Mad Sheer Khan was born Mahamad Hadi, in Algiers in 1955, of mixed Persian and Arabic origin. He studied in France, where he now lives. His experience of being steeped in three different cultures has enabled him to develop fruitful relations between these varied influences. His oriental roots are apparent everywhere in the rhythms, colors, scales and sources of inspiration of his music. His aim is to go beyond the worn-out image of the 'exotic East', and in order to achieve this he constantly seeks points of contact between a western-inspired oriental culture and its counterpart, an oriental-inspired western culture. Mad Sheer Khan strives to give his music a wide range by juxtaposing ideas from both classical and folk music, developing them in compositions in which classically urban and rural styles exist side by side. An guitarist, could first show his incredible talent within his own band RAHMANN(formed his first group in 1975), one of the most impressive jazz-rock fusion bands of the Seventies. RAHMANN released by Ramses Polygram only one eponymous album in 1979. The French band played a sort of precursor to ethnic progressive jazz-rock, mixing jazz and arabian music. The complex and thoughtful music, written by Mahamad HADI is energetic and full of rhythmic changes. The sounds of the ney flute and other Near Eastern instruments (Oud, electric sitar, saz, darbouka...) brilliantly top off music close to that of MAGMA and BRAND X, THE MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA, featuring fiery guitar, sinewy keyboards and Gérard PREVOST's bass. Guest appearances by Didier LOCKWOOD, Lisa DELUXE, GUEM and so on... . Leader of the "TAG" (Tradition and Avant-garde), movement of which he is the creator since 1973, he transposes his Afro-Asian origins (he studied with the largest Masters the instruments and musics Persian (tar/Santur) Baul, Gnawa and Indian...) to sonorities most current jazz electro and rock to draw from it a powerful and subtle, unexpected and captivating music. In 1981, he formed a duo and adopted an image that was quite rare for the time: he spent the 1980s swathed in a turban, deliberately going against what was then the normal practice. His unconventional appearance did not deter the critics, who responded enthusiastically to his playingin 1982 the well-known English magazine New Musical Express listed him among the ten best guitarists in the world. During this period Mad was in fact living in London, where he worked with Velvet Underground's muse, NICO , on the albums DRAMA OF EXILE 1 &2, and was acclaimed for his virtuosity. On his return to France, still under the influence of his London experiences. Mad Sheer Khan wrote pieces with a harder edge than any he had composed before and formed the group HAREM, with which he performed a mixture of electronic and acoustic music. In 1994 He went solo again, returning to a more ethnic style of acoustic music and and devotes himself exclusively to Dilruba, a violin of Radjasthan. Since then, he's been acknowledged an essential musician, both in France and abroad. The list of people he worked with would be far too long to mention, but we can name a few: John McLAUGHLIN, NICO, MAURANE, Michael HUTCHENCE (INXS), STING, Jean-Louis AUBERT(TELEPHONE), SAPHO, STING, ... In 1996 , he composes “Talisman” , an incomparable cd in which he plays all instruments (dilruba, santur, saz, harmonium, sitar, rebab afghan rebab and keyborad) mixing with subltility spaces electronic and acoustic (recorded in Dragonfly Studio -Youth - Killing joke/ London). Some friends took part in this Mad Sheer Khan's instrumental voyage, Nigel Eaton (hurdy gurdy) and the voice of Dierdra on "Voodoo Valley" (Ekova). Signed in 1999 by the prestigious Label Erato , represented in the United States by Atlantic Records Company, he composes and produces the incredible one and essential, "1001 nights", pacifist disc to unify who brings together 7 female vocalists, Mary Redhouse, Kunchok Lama, Nourith, Fela Ababsa, Mamani Keita, Parvin Javdan and Sharmila Roy, from the world to interpret songs based on poems from the book 1001 Tales of the Arabian Nights in their own native tongues (6th in European World Charts of 1999, Songlines and official selection of the RFI 2000 awards) . Native America, Tibet, Israel/Palestine, Algeria, Africa, Persia and India are all represented here, with the artist's expressed goal to "convey the diversity of the world through a common spirit." A stellar multicultural lineup of musicians tailoring each song to its singer : with the two masters SUBRAMANIAM (violin) and ALLA (Ud) and the strings of Bulgaria's Plovdiv Chamber Orchestra. In 2000, he records "Mahjuba" in the honor of his mother. With his album, "Samarkand Hotel" (2002), Mad Sheer Khan revisited the work of Hendrix through the sound of his Dilruba Why then call his first live album "Samarkand Hotel ? Well, just because this artist pays here tribute to Jimi HENDRIX, as well as to the place in Portobello Road (London) where he spent his last night. Samarkand is also the name of a town in Uzbekistan, on the former silk road, and that thus reminds of Arabic and Persian roots. The hypnotic percussions blend the ritual transe with a new form of electroacoustic . It is hard to classify this recording. It is world music, but also dreamtime psychedelia, and simply an incredible jam. Mad Sheer Khan has taken legendary rock songs like "All Along the Watchtower" by Bob Dylan; "Stone Free," "Purple Haze," "Voodoo Chile," "Fire" and "If 6 was 9," by Jimi Hendrix; and "Changes" by Buddy Miles, plus a handful of original pieces “John Lee Hooker”, “Believe”, and has recreated them with an unconventional jam band. Mad sheer Khan's collaborators play Indian tabla, African drums and drone instruments such as the harmonium and tanpura. The effect is a metamorphosis of rock songs into trance-like dilruba improvisations that sounds like an electric guitar processed with distortion effects. 4 years of a Tour where a singer and a 500 year old instrument affirmed with power their single place on the international rock scene : “The music of Mad Sheer Khan takes with the tripe and the heart while making us travel well beyond our borders... The songs of Hendrix and his own compositions, both mix in a very natural way". 2008 , "DEMONCRACY" As many visited topics which are in the peace fight of Mad Sheer Khan, in the line of the rebel Seventies from where he is coming. This fifteen-track album features a solidarity call sent to pacifist American people, “US Rebel", which also fight against the abuses of the Bush government. Two magnificent tributes, one to the muse of the Velvet Underground, NICO, with whom he recorded in 1981 this same "Orly Flight", a hymn to illegal immigrant . The other one is devoted to EDWIN STAR and his so popular title " War" which transposes the Vietnam war to the current situation in Iraq .. A title of hope "Awake" whose words were written for the music of Mad Sheer Khan by a high Buddhist dignitary "the 12e reincarnation of the Tal Stupa". An album which awakes us, which surprise, rich of the tumults of the life, of sadness too often familiar up to the acid laugh, from the lampoon on political cynicism until the primal energy of the combative rock'n'roll, Mad Sheer Khan once again surprises us by his diversity and its richness. 13 songs whose texts without compromise, are engaged against all slaughters without frontiers, including "Supermad" and "L’eau Rance d’Arabie" 2 titles written in French. A Pop Rock sound which brings us up to the heart of a Tribal Rock mixed with the powerful breath of his faithful dilruba, violin of India to the definitely inexhaustible sonorities expressed by this brillant virtuoso, rare and visionary.