Shahid Khan
Ensemble
Shahid was born and bred in London and comes from a family of renowned tabla players and classical singers from the ‘Patiala Gharana’ based in Pakistan. He started singing from the age of three and from the age of ten started receiving singing lessons from Pandit Vishwa Prakash and Rauf Mehndi. Shahid’s Guru from the age of 16 was and remains Ustad Hussain Baksh Gulu. Shahid’s biggest influence has been Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Since winning the 2002 UK Asian Starsearch competition, Shahid has performed with Engin-EarZ as well as with Kuljit Bhamra on various collaborative projects including Bhangra Latina (Queen Elizabeth Hall); From Hollywood to Bollywood with the BBC Concert Orchestra (Royal Festival Hall); Chutney! (Street Theatre) and Mantra (touring internationally with the Orlando Consort choir and singing in Latin, Portuguese, Arabic, Punjabi & Hindi). His own four piece band presents a varied repertoire of works appealing to a wide range of audiences.
Shahid is best known for his ability to sing a wide range of styles including classical raga, ghazals, popular songs and cross-genre projects. His unique skills enable him to perform in ensemble type projects with notational-based music in addition to improvisatory situations.
His recent appearance in BBC’s The Goldie Band earned him international recognition during his documented journey from auditioning for the band to performing his own written song in front of Prince Harry at Buckingham Palace.
Shahid’s debut ‘Heartfelt’ album is available on Keda Records.