Hi Folks, so many good singers sharing their works on this site inspired me to put some of my stuff too. Music in general and North Indian music in particular has fascinated me since my childhood. I grew up humming to my favorite singers like Talat, Rafi, Mukesh, Manna Dey, Kishore, Hemant Kumar, Mehdi Hassan, Noor Jehan, Lata, Aasha, and later to K.L Saigal, C.H.Aatma, Punckaj Mallick and S.D.Burman. There is no question why our music from the 40's till early 80's was so convincing. I was always fascinated with the arrangements in a song, how they are played and recorded. Its now almost 10 years that I have set up a Digital-Audio Workstation (My Home Studio) where I create and tweak music as a hobby and fun.

I am a low note singer and I take this as a blessing; because first I learn the song in its original key and later practice to play on lower scales. This exercise has improved my keyboard and harmonium playing skills. This was one reason that I stayed away from karaoke for a long time as they were created in higher scales. The basis of any music is its Rhythm and Tabla/Dholuk is the root of our music. I initially used some tabla players but quickly found out that it is not working the way I wanted. So I started to work on Sampling and bought some good Tabla, Dholuk, Mirdangam and other Percussive Instrument samples.

I use Sonar 8 Producer Edition as Sequencer to record Audio and MIDI data; Adobe Audition 3.0 to tweak audio files and Reason ReCycle 2.1 to adjust proper chord and tempo and several VSTi and DXi plug-ins. I have Roland Fantom-S Synthesizer, Yamaha PSR-740 and off course my favorite Harmonium, the base of all my works plus an Audio Processor, EQ, Mixers and A/D Convertor that allow me to put everything onto my PC. I use SHURE SM-58's and Behringer B-1 Condenser Microphones for vocals.

I have been sampling audio for quite a while and recently felt comfortable with karaoke tracks which I can now transpose to lower scales to suit my scale of singing. But to tell you the truth I feel very unsatisfied when I sing over an entire karaoke track as it is. What I would do at least is to just sample one good beat or loop from within the karaoke and make my own arrangement over it. This way I feel that I have done something of my own. This allows me to change certain aspects like using a different instrument, changing the feel or the melody. I believe in a change not a mere voice replacement. Listening the same song over the karaoke with different singers create a sense of competition between singers. This talent is a natures gift. No flower is better than other; they are the way they are. Every singer is unique and if he or she sings with true soul and passion, their song will touch the hearts of many.

Presently I am involved in introducing some popular Pakistani oldies to folks at e-Snips and so far the response has been very encouraging. My endeavor is to sing on brand new tracks with brand new arrangements giving it a new feel and texture to the songs.

Thanks for reading. Stay healthy, happy and keep singing ...

(Geet Gaata Hun Mein ... Gungunata Hun Mein ...)