Born on the 26th of October 1968 in Karachi, Pakistan, Abbas took an early interest in music. He bought his first guitar on a family trip to the US when he was about ten years old and managed to teach himself the basics through books and friends. Abbas came from a background that was strong in business and industry and was expected to continue in the family tradition. Even though, his interest in music became stronger as he grew up.  After completing his “O” levels in 1985, he went to the United Sates to pursue his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineeing. During this time, Abbas played guitar in various rock bands in the Los Angeles area and also discovered a taste for Jazz. Just before completing his BS in Mechanical Engineering, Abbas had an experience with the Classical Guitar, which changed the course of his life. He decided to study music full time and completed his undergraduate degree in music theory and composition from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and graduated in 1991 with honors. Subsequently, he was offered a scholarship from Southern Methodist University in Dallas to do his graduate degree and to study with Robert Guthrie. Abbas completed his Masters degree in 1993 and then returned to Pakistan 1n 1995. After being involved with the family business for almost ten years, Abbas reverted to his passion for music. In 2004, he set up a music production facility called “Sound Ideas”  and embarked to establish himself as a Producer/Composer.  Aside from working with some of the known commercial artists/media companies of Pakistan, Abbas is busy working on two simultaneous releases, the first one “Identity Crisis” consists of compositions rooted in traditional Jazz and Rock, and the second project called “Elements” consists of compositions based on Classical Eastern Ragas. Two of his compositions fared very well in the recent “International Songwriting Competition” 2005, one of the premier songwriting contests os the world. The song titled “Seek Peace” reached the third round of competition in the world music category and the song “Destiny fulfilled” made it to the semifinals in the Instrumentals category out of over 15,000 entries.  Abbas has collaborated recently with a diverse range of local artists ranging from Ali Azmat and Haroon to Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and has also given concerts with local Eastern Classical musicians and received high acclaim.  Abbas was also appointed as “juror”  for the Music category in the 2005 “Lux style awards”

Music:
Born in the East and educated in the West, Abbas’s compositions vary from traditional smooth jazz to ethno-fusion encompassing many elements in between and going on to traditional Eastern Classical compositions featuring the Western Classical Guitar.  Guitars are prevalent in most of the songs but the sounds and the playing styles are varied.  Classical influences can be heard along with traditional and modern jazz.

Influences:
Steely Dan, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Pat Metheny, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Paco de Lucia, Frank Zappa, Led Zeppelin, Paul Simon,  Jim Croce, J.S Bach, L.V. Beethoven, Pt. Ravi Shankar,  Ustad Zakir Hussain.

Skills:

Basic Music skills:

Can read/write music fluently including tablature and piano roll.

Performance:

Masters Degree in Classical Guitar (Performance), can play a variety of Classical Guitar Music from Remaissance to Contemporary. Also trained and fluent in electric guitar, Bass Guitar, MIDI guitar and acoustic guitar (steel string).

Music Composition:

Trained to compose music in all genres ranging from Baroque Classical to Jazz and modern music of various types.

Music Production:

Trained in all aspects of music production and editing starting from the basics of MIDI to the complexities of modern software. Fluent in Logic Audio, Cubase SX, Reason. Waveform editing, processing and Sound synthesis Fluent in all aspects of recording, mixing and mastering.