Ali Sethi

Ali Aziz Sethi (Urdu/; ; born July 2, 1984) is a Pakistani-American Born to journalists and politicians Najam Sethi and Jugnu Mohsin, Sethi rose to prominence with his debut novel, The Wish Maker. Although Sethi received some musical training as a child, he did not begin to formally train in Hindustani classical music until after graduating from college. He trained under the tutelage of Ustad Naseeruddin Saami (widely considered a master of both the qawwali and khyal forms of singing) as well as under noted ghazal and classical singer Farida Khanum.

In 2012, Sethi began focusing on his musical career and made his film debut as a singer in Mira Nair's 2012 film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, with the song "Dil Jalaane Ki Baat Karte Ho." He followed this up with numerous independent covers of popular ghazals as well as traditional Punjabi folk songs. In 2015, Sethi made his debut on Coke Studio Pakistan with the well-known Punjabi folk song "Umraan Langiyaan" for which he received significant praise, quickly establishing himself as a millennial practitioner of traditional folk and classical music. Sethi has since appeared on several seasons of Coke Studio, performing both covers and original music. His most recent single for Coke Studio – "Pasoori" (2022) – became the first Pakistani song to feature on Spotify's "Viral 50 - Global" chart, eventually climbing to the top of the chart in May 2022. With over one billion views on YouTube Music as of January 2025, "Pasoori" is currently the most watched Coke Studio music video of all time and the first Coke Studio song to reach this milestone.

Sethi is particularly associated with the ghazal format of singing and is often hailed for attempting to revive the ancient art form by experimenting with it and repositioning it as a young person's genre. He collaborates frequently with Grammy-winning music producer Noah Georgeson and has performed at Carnegie Hall, Harvard University, Brown University, Georgetown University, and the Royal Geographical Society among others. Sethi is noted for his ability to blend Hindustani classical ragas with contemporary Western arrangements and for his flair for lending new-age contours to older melodies. In his live performances, he often combines his songs with historical and cultural context, critical commentary, and etymological roots of Urdu words.

In September 2022, Sethi was included in Time magazine's Time 100 Next list and was recognized for his ability to use ancient classical ragas "to challenge and expand notions of gender, sexuality, and belonging." In September 2023, the Saxena Center for Contemporary South Asia at Brown University announced that Sethi would serve as its first Artist in Residence as a visiting scholar. According to data released by Spotify in 2022 and 2023, Sethi is among the most streamed Pakistani artists in the world.

Early life and background Ali Sethi was born on July 2, 1984, in Lahore, Pakistan to award-winning journalists and publishers Najam Sethi and Jugnu Mohsin, and nephew to British-Pakistani writer Moni Mohsin. In May 1999, police broke into his family home and arrested his father, Najam Sethi for allegedly making a "treasonous speech" in New Delhi, India. Sethi, then 15 years old, campaigned with his mother for his father's release. Najam Sethi was later acquitted by the Supreme Court of Pakistan and awarded Amnesty International's Journalist of the Year Award.

Education Sethi attended the International School of Choueifat and Aitchison College in Lahore, Pakistan and describes himself as an above average student, particularly interested in art, drawing, music, and poetry. In a 2024 interview with T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Sethi shared that while he was recognized at school for his artistic and academic talents, he was also "taunted by both students and teachers for being part of a queer cohort."

Sethi attended Harvard College from 2002 to 2006, and Sanskrit, Bengali, and Tamil poetry.

In 2009, Sethi published his debut novel The Wish Maker, "a semiautobiographical coming-of-age novel" and "the political history of Pakistan with three generations of characters who live in a middle-class, liberal enclave of Lahore." Sethi recalls writing the first draft of the novel in 2006 during his senior year at Harvard, a second draft while living in New York City, and the final draft in Lahore, Pakistan. The Wish Maker has been translated into Italian, Dutch, German, Hindi, Chinese, and Turkish. In its review of the novel, The New York Times called it "a first-rate novel", stating that "Sethi's prose evokes the comic mislocutions of Jonathan Safran Foer and the vertiginous mania of Zadie Smith." The Wall Street Journal stated, "Mr. Sethi is especially alive to the emotional contours of young love, its modes of courtship, its methods of subterfuge...Mr. Sethi's prose, always lucid, often soars to illuminate the quotidian." The Guardian praised Sethi's "sharp handling" of material and "memorably drawn" characters. The Wish Maker was long-listed for the 2011 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, ultimately losing to H. M. Naqvi's, Home Boy. It was also shortlisted for 2010 Shakti Bhatt First Book Award.

