Haroon (singer)

Haroon Rashid is a British-born Pakistani singer-songwriter, music producer, composer, director and social activist.[1][2] Formerly a member of the pop band Awaz in the 1990s, Haroon has sold millions of singles and albums worldwide and has performed at large venues such as the Wembley Arena.[3]

Haroon
Haroon in 2017 at Teetoo and Tania Launch Event at National Press Club
Background information
Birth nameAaron Haroon Rashid
Born11 May 1973
GenresPop
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • musician
  • composer
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • piano
Years active1993–present
Labels
  • The Musik
  • Universal
  • Pepsi
  • EMI
  • Sony BMG
Associated actsAwaz (1993–1999)
Websiteharoon.com

As the founding CEO of Unicorn Black, an animation production company, he is the creator and director of the 3D animated children's television series Burka Avenger which received critical acclaim.[4] His company has also produced Teetoo and Tania, Quaid Say Baatein and other successful animated series.[5]

Music career

Awaz

After graduating in the early 1990s with a degree in business administration from George Washington University in the US, he formed the band Awaz with a couple of musician friends, Faakhir and Assad Ahmed.[6][7][8]

Haroon and the band made a video of Janeman, a song which Haroon had composed when he was 16. He sent it to MTV Asia, and the song went down in history as the first ever Urdu and Pakistani song to air on the channel.[9]

Solo career

Haroon's first career solo album, Haroon Ki Awaz, which he produced, engineered and recorded himself, was released in October 2000.[10]

In 2001 and 2002, he toured the UK and US. In 2001, Haroon received the "Outstanding Contribution to Asian Music" award from the BBC Asia Awards show.[11]

Haroon released his third solo album, Haroon Ka Nasha in March 2007,[12] again composed, recorded, produced, engineered and mixed by himself at his personal studio.[13]

Throughout his music career, Haroon has regularly produced songs and videos with socially conscious messages such as the anti-corruption hit Mr. Fraudiay and Ghoom Ghoom which provided a message of interfaith. He has sold over five million albums worldwide.[14] He is also an audio engineer, having set up his own recording studio.[1]

Haroon has campaigned for peace and tolerance and highlighted corruption through his music. In 2007, he received the Ambassador for Peace award in Denmark from the Youth for Human Rights Organization.[15] He is the co-founder of the All Music Performers Pakistan Society (AMPPS), which focuses on rights for musicians. Haroon served as a board member of the Pakistan Copyright Board, working closely with the Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan (IPOP) and WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) to help set up Pakistan's first royalty collection organization.[16]

Burka Avenger

Haroon was the creator and director of Burka Avenger, described as Pakistan's first ever full-length 3D animated television series for children.[17] The series won several major international accolades, including:

S. No. Awards / Accolades Category Result Year
1 Peabody Award[18] N/A Winner 2013
2 International Emmy Awards[19] Kids: Animation Nominated 2015
3 Prix Jeunesse International[20] International Gender Equity Prize Winner 2013
4 Asian Media Awards[21] Best TV Show Winner 2014
5 Canada International Film Festival[22] Animation Rising Star Award 2013
6 Accolades Global Film Festival[23] Viewer Impact: Content / Message Delivery Award of Merit (Special Mention) 2014
7 LUMS International Film Festival[24] Animation Winner 2014

The Time magazine named Burka Avenger as one of the most influential characters of 2013.[25] Haroon said he created the series as a way to emphasise the importance of girls’ education in Pakistan and abroad, as well as issues such as equality and discrimination.[26] The show features Jiya, an "inspirational school teacher" whose alter ego is a burka-wearing super-heroine that fights for Justice, Peace and Education for all.

Taazi.com

Haroon has launched Pakistan’s first of its kind digital content delivery platform called Taazi.com, which aims to combat piracy in a country where music and movies have a high piracy rate. Taazi.com has developed a unique mobile telecom integrated billing system, which allows users to pay via their mobile phone balances for online music, TV shows and movies.[27]

Discography

Albums
  • Haroon ki awaz (2001)
  • Lagan (2003)
  • Haroon Ka Nasha (2007)

Singles and videos
  • Janeman – (1992)
  • Diya – (1993)
  • 'Watan Kahani' (1993)
  • Jadoo Ka Chiragh – with Awaz (1995)
  • Main Na Manoo Haar – with Awaz (1995)
  • Mr. Fraudiay – with Awaz (1996)
  • Aye Jawan – with Awaz (1997)
  • Tu Hi Jeet – with Awaz (1998)
  • Yara – (2001)
  • Pyareya – (2001)
  • Jeekay Dekha – (2001)
  • Tu Hai Kahan – with Vital Signs and Strings (2001)
  • Mehndi – (2002)
  • Mahbooba – (2002)
  • Dil Se – (2003)
  • Jao Tum – (2003)
  • Goriye – Remix (2004)
  • Jiay Jaye (2006)
  • Jua Khela (2007)
  • Ishq Nasha (2007)
  • Nahi Hai Yeh Pyar (2008)
  • Big Corporation Man – (2009)
  • Ibtada-e-Ishq (2009)
  • "Nahin Hai' ft KOSTAL (2010)
  • Go Sabjee Go' (2010)
  • Ghoom Ghoom (2011)
  • Lady in Black with Adil Omar (2013)
  • Baba Bandook with Ali Amzat (2013)
  • Dil Say Pakistan with Muniba Mazari (2017)

