“Make It Up” by Mehdi Hasan Niazi is a distinctive blend of Pop and Indie Rock, with a unique and broad compositional structure. The record was produced by one of the top producers of the UK, Nick Sheldon, someone who has produced for and worked with the likes of Coldplay, Shakira, Calvin Harris, Madonna and other highly recognizable industry names.

In this interview spotlight, I chat with Mehdi about the latest project, challenges, technology and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

Where are you from and how do You describe your style of music?

So, I was born and raised in Hong Kong, and my ethnicity/nationality is Indian. As of now, I’m still living in Hong Kong with my family.

As for my family and musical background, I belong to the illustrious “Rampur-Sahaswan Gharana”, which is one of the oldest and renowned musical lineages of India full of exponents and awardees; an Oscar, multiple Grammys and national awards. Hence, music naturally runs in my blood!

I’m an Indian classical vocalist, but if I were to use a particular term to humbly describe my artistry as a whole, “versatility” would be the perfect term, because not only am I performing Indian classical and numerous forms of light classical, but I’m also performing and releasing Hindi songs and Bollywood cover songs, playback singing for films in multiple languages, such as Nepali, Punjabi, etc.

How did you get here? As in, what inspired or motivated you to take on this journey through music and the music biz?

As I mentioned earlier, I was born in a musical family, and so, my musical career and journey began at a very young age. I formally started learning under the tutelage of my father and grandfathers at the age of 6.

It is more like a “responsibility” when kids like us are born in a musical family and lineage, as we are supposed to carry on the great legacy of our family and thrive to become the future “torch bearers”.

How does your latest project compare/contrast with your previous release(s)? Were you setting out to accomplish anything specific, follow a specific theme, or explore different styles of creation?

My new release – “Make It Up”, which is one of my originals, is a distinctive and a very unique blend of Pop and Indie Rock genre, something I’ve never done before with an original.

This song project was initiated when I started receiving a ton of requests from many of my listeners, specially my non-Indian and non-Hindi/Urdu speaking friends here in Hong Kong, to release an English song because till now, I had not released any of my English originals, even though I have a ton of compositions in store. Hence, I put together the best team possible to try delivering my listeners and friends a top-notch single.

The record was produced by one of the top producers of the UK, Nick Sheldon, someone who has produced for and worked with the likes of Coldplay, Shakira, Calvin Harris, Madonna and many more big names. It was then mixed and mastered by one of the top mixing/recording engineers of Bollywood music industry, Ankit Gupta. As for the animated visuals and cover artwork of the record, I had one of the finest artists of India, Hasan Azim, who applied the icing on the cake!

P.S. The song is OUT NOW on YouTube and all music streaming platforms! Stream it as much as you can!

Name the biggest challenge you faced as a creative during these unprecedented times? How did you adapt? How have you kept the creative fires burning during all this?

Without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic has been brutal and a very challenging time for us, artists, and everyone in general.

Personally, I’m someone who likes to utilize my time as much as possible, whether it be producing music, composing and writing, collaborating with artists, etc., and so, I feel like it’s my “urge”, which has kept me going and igniting my creativity during these unprecedented times. Although, I BADLY miss touring and performing. I pray to the Almighty everything gets better ASAP!

What was the last song you listened to?

Mirrors by Justin Timberlake. One of my all-time favorite songs. Hands down, everything about that song is so beautiful and perfect; the lyrics, composition, Timbaland’s fine production, the music video.

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? 8-tracks? Cassettes? CDs? MP3s? Streaming platforms?

To be genuinely honest, I’m an old school type of person. Believe it or not, my sisters and I have a proper vinyl, cassette and CD collection, which we are VERY proud of. We got it all: Queen, Air, Jefferson Airplane, The Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac and MANY MORE.

Where is the best place to connect with you and follow your journey?

The best place for people to connect with me and become a part of my family would be Instagram, because that’s where I’m mostly active. (I don’t like calling my followers and listeners “fans”. Anyone who follows my journey and wholeheartedly admires my art is a part of my family!)

Link to IG: https://www.instagram.com/mehdihasanniazi/

I really appreciate Your time. Anything else before we sign off?

To all, I’d like to sign off by quoting Michael Jackson: “Please go for your dreams. Whatever your ideals, you can become whatever you want to become.”