Sethi has written essays and articles for The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Guardian, The New York Review of Books, and The Caravan. He has received praise for his profiles of the writer Saadat Hasan Manto and the ghazal singer Farida Khanum. On two occasions, the Pakistani newspaper The Express Tribune censored his articles, deeming them too sensitive to be published in Pakistan.

Sethi lists Mirza Ghalib, Daagh Dehlvi, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Leo Tolstoy, Virginia Woolf, V. S. Naipaul, Alan Hollinghurst, and Arundhati Roy as his favorite authors and literary influences.

Musical career Musical training and influences Sethi recalls his mother signing him up for music lessons with a tutor at the age of eight, but notes that he had no interest in them: "I would prance about the room and constantly urge him to drink more chai..."

Sethi recalls that he initially started singing qawwali and ghazals mostly to impress his parents' friends.

Sethi formally apprenticed himself to Ustad Naseeruddin Saami of the Delhi gharana in 2008 and to ghazal and classical singer Farida Khanum in 2012. Sethi has stated that from Saami, he learned "the melody patterns of raga, and how Vedic chants and Turkic and Persian melodies were fused by guilds in medieval India" The song became Sethi's stepping stone into his recording career, and was named the "highlight of the album" by The Times of India.

In 2015, Sethi made his singing debut on Coke Studio Season 8 with "Umran Langiyaan," a Punjabi folk song originally sung by Asad Amanat Ali Khan. With his rendition of "Umran Langiyaan," Sethi was said to have "cemented his place as an interpreter of classics." Indian classical singer Shubha Mudgal lauded Sethi for his "delicacy of expression" and "ease and familiarity with Punjabi and the Saraiki dialect." His most notable songs from the series are "Aaqa" with Abida Parveen, "Tinak Dhin" with Ali Hamza and Waqar Ahsin, "Ranjish Hi Sahi," "Gulon Main Rang," and most recently, "Pasoori." Sethi stated that singing Aaqa with Abida Parveen was challenging but life-changing for him: "Her octave starts four-five notes higher than mine...I struggled because I had to sing at her pitch, and then I had to sing the high parts. It was a really acrobatic challenge for me to go there. But it worked somehow and I’m so glad it did. For me it was a great opportunity and it changed my life in many ways." His rendition of "Gulon Main Rang" was described as a moving and hopeful ode to the original rendition of the ghazal by Mehdi Hassan and to Faiz Ahmad Faiz's writings on romance, revolution, and social justice.

In February 2015, Sethi released his first music video for the single "Kithay Nain Na Jori" at the Karachi Literature Festival. The video featured Sethi and starred Sania Saeed, Adnan Siddiqui, and Mira Sethi and the song was meant as a tribute to Pakistani folk singer Reshma. On February 5, 2016, Sethi released his original single "Mahi Mera" featuring farmer-turned-folk singer Jamaldin, which was critically well received. The video was directed by Umar Riaz and was shot entirely in Jamaldin's and Sethi's ancestral villages, Hussaingarh and Shergarh respectively.

In 2017, Sethi featured in the track "Aaja" with Riz Ahmed and Heems and Redinho of the Swet Shop Boys as a tribute to Qandeel Baloch. The same year, he sang the song "Chan Kithan," a reinterpretation of a Punjabi folk song. Sethi also co-produced and co-directed the music video for the song. The musical arrangement combined a traditional folk ditty from rural Punjab with electronica and indie-rock to create what Sethi described as "Punjabi Gothic music." The music video is based on a retelling of the Cinderella story which takes place in contemporary Pakistan. The song received praise for combining "the ethos of Saraiki language with urban longing" and for fusing various styles and techniques of arrangement.

In December 2017, Sethi collaborated with American dhol player Sunny Jain on a project called Resident Alien and performed renditions of seven folk songs in Joe's Pub in New York.

2018–2019: Original music, collaboration with Noah Georgeson, and Harvard talks Sethi recorded a romantic ballad "Yunhi Rastay Mai" for the 2018 film Saat Din Mohabbat In. Sethi collaborated with Red Baraat on the song "Kala Mukhra" (a reworking of the traditional "Gora Mukhra"). On June 28, 2018, Sethi released "Waasta" (co-written by Sethi, featuring rapper Faris Shafi), and renditions of "Dil Karda Ay" and "Agar Tum Mil Jao" for season three of music series Cornetto Pop Rock with Quratulain Balouch.

