COMPOSER | MUSIC PRODUCER | VR/XR DESIGNER
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DARK. POWERFUL. COLORFUL.
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Based in Palo Alto, Aftab Hafeez is a highly versatile and classically-trained music producer and film composer who has recorded, mixed, and mastered all-original instrumentals since the early 2000's.
From Colombian and Pakistani roots, Aftab grew up immersed in a diverse range of world music, including Latin dance rhythms, classical music, and Pakistani folk. His versatility has enabled him to traverse genres from Rap, Pop, Electronic, Reggaeton, to Orchestral. His recent energetic trap/pop beat, "Commakazi", has been featured in blogs such as Visual Atelier 8. "Deserve You", an experimental Rap/EDM fusion track, earned Semi-Finalist in the 2020 International Songwriting Competition (ISC). His clients include GRAMMY-winning Hip-Hop artist, Tommy Soulati Shepherd, with his Electronic/Rap productions opening for major acts such as Tech N9ne and Smoove-E. As a Sound Designer at Google, his sounds have helped shape the aural user experience heard on millions of devices. Also at Google, Aftab conducts psychoacoustic research for virtual and augmented reality, where he also develops audio-related VR applications and designing audio features and technologies. Additionally, he is a visiting VR designer at Stanford University's Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis (CESTA). |
In a parallel career as a film composer, his scores include the soundtracks to the feature film “Last Chance Charlene” (2022), and the 3D animation “Redemption” (2020), which received GFFA Special Mention for Best Original Score at the 2020 Global Film Festival Awards, Los Angeles. He was also the lead actor, composer, and sound designer for the award-winning film “I Don't Want to Sleep Alone” (2018).
Aftab's fundamental motivation for creating music stems from his experience of being on the Autism spectrum. Music has always been his primary means of connection and communication. His ultimate goal, and lifelong pursuit, has been to enhance communication through music and technology. Outside of music, Aftab is the creator of the online course, Life Skills for People of Color on the Autism Spectrum. As one of the few resources that address the unique experiences and challenges faced by BIPOC individuals on the spectrum, it draws from research as well as his own life. As part of his lifelong passion of communicating through sound and language, he has devoted significant time to achieving varying degrees of fluency in Spanish, Mandarin, French, and Korean. |
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“Beyond the joy of promoting talented artists with a positive message, it’s the obliteration of both creative boundaries and the ones that divide us that I find motivating. Bending rules and breaking limits to create a new and relevant sound that brings joy and inspires. Saying what words can't say, to have a voice and give one to others. Those are the things that drive me."
AFTAB HAFEEZ |
