Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan

Zulfiqar "Xulfi" Jabbar Khan (born 28 October 1980)[1][2] is a Pakistani composer, singer-songwriter, music producer and a guitarist.[3] Starting his career in 1994, Khan is the recipient of multiple awards in Pakistan.[4] He is currently working on the television series Coke Studio,[5] for which he is the producer and mentor.

Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan
ذوالفقار جبار خان
Born (1980-10-28) 28 October 1980
Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
NationalityPakistani
Other namesXulfi
Alma materNational University of Computer and Emerging Sciences
Occupation(s)Composer, songwriter, music producer, singer
Years active1996–present
TelevisionNescafé Basement
Coke Studio
Musical career
GenresRock, pop, electronic, World music
InstrumentsVocals, guitar, percussion, keyboard
Labels

Life and career

Xulfi graduated from the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences with a CGPA of 2.4.[6] He was the composer, music producer, guitarist for Entity Paradigm (EP). Entity Paradigm was formed by Xulfi between 1996 and 1999 but was officially announced as a band only in 2000.[7]

He is currently the music producer, songwriter, and lead guitarist[8] for the band Call.[9][10] After the vocalist's exit from the band,[11] he continued with other projects at his studio Xth Harmonic. The band made a comeback after 3 years to produce and perform new songs for the fans.[12] He has always been a music fanatic and tries to come up with new ideas. He blames the lack of proper recognition of music as a separate 'industry', as the reason for its limited success.[13] Additionally, he states that people in general are not exposed to arts and culture and cultural propagation must be encouraged to make a pervasive and progressive culture and spark the positive interest of the nation in the field.

Khan has also been involved in a number of Bollywood projects[14] as composer, lyricist and producer. Some of his works include "Laaree Chooti" from Ek Chalis Ki Last Local in 2007,[2] "Yeh Pal" from Aasma in 2009,[2] "Dhadke Jiya" from Aalo Chaat in 2009,[2] and "Kuch Aisa, Kuch Aisa (Sad Version)" and "Reh Jaane Do" from Aao Wish Karein in 2009.[15]

Khan has produced, recorded, engineered, mixed and mastered music albums for Call's Jilawatan and Dhoom, Entity Paradigm's album Irtiqa, Jal's album Aadat, Roxen's album Rozen-e-Deewar, Inteha's album Daastaan, and Ankur Tewari's album Jannat.[13]

His work with Nescafé Basement has also been praised. In 2015, Roxette shared Nescafé Basement's cover of their song "She's Got the Look".[16] In 2016, John Newman expressed his appreciation for the Nescafé Basement cover version of his song "Love Me Again" by an all-female band (with Xulfi as the producer), and called it "dope".[17]

Xulfi is the creative director and co-founder of Sync, a tech/driven experience curation company. Recently they have worked on the visual curation of Nescafé Basement's "Resistance", Coca-Cola "Hum Aik Hain" anthem and Fawad Khan's "Uth Jaag"[18] for Pepsi Battle of the Bands.[19] Xulfi has also co-founded Giraffe Pakistan,[20][6] a content creation company and creative hub with Muhammad Ibrahim and Sync is the subdivision of it. He acts as the chief creative officer (CCO).

Brands and endorsements

Xulfi has worked with various popular brands including Nescafé Basement, Pepsi Battle of the Bands, McDonald's,[21] Coke, Peshawar Zalmi[22] and more. He produced "Hum Aik Hain" the official anthem by Coca-Cola Pakistan for 2019 Cricket World Cup.[23] This anthem featured 40 musical instruments, most of which were indigenous instruments.

Khan also produced the team anthem for Pakistan Super League team Peshawar Zalmi[24] named as "Hum Zalmi".[25][26][27].

