Arif Lohar is a Punjabi folk singer from Pakistan. He usually sings accompanied by a native musical instrument resembling tongs (called a chimta). His folk music is representative of the traditional folk heritage of the Punjab. Arif Lohar was born in Lala Musa in Gujrat District, Punjab, Pakistan. His father was Alam Lohar, who belonged to the village of Achh in nearby Kharian Tehsil, and was a prominent folk singer of Punjab and Pakistan. Arif Lohar started singing with his father and his eldest brother, Arshad Mahmood Lohar, and younger brother Tariq Lohar at an early age. Arif Lohar briefly went into acting in Punjabi movies before returning to his music career at the age of 22. Arif Lohar has played more than 50 foreign tours around the world during the last 20 years, including to the UK, US and UAE. In 2004, he performed in China for the opening of the Asian Games, which had a crowd of close to 1 million. In 2005, Arif Lohar was awarded the Pride of Performance Award by the Government of Pakistan – the highest civil award in Pakistan. To date, he has more than 150 albums to his credit and recorded more than 3,000 songs, mostly in the Punjabi language. In 2006, he made headlines in the Punjabi music world by releasing his album 21st Century Jugni. In Coke-Studio season 3, Arif Lohar performed “Alif Allah (Jugni)” with upcoming musician Meesha Shafi. Lohar’s performance for Coke Studio featured two other songs: ‘Mirza’ and Alif Allah Chambey Dey Booti/Jugni, the latter a collaboration that became an international success.
Biography
