Gazal is a semi-classical genre of music and poetry that traces its origin to the early Islamic Caliphates of Arabia. It soon spread to Persia, where it modified and assimilated influences from other Persian poetry, and eventually travelled to the Indian Subcontinent with the rise of the early Islamic Sultanates. Gazals were initially strongly associated with Sufi mystics but it soon developed a secular style as well.

Gazal is a poetic expression of love, pain and suffering, and the beauty of separation and suffering. It is written in a fixed meter and uses highly literary Urdu and Hindi that requires proficient command over the languages to understand. Despite their high brow nature, Gazals remain immensely popular to this day for their themes of unrequited love and the beauty of longing. The tunes are based on Hindustani Raagas and involve Tabla, Harmonium and bow instruments like fiddle or Sarangi.

Iliyas Khan and his group members are all Classical musicians with many years of experience. Iliyas Khan is from Saini and Lucknow Gharana, while the Tabla player Ilyas Khan is from Lucknow Gharana and Sarangi player, Zeeshan, is from Panipat-Sonipat Gharana of Hindustani Classical Music.