Sethi began focusing more heavily on releasing original music in 2019, announcing that year that he would be collaborating on new projects with American music producer Noah Georgeson. Sethi said, "I've admired Noah's work for years, and I'm thrilled to be working with him." Georgeson responded by saying, "Beyond my excitement in working with Ali, and his transcendent talent and voice, I'm looking forward to applying my approach to an unfamiliar tradition of music." Sethi and Georgeson released five songs together: "Chandni Raat," "Dil Ki Khair," "Khabar-e-Tahayyur-e-Ishq," "Ishq," and "Dil Lagaayein." In May 2019, both artists gave a headlining performance together at Sanders Theater for Harvard University's Arts First festival.

In 2019, Sethi's song "Umraan Langiyaan" from Coke Studio Season 8 was featured on HBO's documentary film The Case Against Adnan Syed. The same year, Sethi performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall for Du Yun and Palestinian artist Khaled Jarrar's orchestral multimedia work Where We Lost Our Shadows which revolved around the theme of human migration. Video footage of Sethi's Carnegie Hall performance was shown on two NASDAQ billboards at Times Square as part of a tribute in December 2019.

Also in 2019, Sethi presented two talks at Harvard University along with Ali S. Asani. In one of the lectures, titled The Covenant of Love, Sethi discussed the poetic tradition of Sufi music and the consciousness of Sufi poets and the evolution of Indo-Muslim Sufi thought. In the other lecture, titled The Art of the Ghazal, Sethi discussed the ghazal as a literary genre and explored mystical themes in Urdu ghazals.

2020–2021: Notable performances and collaborations Sethi began his Spring 2020 tour on February 16 with a performance at the Royal Geographical Society in London. In March 2020, he shared that his performances in Seattle, Chicago, San Diego, Silicon Valley, and Sacramento, California, had been postponed. The same month, when the global lockdown began due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sethi initiated a series of virtual concerts with Indian artists on Instagram. These included musicians Rekha Bhardwaj and Vishal Bhardwaj, singer Shilpa Rao, screenwriter Varun Grover, and comedian Zakir Khan. The sessions highlighted the shared history and culture of India and Pakistan and advocated for peace between the two countries. However, the initiative came to an end after a circular issued by FWICE on April 11, 2020, warned Indian artists to not collaborate with Pakistanis.

On May 17, 2020, Sethi took part in a conversation with Nirupama Rao, former Foreign Secretary of India, to discuss how art intersects with issues of interconnectedness, identity, and culture in South Asia. Sethi and Rao discussed the historical and cultural bonds between India and Pakistan. The conversation was hosted by the Bangalore International Centre and the South Asian Symphony Foundation. Sethi sang and composed the song "Pehla Qadam" which was released on September 18, 2020. The song was produced by Danish Renzu and Abubakar Khan and featured Sunny Jain on drums. Its lyrics were written by Sunayana Kachroo. During Harvard University's Worldwide Week in October 2020, Sethi performed a rendition of Amir Khusrau's well-known qawwali, "Aaj Rang Hai," as part of a presentation titled Khusrau's River of Love: Cosmopolitanism and Inclusion in South Asian Traditions.

In May 2021, Sethi released the song "Yakjehti Mein" composed by Chilean-American composer Nicolás Jaar. The song was made for the Palestinian online radio station, Radio Alhara, and was broadcast live from Bethlehem in May 2021. Sethi used verses from two poems ("Hum Dekhenge" and "Aaj Bazaar Mein") penned by eminent Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz for the song which was meant to show solidarity and support for the people of Palestine. Describing the process of developing the track and the mixing of the two poems, Sethi stated: "It was an unorthodox mix of music but Nicolas felt that it went well with my words. The part where the beat paces up sounded to me like a march or a procession, which is why I suggested a second poem by Faiz to be sung to its tune." Sethi narrated the musical audiobook of Jungle Nama in addition to composing and performing music for it. Sethi stated that he wanted to "evoke the wonder of the Sundarban through its sound and poetry" while working on this project. to compose the music for Jungle Nama, using "traditional instruments like surmandal and dhol" and combining different musical traditions. co-composed, Sethi described the song as "a love song, a bit of a flower bomb thrown at nationalism, a queer anthem, a protest song, a power ballad [and] a song of togetherness." It went on to become the first Coke Studio Pakistan song to feature on Spotify's "Viral 50" global chart and also ranked at number one on Spotify India's "Viral 50" chart on March 7, 2022. On May 4, 2022, it climbed to the top of Spotify's "Viral 50 - Global" chart and on May 7, 2022 – 90 days after its release — "Pasoori" hit 100 million views on YouTube. According to information released by Spotify in December 2022, "Pasoori" was the most-streamed Pakistani song globally and also the most-streamed song in Pakistan in 2022. It was also the most-searched song in the world in 2022, as per Google Trends' "Year in Search 2022" report. With over one billion views on YouTube as of January 2025, "Pasoori" is currently the most watched Coke Studio music video of all time and the first Coke Studio song to reach this milestone. To commemorate 75 years of independence for both India and Pakistan, Sethi performed at Harvard University's 75 Years of Azadi: A Celebration of South Asia ' event in September 2022, with keynote addresses delivered by Nobel Laureate Dr. Amartya Sen and former Finance Minister of Pakistan, Syed Babar Ali. The same month, Sethi performed at the O2 Arena in London, UK with Shae Gill and Leo Twins.

