Sameer Remtulla - singer & songwriter

Sameer Remtulla (also known as Sam Rem) is a classically and contemporary trained singer and multi-talented musician, songwriter, and producer, from Calgary, AB. He has performed across Canada, USA, and on international stages. Along with performing, Sameer has produced, written, and performed on numerous international musical projects.

Sameer's musical journey and love for the arts began like most others, through exposure of music at a young age in the Jamatkhanas of Calgary through ginans, qasidas, geets, devotional music, and dandia/raas celebrations. From this exposure, Sameer developed an immense love and respect for music, music creation and the intricacies behind it, ultimately evolving to have playlists on his iPod cycle between a variety of genres that most wouldn't expect: devotional music, rap, bollywood, hip-hop, ginans/qasidas, pop, jazz, central asian, blues, hindustani classical, european classical, etc. His formal music journey began in middle school, where he started playing trumpet as part of the school's jazz band. After spending the year learning the instrument and basics in music theory, Sameer then moved over to learning various percussion instruments, including the drums, timpani, congas, bongos, marimbas, xylophone, etc. From there, Sameer joined the Calgary Ismaili marching band as a snare drum player, performing at various march pasts at khushiali celebrations and stampede breakfasts. From there, Sameer continued as a drummer and percussionist with various school ensembles (jazz, orchestral, etc.) through high school, performing throughout Alberta.

During his University years at the University of Alberta and Ottawa, Sameer continued his musical journey, self teaching himself piano in his spare time. After developing deep passion and countless hours learning, Sameer joined and performed at various Dandia/Raas programs in Edmonton and Ottawa, cycling between the keyboard and drums, along with performing bollywood piano instrumentals at various private events. In 2010, Sameer moved back to Calgary to begin his professional career, but continued to focus on his musical endeavors on the side at the same time. It was at this time Sameer enrolled in Hindustani classical vocal training by Guruji Nishi Kant Bali, a vocalist who has trained various modern artists such as Raghav and PropheC. 

At the same time, Sameer was a founding member of the Calgary-based dandia-raas band Kashish, performing both as a keyboardist and a vocalist. Sameer was also a vocalist with the devotional ensemble Tasmiya which was selected for the Jubilee Arts Canada National Festival and featured as part of Salim-Sulaiman’s global Diamond Jubilee tribute, Jubilee Mubarak. Sameer also performed at the Jubilee Arts Canada National Festival as a soloist, performing Maher Zain and Atif Aslam's devotional song "I'm Alive" to a rendition he self produced. Sameer was also a founding member of the musical group SRQ Productions, which has written and produced various original compositions that blend Hindi and English lyrics to various styles of instrumentation from Indian, R&B, pop, blues, etc.   You might recognize some of Sameer's work from Ismaili TV or Friday Night Reflections throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, where he is often seen or heard alongside Ismaili artists from across Canada and around the world. He has written, co-written, and/or helped coordinate artists from all over the world on various productions such as You Are Not Alone (alongside his SRQ team and Tanzeel Bhaidani), Dear Mawla (co-written with Tanzeel Bhaidani), Tere Liye (co-written with Fez Meghani, Tanzeel Bhaidani, Mohammed Samji, and Aabid Fazal), and Shukrana (co-written with Zaheed Damani). Sameer also had the opportunity to be featured in various global productions, including Aaya Mawlana, composed by Zaheed Damani and Mowla Mera Ishq Tu, composed by Karim Barolia. Along with songwriting and performing, Sameer also hosted or participated in live virtual performances for Jamats around the world including Dubai, various cities and regions in the USA, France, Belgium, Switzerland, and the Ivory Coast. 

His work is often multi-lingual, with eastern and western influences, integrating several genres into his sound not only on his own productions, but on the live stage. He has performed live across Canada, USA, and in Europe, and collaborated with hundreds of singers and musicians from all over. He also had the opportunity to perform for the global Jamat in Lisbon Portugal for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations alongside Tanzeel Bhaidani and various artists from around the world. 

Check out some of his music on YouTube, or find him Instagram or Facebook