Zeeshan Ali

Lahore-born singer-songwriter Zeeshan Ali has built a devoted cross-border following thanks to the enduring pull of his poetry and unadorned voice. Ali is a third-generation migrant—his great-grandfather Balak Singh was a Sikh from Jalandhar—and he was raised in a Shia household where his earliest encounters with music came through religious gatherings, training his ear to classical ragas. He later studied under a guru from the Gwalior gharana, which allowed him to connect raga frameworks of the devotional songs he learned as a child to formal Hindustani classical. With songs including “Tere Jeya Hor Disdah” for Nescafé Basement in 2019 and several singles, Ali found his footing as a soul qawwali artist who could fit both modern production styles and sparse arrangements. His online breakthrough came with his rendition of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s “Saadgi”, which accrued millions of streams. His appearance on Coke Studio in 2024 on the song “2AM” with Star Shah drew further attention. Ali has since appeared on the soundtrack for Pakistani drama Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum, extending his reach into mainstream TV audiences. Throughout, Ali’s vocals remain rooted in the austere devotional traditions that first shaped his musical voice.