From Europe to the United States and Hip Hop to EDM, iSHi’s career embodies bridging the gap.
Words: Kiah Fields
Born and raised in Stockholm, Eshraque “iSHi” Mughal began turning his fascination in music into a career from a young age. He started producing music for Swedish acts at 17, endowed with the ability to play piano, drums, bass, and guitar. Through the early 2000s, iSHi climbed the industry totem pole, producing records for successful Swedish artists like Petter, Darin and Agnes. In 2010, iSHi produced the number one UK hit “Written in the Stars” by Tinie Tempah featuring Eric Turner, and his career in Europe took off.
iSHi grew up a child of Indian immigrants, with his father born in Kenya and his mother in Tanzania. After years of traveling through Europe, his family relocated to Sweden. Growing up in Stockholdm, iSHi was exposed to a mixture of Hip Hop, techno and rock. Artists like Nirvana, Babyface, Wu-Tang Clan, the Neptunes and Scott Storch all had a hand in his early development. He spent hours upon hours studying the credits of the new albums his brother would bring home every week to quench his thirst for music knowledge.
iSHi’s unique mix of experience and influence was the perfect catalyst for breaking into the American market. In the beginning he suffered the challenges of being an outsider, having to work around the bells and whistles of the industry’s inner circles. His biggest hurdle was getting “artists to jump on [his] tracks,” but through his persistence and undeniable ability, eventually artists would reach out to him for work. Usher, Shakira, Lupe Fiasco and more extended their hands in collaboration, working with iSHi in his early years in the United States. This allowed him to begin building his brand in the worlds most competitive music market, and in 2015 his efforts began to show fruit.
Last February, he caught the attention of G.O.O.D. Music president Pusha T with his electronic crossover style and high energy beat, “Push It.” After hearing the track, Pusha immediately wanted to work with iSHi and sent over his verses to put out the record. The buzz created by that single was able to make way for iSHi’s most recent release, “We Run,” featuring the legendary Raekwon alongside French Montana and Wale.
iSHi has been able to synchronize two different genres of music in a way only someone brought up outside the confines of American popular culture might be able to. His fresh take on production allows iSHi to construct a sound that pushes boundaries and grabs the attention of the industry’s powers-that-be. With a transcontinental style of collaboration unique to his generation, iSHi is taking advantage of getting his music out to the world. While there aren’t too many details iSHi is at liberty to expose about his current album in progress, he describes it as “something new,” much like the genre defying music he’s released in the past.
