportedly went on to sell 6 million units. This was a turning point in Mahmood’s career. He declined all film offers from Bollywood and started a crusade to fight against artist manipulation, illegal practise of lip syncing in films and music piracy. This outspoken behaviour barred him from pursuing his career in the region and he settled in Pakistan to work on the new mahmoodkhanlive project. The album is still selling on websites around the globe and is available in stores in India and Pakistan with no consideration of royalties. The video is also uploaded on the Youtube channel by the pirates.

This story has to be told and is crucial for the younger generation for them to realize that even in adverse circumstances a career moves on. Very few will raise their voice against the tycoons of the Industry in fear but someone has to speak up to make the changes. History shows that Artists had to fight battles for what they believe in and these wars make them a better more inspiring human being.