Today we’d like to introduce you to Ayaz Ismail.
Ayaz, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started singing at the age of 16, and I always had a keyboard with me to play with. The interest in music came when I participated in a local singing competition here in Dallas. Before the competition, I was enrolled at Indian Classical Music school taught by my guru Renu Chandra. However, I placed 3rd in the competition, which gave me the freedom to explore music. That confidence of performing came through. Down the road, I started Dj’ing at the age of 18, and that becomes a solid business. I was exposed to different cultures, the vibe of being an artist, and overall a performer. Setting up a studio came in naturally, and I had my parent’s support throughout. My Dad plays a huge role in where I am today. We bought gears and made a small home studio where I started composing and producing music. During that process and time, I was given a project where I had to create nursery rhymes for birth to three years old. The project was given to me by a member (Fez Meghani) in our community. We traveled to Houston to find some voices, and I completed my project during that time, and the album was entitled Gift of Music. It’s still special to me as it was my very first project. Hence, in 2012 I released my first commercial song entitled “Desi Fairytale” I experienced my first ever commercial release and experienced a proper studio environment at Luminous Sounds; it was terrific. Looking back, it been an incredible journey. Hence, I released my second commercial album titled, “Is This Love,” God, I don’t want to hear that album again! Haha. Moving on, after my bachelor’s, I wanted to pursue Audio and Mixing Engineering, and therefore I went to an institution for that. The wealth of knowledge that I learned from my mentor Rick Rooney is just once in a lifetime opportunity. It was a journey that will stay with me forever. During the course, I mixed my first song, and It was a journey to remember.
In 2016, I got my first opportunity with Zee Music (One of India’s biggest record labels). I was thrilled and jumping off my seat. I would call this my actual first commercial release. As years progressed, I did few songs with Zee music as well released few tracks on my YouTube Channel too. It was both Bollywood & Pop. 2017 was special as I traveled to India for eight days to make an album for our community event – Diamond Jubilee of Aga Khan. It was for the community but had all commercial elements. I had the opportunity to work with some of the finest musicians from Bollywood, and the album turned out to be a memorable one. The following year was the year where my career picked up. I had worked with Top Bollywood Celebrity singers, and the views on the videos crossed one million-plus mark. Everything seemed like a dream; it was just magical. A career followed through; I am currently working on many projects collaborating with many Top Bollywood Singers, working on my pop album, which will release next year and Independent singles. I want to mention Raaj Jagtap from India, Akshat Gaur from India, Amin Vailgy, and Eric for being a part of my journey.
I have three dreams, and one of them recently got fulfilled as we opened recording studios and learning center (K-12 curriculum, Animations, Design courses) here in Carrollton, TX. It’s called iThinkSmart. The studio titled iThinkSound and it will open very soon commercially. We are teaching music lessons at the center as well. All my success is due to my dad, and all my dreams belong to him. I wouldn’t have achieved anything without his guidance and support. Also, I teach part-time at Brookhaven College. I teach at the Visual Design Department.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Well, for any artist, be it any form of art, it’s never easy to cope with the commercial market. The investment aspect, the approach to pursue music in the right way, was a challenge; moreover, I think it was the training which was quite severe. I am still taking singing lessons, recently started back to polish my skills. I was managing time, earning from a different job to support your music. It wasn’t easy at all. I still DJ, and that helps my music releases. Of course, there are lots of politics, it’s no fun without any politics, right? Criticism, cruel thoughts, unsupportive group of people have come across that and its part of the industry, I guess. Even in Dj’ing, you get such a crowd, which is tough, but as an Artist, you have to be at it. My best friend (Zunad Khoja) and I run our DJ business together, and we always discuss these aspects. Hence, music releases as well, as a musician, you can’t please everyone, we have to love our music, and that’s all. There shouldn’t be any competition. Everyone has their artistic skills, but being dedicated to it is something I have learned.
iThinkSound/iThinkSmart -what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I have DJ company and now followed by our new venture titled iThinkSmart in Carrollton, TX. We have built an Industry Standard Recording Studios at the space as well. iThinkSmart: K-12 Curriculum (Math, Science, Reading/Writing, History Creative Studies (Animation, Web Design, Photoshop, UI & UX, Illustrator) Music Lessons (Guitar, Piano, Online Tabla Lessons iThinkSound Studios Recording Mixing Music Production Audio Editing Sound Design BGM Scores
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
When I entered the music world for the first time.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1628 West Hebron Parkway
Suite #100
Carrollton, TX 75010 - Website: www.ithinksmartllc.com
- Phone: 9726933416
- Email: ayaz@ayazismail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/ithinksound
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/ithinksound
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/ithinksound
- Other: www.youtube.com/ithinksound
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