Xulfi also assembled 40 drummers to create a new national song "Pakistan Zindabad", which was also featured in Gulf News.[28] This song was created to revive the spirit of nationalism.[29] 40 drummers gathered at Bradlaugh Hall for this song.[30][31]

Zulfiqar joined hands with WWF Pakistan to create awareness about planting trees and released a video song "Rung Do"[32][33][22]. Khan termed it as more than just a song in an interview with Dawn News.[34]

For Pepsi Battle of the Bands season 2, Khan came for a reunion[35][36] with Entity Paradigm[37][38] and performed "Hamesha" with Fawad Khan, Ahmad Ali Butt, and the entire original lineup.[35][39][40]

In August 2020, Khan became the first Pakistani musician to get endorsed by Vicoustic – a soundproofing company specializing in acoustic treatments.[41][42]

Contributions to Pakistani music

Xulfi has contributed to Pakistani music not only through music but by introducing new bands and musicians. On Nescafé Basement, he helped formed the first-ever all-girl band in Pakistan.[43] Another band that Xulfi formed in Nescafé Basement is the all-kids band that covered "Pyar Diyan Gallan" by Fakhar-e-Alam.

Pakistan Super League 5

Xulfi composed and produced the official PSL Anthem named "Tayyar Hain" for the 5th edition of Pakistan Super League. The anthem featured Haroon, Asim Azhar, Ali Azmat, and Arif Lohar. The song received heavy criticism from listeners, particularly on social media.[44] This edition is the fastest to reach 5 million views on YouTube amongst previous PSL anthems. The song got appreciation from all the stakeholders including team owners, players, and the Pakistan Cricket Board because of its festive theme, cultural music, and upbeat composition.[45]

Music videos
Khan with Nescafé Basement 4 team
Khan(standing,centre) with Nescafé Basement 4 team
Music video Album Band Year
"Aghosh" Iritqa Entity Paradigm 2003
"Hamein Aazma"
"Kahan Hai Tu"
"Waqt"
"Hamesha"
"Nishaan" Jilawatan Call 2003
"Pukaar" 2003
"Shayad" 2004
"Sab Bhula Kai" 2005
"Bichar Kai Bhee" 2006
"Kuch Naheen" 2006
"Hum Se Hai Yeh Zamaana" Dhoom 2007
"Aasmaan" 2007
"Ho Jaane De" 2009
"Main Aisa He Hoon" 2011
"Teri Haar Hum" 2017
"Tu Jhoom" Coke Studio Season 14 Naseebo Lal and Abida Parveen 2022

Discography

Albums
Release dateAlbum Band
1 October 2003Irtiqa Entity Paradigm
20 November 2005Jilawatan Call
26 January 2011Dhoom Call

Fire records Pakistan

Nescafé Basement

He was music producer and mentor for Nescafé basement season 1–5.[46]

Coke Studio Season 14

In June 2021, Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan was announced as the producer of Coke Studio Season 14, taking over the popular music show from Rohail Hyatt.[47][48] The official announcement was made by Xulfi on his social media channels when he shared a picture of a Coke Studio Season 14 book with the caption "The journey begins". The news went viral on the internet and fans expressed great excitement, terming it as the best thing to happen to Coke Studio[49][50][51]