On October 14, 2022, Sethi performed at the first Coke Studio live concert held at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, UAE along with Faisal Kapadia, Shae Gill, Hasan Raheem, Young Stunners, and Justin Bibis. Sethi was among the first headliners to be announced for the show in July 2022.

2023: Notable tours and performances, first EP, and first album On November 8, 2022, Sethi announced his 2023 North American tour featuring 11 stops across the United States and Canada including Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Vancouver. The tour concluded in February 2023.

In March 2023, Sethi performed at the second annual South Asian Excellence pre-Oscars event hosted by Paramount Pictures, Priyanka Chopra, and Mindy Kaling, among others. In April 2023, Sethi performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, making him only the second person of Pakistani origin (after Arooj Aftab) to perform at the festival.

In May 2023, an unreleased single by Sethi was featured in a short fashion film based on Misha Japanwala's gallery show titled "Beghairati Ki Nishaani: Traces of Shamelessness" — a project that offered commentary on gender-based violence and the concept of shame as experienced by Pakistani women.

In June 2023, Sethi announced his world tour with stops in Dubai, Glasgow, Dublin, London, Austin, and Atlanta, among others. The tour concluded on November 19, 2023 with his final show at Shepherd's Bush Empire in West London. Later that month, Sethi released his first extended play (EP) titled "Paniya" , produced by Noah Georgeson, Gregory Rogove, and Anthony Soshil. The EP included four tracks: "Paniya," "Kaase Kahu," "Raat Bhar," and "Dil Mein Ab," with the latter two being partially based on the writings of Faiz Ahmad Faiz.

In August 2023, Sethi performed at the 18th edition of TD Mosaic Festival in Mississauga.

In October 2023, Sethi performed at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. The same month, as part of his artist residency at Brown University, Sethi delivered a seminar titled "Raga Saga: Theory and Practice in North Indian Music."

On November 17, 2023, Sethi released his first album, Intiha , under Other People Records. The lead single from the album, "Muddat," was released on September 19. Sethi collaborated with Chilean music composer Nicolás Jaar for the album Rolling Stone India described the single as a "qawwali-informed hyper-pop tune," and noted Sethi for his "traditionally-rooted versatility." In March 2024, Sethi performed at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, following it up with a performance at Georgetown University in April 2024 as part of its Georgetown Global Dialogues series. In May 2024, Sethi took part in a live podcast episode at Queens College, CUNY, along with novelist Joyce Carol Oates.

In August 2025, Sethi released his first full-length solo album titled Love Language, comprising 16 tracks, under the label Zubberdust Media. The album was described as a cross-genre blend of "hyperpop, reggaeton, Sufi chant, and Hindustani classical music." In September 2025, Sethi announced his month-long North American fall tour, with 11 stops across the United States and Canada including Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, and Vancouver, among others. The tour concluded on October 22, 2025 in Seattle. The lead single, "Embrace," was released the same month. Room Jhoom was released on May 22, 2026 and was described as a fusion of "soft Sufi" and "fast-paced Caribbean" – thereby combining Sethi's and Rogove's musical sensibilities. Sethi asserted that the album was his attempt at bridging the gap between South Asian and Latin American pop.

Artistry

Revitalizing the ghazal Sethi is particularly known for experimenting with and modernizing the ancient ghazal format of singing, and he describes his artistic style as being "rooted in tradition but looking towards the future." and has mentioned in various interviews that the ghazal is one of his favorite genres of music. and that he is "interested in reviving lost techniques and lost cultures"

Sethi has discussed his opposition to the traditional binaries of tradition and modernity, contending in an interview: "What I found through traditional music, through my immersion in and engagement with South Asian forms of folk and classical music, is this wonderful paradox: you find through these 'traditional' things genuinely radical, freeing, subversive, cosmopolitan, experimental worldviews."

