Tariq is a Juno nominated songwriter and recording artist with a music career that spans over two decades. A child of immigrant parents, he grew up on a healthy diet of Bollywood soundtracks. Then, in high school, he got his hands on an acoustic guitar and started writing songs which sounded more like Bob Dylan and Neil Young and less like Mohammed Rafi. By the end of the nineties, Tariq had released two full-length albums, Splat, and The Basement Songs, the latter released on EMI Music Canada in the late nineties earning him national radio play as well as a Juno nomination for Best New Solo Artist. 

In 2006, Tariq moved to Vancouver where he signed on to host a music show called Tariqs Basement Studio which aired on CBC Radio 3 and SIRIUS satellite radio. He also took on hosting duties for the much-loved Sessions Podcast featuring in-depth conversations and in-studio performances by artists like Sam Roberts, Neko Case, The Sadies, Hayden and many more. 

In 2015 Tariq released Telegrams, his fifth, full-length album and follow up to the 2013 Moonwalker EP. On this album he explored a highly narrative style and traded autobiographical songwriting for fictional plots and characters. Guest appearances on Telegrams include heavy-hitters like J.P. Carter (Destroyer) on trumpet and Jesse Zubot (Tanya Tagaq) on violin. 

In addition to music, Tariq has always been passionate about writing and has written feature articles for The Walrus on the craft of modern songwriting. He currently teaches songwriting at the UBC in the School of Creative Writing and is thrilled to return to the CBC airwaves as the weekend host for the flagship show, Afterdark.