References
  1. "Xulfi". BBC UK. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  2. Xulfi at IMDb
  3. "We are unique we are better, that's why our music sells in India". n.d. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  4. Syed, Madeeha (9 July 2018). "Our next music video will be a collaboration between all the videographers of Pakistan: Xulfi". Images. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  5. "Nescafe Basement kicks off". The Express Tribune. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  6. Amer, Sameen. "Xulfi's new groove". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  7. Syed, Madeeha (9 July 2018). "Our next music video will be a collaboration between all the videographers of Pakistan: Xulfi". Images. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  8. Naveed, Soha (8 December 2016). "Xulfi Is Making Everyone Cry With His Heartfelt Tribute To Junaid Jamshed". Parhlo. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  9. Amer, Sameen (31 August 2015). "Call reunited: Our friendship is stronger than ever, says bandmate Xulfi". Dawn. Pakistan. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  10. Pakistan, S. K. (3 January 2017). "The Rock Scene Of Pakistan Finally Gets A 'Call' Back". Parhlo. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  11. "Xulfi announces Junaid Khan's exit from Call". The Express Tribune. 6 November 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  12. Makhani, Alina (24 August 2015). "Call Band Reunites to Make a Comeback After 3 Years". Brandsynario. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  13. Uzair, Ahmad (28 April 2015). "Why can't the music industry be reinvented like the drama industry, asks Xulfi". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  14. Instep (23 October 2016). "Xulfi unplugged". TNS – The News on Sunday. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  15. "Xulfi on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  16. "Roxette shares Nescafe Basement cover of their song". The Express Tribune. 25 May 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  17. "John Newman shares 'dope' Nescafé Basement cover of his song". The Express Tribune. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  18. Sabeeh, Maheen. "Fawad Khan on 'Uth Jaag' and the future". The News International. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  19. "Fawad Khan's Electrifying Performance at Pepsi Battle of The Bands Finale is Making Waves!". Entertainment Pakistan. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  20. "Giraffe Pakistan". facebook.com. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  21. Hasnain, Alefyah (31 March 2017). "10 Pakistani TVC Jingles We Bet You Can Never Get Out Of Your Head!". Brandsynario. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  22. Team, Cutacut Editorial (12 July 2018). "Call joins hands with WWF-Pakistan for new song". cutacut. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  23. "Coke Studio just dropped a new song produced by Xulfi". The Express Tribune. 3 June 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  24. "Peshawar Zalmi find their 'Call-ing' for PSL3". The Express Tribune. 22 February 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  25. "Peshawar Zalmi launches its new title song 'Hum Zalmi' | Pakistan Today". Pakistan Today. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  26. "Peshawar Zalmi launches famous song 'Hum Zalmi'". radio.gov.pk. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  27. "Peshawar Zalmi | Call- Hum Zalmi". Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  28. "Xulfi drums up a call for Pakistan". Gulf News. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  29. Amer, Sarmad (9 April 2018). "Call, The Band, Just United Musicians Across Pakistan in a Passionate Attempt To Revive The Country's Music Scene". MangoBaaz. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  30. Shirazi, Maria. "Music bridges it all". The News International. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  31. "Pakistan Zindabad – An anthem featuring 40 drummers with Call The Band |". Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  32. "Rung Do by Call celebrates the beauty of trees – Pak Media Blog". Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  33. Arshad, Aisha (2 August 2018). "Call The Band is out with Rung Do Pakistan and it's not just a song!". HIP. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  34. Syed, Madeeha (8 July 2018). "The Icon Interview: The Orchestrator". Dawn. Pakistan. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  35. Mughal, Danish (16 September 2017). "Entity Paradigm(eP) and Xulfi Reunited once again!!!". Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  36. Ahmed, Ather (15 September 2017). "Rumor Has It, Fawad Khan Is Reuniting With eP And Just OMG". MangoBaaz. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  37. "Entity Paradigm Reunites for One Epic Night". 17 September 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  38. Team, Trending (15 September 2017). "Is eP set to perform at the final of Pepsi Battle of the Bands?". Trending Pakistan. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  39. "EP reunion: The boys still got it". The Express Tribune. 18 September 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  40. "EP Performed in Pepsi Battle of the Bands' Grand Finale and We Can't Get Over It!". Bolojawan.com. 18 September 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  41. "Xulfi's Recording Studio". Vicoustic. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  42. Arif, Aayan (2 August 2020). "Vicoustic Endorses Xulfi's Studio". Musicians of Pakistan. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  43. "Nescafe Basement's all-female band reaches unique milestone in Pakistan's music history". The Express Tribune. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  44. "Twitter isn't ready for PSL 5 anthem Tayyar Hain". Samaa. 29 January 2020.
  45. Sports Desk. "PSL 2020 Posts Record Social Media Stats & Viewership in Just First Week". Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  46. Sabeeh, Maheen. "Nescafe Basement may not return this year, says Sherry Khattak". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  47. Images Staff (15 June 2021). "It's official! Xulfi is replacing Rohail Hyatt for the next season of Coke Studio". Images. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  48. "Xulfi takes over Coke Studio after Rohail Hyatt | SAMAA". Samaa TV. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  49. "Fans believe Xulfi might be the best thing to happen to 'CS'". The Express Tribune. 15 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  50. "Xulfi takes over Coke Studio after Rohail Hyatt's exit". Daily Pakistan Global. 15 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  51. Arif, Aayan (15 June 2021). "Xulfi Confirmed as the Producer of Coke Studio 14". Musicians of Pakistan.
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