Protest and dissent Sethi notes that due to his parents' professions as journalists and politicians, he grew up around journalists, artists, activists, and politicians as a child and that his formative years were spent amidst "a lot of dissenting voices". He claims that these early life experiences influenced his thinking and shaped his musical philosophy in that many of his songs and music videos seek to address social issues.

Through his work, Sethi believes in collapsing the traditional boundaries of religion, caste, class, gender, and geography. He has stated that he aims to "revive an interest in...layered ways of being and of experiencing poetry, music, art, visuals…insist on these multiple interpretations, and allow people from different backgrounds and perspectives to take part in a conversation." and his music and videos frequently challenge prevailing views on gender identity and sexuality. to argue that traditional folk music from the subcontinent allows South Asians across the world to tap into their ancestral roots and access "something that can nourish our contemporary consciousness and quest for an identity that feels whole, yet liberated." Similarly, in a 2024 profile by T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Sethi claimed that traditional South Asian music has always contained the "antibodies" that are necessary to "heal a divisive culture from within" because it has always been cosmopolitan. In a 2023 interview with Pitchfork, Sethi asserted: "When you live on the fault line of various identities, you want to make something that reflects all of you. I just have this undying need to recontextualize things and make unlikely connections." He has stated that he sees himself and his music as a "diasporic voice" He has stated that dividing his time between the United States and Pakistan gives him "access to this really interesting tension. I am here but I am also there, I am in the East and in the West, I am a traditional musician but also a cosmopolitan one. How do I connect the two experiences without having to choose one over the other? It's an eternal question for people like myself." and his musical style has been described as a "reaffirmation of his post-colonial South Asian identity." having a rich and supple tenor, "soulful," "soft but polished," and as having a "moving and melodic quality." He is often lauded for his "soaring vocals," skillful harkats, "vocal gymnastics," "emotive delivery," and ability to hit high notes. thereby putting new-age Pakistani music on the map. Sethi has been credited with helping to resurrect the lost art of the ghazal by reinventing it for present-day audiences and making the genre more approachable for younger generations in mainstream Pakistani culture as well as internationally. His experiments with the ghazal format have been characterized as "nothing short of a revolt to bring what is seen as an "aunty-uncle genre" out of stuffy drawing rooms to younger audiences." Indian actor and singer Ayushmann Khurrana has also praised Sethi's singing.

Sethi's approach to music is frequently described as being innovative, Sethi's work is often hailed for its consistent message of inclusivity and challenging social norms, He is dating New York-based Pakistani-American painter Salman Toor. In August 2023, rumors spread on social media that Sethi and Toor had gotten married in a private ceremony in New York, causing homophobic trolling online. Sethi denied the rumors and stated that he was not married.

Sethi is a naturalized American citizen, making him a dual citizen of Pakistan and the United States. He resides in Manhattan, New York. "Mundiya" Duet with Quratulain Balouch 2020 Sabaat|"Sabaat" Written by Kashif Anwar 2022 Coke Studio Pakistan (season 14)|"Pasoori" Duet with Shae Gill

Discography

Albums and EPs

Paniya (EP, 2023)'

Original singles

"Mahi Mera" (2016) "Waasta" (2018) "Chandni Raat" (2019) "Ishq" (2019) "Dil Ki Khair" (2019) "Dil Lagayeein" (2019) "Pehla Qadam" (2020) "Rung" (2021) "Yakjehti Mein" (2021) "Left Right" (2023) "Lovely Bukhaar" (2024) "Dil (Awakening)" (2024) "Tera Sitam" (2025)

Featured Artist 2016: "Aaja" – Swet Shop Boys ft. Ali Sethi 2018: Sound The People – "Kala Mukhra" 2024: Love Like That (with Jonita Gandhi) and Best Playback Singer - Male at 2nd ARY Film Awards for performing "Aah Ko Chahiye" in the film Manto. His single Kithay Nain Na Jorin'' was nominated for Best Music Single and Best Music Video at the 4th Hum Awards. Year Awards Category Nominated work Result 2010 Shakti Bhatt Awards Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize Awards The Wish Maker 2016 Hum Awards Best Music Single "Kithay Nain Na Jorin" ARY Film Awards Best Playback Singer - Male"Aah Ko Chahiye" Lux Style Awards Best Playback Singer - Male