Haider Ali

Haider Ali is a singer-songwriter, and an art director, also known as haidertonight. Haider Ali was born on July 12, 1994 in Islamabad, Pakistan. The son of a professional interior designer and artist [mother], and a marketer and general contractor [father]. He is of Southern Asian, Persian, and Italian descent. Ali has two older sisters and a younger brother. He grew up in a receptive, disciplined, yet contemporary family system. Ali often found himself drawing imaginary things in thin air that he would later put onto a piece of paper, a knack for art that he got from his mother from a very young age. Bored and unmotivated at the Army Public School (APS), the young Ali was a rather shy and sensitive child who found a safe haven in art and music classes, and his interest later sprouted into a full-time career. Ali was only eleven years old when he first began taking guitar and singing lessons - after which most of his musical edification came from the books of the legendary British author and BBC World Service producer Nick Freeth. Ali was also in a few bands as a teenager with his younger brother - one being Dying Desperation and another, Through Tonight. Ali recognizes Michael Jackson and Metallica as having been his musical influences as a child, with James Hetfield, Pete Loeffler, and Slash being the reason he wanted to play the guitar. Starting on the stage at the age of 15, Ali made his live debut on May 4, 2010, for a British Council charity event in Islamabad, Pakistan, raising money for the orphans of the devastating earthquake that shook Southern Asia in 2005. For his contribution to the relief efforts, Ali was given the award of appreciation by the director of British Council program development and occupied territories, Martin Daltry. Having won the award, Ali became inspired to get engaged in humanitarian causes and raised awareness for climate change, taking significant action with the help of the Youth Parliament of Pakistan and the British Council, he was able to make a positive impact on habitat management, native tree restoration, and environmental damage control projects in the local communities. After performing a series of local and national shows during the summer of 2011 - Ali recorded his debut single titled "Missing Puzzle" with Dying Desperation. The single was released on December 14, 2011, and received positive praise from fans and critics alike. It was the beginning of Ali's newfound recognition as a prominent young talent, but his rise to fame was about to take a major halt. On October 28, 2012, Ali suffered a spinal cord (lumbar vertebrae) fracture during a Jiu-jitsu training session, followed by a 5th metacarpal fracture on his right hand due to punching a door just a month later. Being unable to play the guitar and or perform day-to-day activities, the succession of critical injuries forced Ali to go on a hiatus, one which would subsequently put him through a lengthy period of anxiety and depression. Though having mental and physical constraints, Ali was still able to fight through and used the healing phase to his advantage by focusing on his education and finished graduating from Capital University (CU) in March 2014. During the two-year haul, Ali also rekindled his passion for art through the medium of photography and participated in the prestigious International Photography Awards (IPA) in July 2015, and won two Honorable Mention Award(s) commissioned by the chair of the jury committee (IPA), Susan Baraz, and president (IPA), Hossein Farmani, within the Architecture-Industrial and Fine Art-Still Life categories respectively. Inspired by his experience, Ali took a step back to hone his artistic skills by shifting the creative focus to be more honest. And with this came a new perspective for the young artist as he decided to attend Michigan State University (MSU) to earn a diploma in professional photography in April 2016, followed by another diploma in graphic design from the California Institute of Arts (CalArts) in October 2017. Coming out with freshly acquired skills, Ali found himself experimenting with photography and design elements, and he was able to create his distinctive style in the process - which landed his photography a feature at the first annual Coursera Capstone Alumni - Kresge Art Center exhibit on November 29, 2016, hosted by professor photography (MFA), Syracuse University (SU), Peter Glendinning, and associate professor photography (DMA), University of Illinois (UIUC), Mark Sullivan, at Michigan State University (MSU). Ali's photograph titled "Tanning Egg" was featured at the exhibit among the works of 127 photographers from 39 countries. On June 9, 2017, Ali was featured on the Coursera Blog - Learner Story series for his outstanding achievements in professional photography and graphic design specializations from Michigan State University (MSU) and the California Institute of Arts (CalArts) - making him an artist worth noticing. Having come to understand his perceived calling as the voice for the voiceless within his generation, Ali has continued utilizing key examples taken from his own life experiences. Though shared emotional semblance, Ali discloses his struggles, fears, and insecurities in the hopes of igniting a universal connection with his followers as he seeks to open the doors for his genuine sound and show who he truly is as an artist. Ali is currently working on his most honest and self-reflective music to date, with a release(s) expected in 2022.