Jehangir Aziz Hayat (Urdu: جہانگیر عزیز حیات, romanized: Jehāngīr Azīz Hayāt) (born 5 June 1989), also known simply as Jehangir Aziz, is a Pakistani singer, guitarist and composer.[1]
He released his début album Read Between the Lines in 2009[2] and is known for his track “Pretend to Be” which won three awards at the Indie Music Channel Awards 2012.[1]
Hayat belongs to a Pashtun family.[2] His musical influences include Nirvana, Pantera and Megadeth.[1]
His first track, “Never Change”, was released in 2004[1] which made him the first grunge musician in Pakistan to appear on the national scene. The track reached the national charts in its first week of release and was nominated for the Best Début Award at the MTV Pakistan awards.[3]
Hayat won awards for the Best Male Alternative Artist, Best Alternative Recording and Best Alternative Video Under $5,000 at the Indie Music Channel Awards 2012.[4]
. . . Jehangir Aziz Hayat . . .
He was born in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to Nilofar Aziz, a furniture designer and the former Chief Secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Khalid Aziz.[5] His family belongs to the Mohmand clan of the Pashtuns and they own the ancestral furniture manufacturing business M. Hayat & Brothers in Peshawar.[6] The youngest of the six children, he was described as a sensitive and shy child while growing up as a teen.[7] Hayat showed an interest in music at the age of nine when his sister was taking piano lessons in a private school.[5] When asked about his interest in playing the guitar, he answered:
“I never really wanted to play a musical instrument. I loved music but I never thought of ending up here. They (the guitar lessons) were a way for my parents to push me to take part in an extra circular activity since I was very shy.”[6]
Hayat’s earliest lessons of the guitar were conducted by Sajid Ghafoor.[5] Later, he enrolled in an after-school guitar lesson group in the International School of Peshawar and learnt the fundamentals of guitar from Sarmad Abdul Ghafoor.[2]
When he was ten years old, his father was persecuted at the hands of General Pervez Musharraf during the 1999 Pakistani coup d’état.[8] Later, Hayat stated that the coup had a profound impact on his life and had channeled the lyrical and melodic content in his compositions.[2]
While in his early teens, Hayat released a demo tape which was circulating around Peshawar. Subsequently, the demo was heard by Fasi Zaka, a music critic, and was positively perceived.[5] In the following months, Zaka met with Hayat’s father at a gathering where Zaka discussed the possibility of Jehangir pursuing his interest in music by making a music video for his track “Never Change”. Zaka recommended his cousin, Zeeshan Parwez, as a video director for Hayat.[5]
. . . Jehangir Aziz Hayat . . .