Personal life

Haroon was born on 11 May 1973 in London, England, to a Pakistani father and New Zealand mother.[28][29][30] According to Haroon, he belonged to a musically-inclined family and had always wanted to become an artist; his mother, Lynley Ruth Butt, was a professionally trained opera singer who moved to the UK for education, and has taught Western classical music in Pakistan for nearly 50 years.[29][31][32][33][34] She met Haroon's father, Zulfiqar Butt, in London while he was living there.[35] She became a naturalised Pakistani citizen.[36]

Haroon's grandfather, Abdul Rashid Butt, established a reputed carpet manufacturing business specialising in handmade Pakistani and Persian rugs since 1947.[37] Haroon's father, Zulfiqar Butt, was one of eight sons.[37] After living in the UK for several years, Zulfiqar returned to Lahore in the early 1970s with his wife to run the family business. He later moved to Islamabad where he established a carpet showroom, while Lynley taught music, acting and theatrical production.[37] Haroon grew up and received his schooling in Pakistan.[29] His father died in 2017.[35]

Haroon, the eldest of his siblings, has two brothers Daoud and Ben, and a sister, Laila.[37]

See also

References
  1. "Hot Seat: Haroon Interview". Dawn. Archived from the original on 24 January 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  2. "Haroon Rashid: Personality Profile". PTV. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  3. "Haroon: Biography". Haroon.com. Archived from the original on 17 February 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  4. "Cricket World Cup Music Video by Haroon". Entertainment, Fashion & Technology Updates. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  5. http://www.c21media.net/burka-avenger-takes-on-indonesia/
  6. "Haroon Rashid biography, complete biography of Singers Haroon Rashid". pak101.com. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  7. "Faakhir Online: official website". Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  8. "Hottie of the week: Haroon Rashid". The Express Tribune. 11 September 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  9. Saleem, Taimur. "Face to face with Faakhir". Dawn. Archived from the original on 9 November 2007. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  10. "Haroon: Haroon Ki Awaz". Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  11. "Spotlight: Interview with Haroon". Mag4you.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  12. "Musicbox: 'Haroon Ka Nasha'". Dawn. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  13. "Haroon: Discography". Haroon.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  14. "Haroon to Launch Go Saabjee Go". Koolmuzone. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  15. "Haroon". facebook.com. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  16. "Haroon". facebook.com. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  17. Burka Avenger, 1 July 2013, retrieved 4 April 2016
  18. "Burka Avenger". peabodyawards.com. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  19. "Awards – Nominees – International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences". iemmys.tv. Archived from the original on 25 December 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  20. "Burka Avenger bags Gender Equity Prize". The News International. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  21. Desk, Entertainment (29 October 2014). "Burka Avenger brings home Asian Media Award for 'Best TV Show'". Dawn. Pakistan. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  22. "Canada International Film Festival | Screenplay Contest – 2014". www.canadafilmfestival.com. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  23. "Awards of Merit – March 2015 |". accoladecompetition.org. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  24. "Multi-award winning TV show Burka Avenger returns with Season 4". arynews.tv. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  25. Alter, Charlotte; Dockterman, Eliana. "The 11 Most Influential Fictional Characters of 2013". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  26. http://www.c21media.net/burka-avenger-takes-on-indonesia/
  27. "Taazi.com- Pakistan's First Legal Music Website Launched". Brandsynario. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  28. "Biography". Haroon.com. Retrieved 26 April 2020. He was born in London on May 11th to a New Zealand mother and Pakistani father.
  29. Tariq, Hanniah (20 December 2019). "Singing in the Zia Era, Burka Avenger and Beyond". The Friday Times. Retrieved 26 April 2020. Born in London to a New Zealand opera singer and a Pakistani father, music appealed to him from a young age.
  30. Hasan, Sheeba (1 November 2000). "Back, on his own". Gulf News. Retrieved 26 April 2020. Son of a Pakistani father and a New Zealander mother...
  31. Chaudhry, Shahbaz; Hetland, Atle; Zaidi, Hassan Belal (26 May 2014). "Diplomatic calendar". Dawn. Retrieved 26 April 2020. Lynley Butt, who was born in New Zealand and educated as an opera singer there and in the UK, teaches classical music and singing. That has been her occupation after she married and came to live in Pakistan some 50 years ago.
  32. Ramzan, M.; Hetland, Atle; Kazim, Syeda Shehrbano (29 April 2019). "Opera singer performs for music lovers". Dawn. Retrieved 26 April 2020. Among the guests at the concert was Lynley Ruth Butt, an opera singer in her youth from New Zealand and British training.
  33. Hetland, Atle; Chaudhry, Shahbaz (5 April 2015). "Diplomatic calendar". Dawn. Retrieved 26 April 2020. Opera singer and teacher Lynley Ruth Butt is originally from New Zealand but has been a resident of Pakistan for many decades. She hosts such events a few times a year.
  34. Naeem, Waqas; Usman, Maryam (25 April 2014). "Tickling the ivories through the evening". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  35. Hetland, Atle (4 January 2018). "Fragile birds on golden wings". The Nation. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  36. "Diplomatic calendar". Dawn. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2020. Lynley Ruth Butt, a naturalised Pakistani of New Zealand origin, was the main speaker — and singer - at the event, having received training as an opera singer in London in earlier years.
  37. "Company Background and Information". Pak Persian Rugs. 2020. Archived from the original on 12 September 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  38. https://dailytimes.com.pk/231198/trend-of-songs-about-social-issues-becoming-popular-in-pakistan/
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