Tag Archives: Omar Ahmad

Mixtape #160

03 June 2024


An integral part of Brooklyn's underground electronic scene, Palestinian-American composer, producer, and DJ Omar Ahmad conquered our ears with Inheritance, his sublime debut album, which was one of our Album Picks of 2023. A self-taught multi-instrumentalist, Ahmad delves deep into themes and feelings of empathy, disconnection, and longing, and explores profound questions of heritage and intergenerational trauma. His enveloping compositions transport us to a world where every note carries a story of tenderness and connection. This month we're treated to a mixtape put together by him reflecting his unique, genre-bending style. Enjoy!

  1. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – First Flight [Western Vinyl]
  2. Nico Georis – A Rainbow in Curved Air [Spiritual Pajamas]
  3. Dave DK – Halma [Kompakt]
  4. Romare – Down the Line (It Takes a Number) [Black Acre]
  5. Nicolas Jaar – The Three Sides of Audrey and Why She’s All Alone Now [Other People]
  6. CFCF – Keys [Paper Bag Records]
  7. Wet – Old Bone (Jim-E Stack Remix) [Columbia Records]
  8. John Frusciante & Josh Klinghoffer – Sphere [Record Collection]
  9. Visible Cloaks (with Motion Graphics) – Terrazzo [Rvng Intl.]
  10. Dauwd – Theory of Colours [Technicolour]
  11. Animal Collective – Visiting Friends [FatCat Records]
  12. Balmorhea – Truth [Western Vinyl]

Omar Ahmad’s solo debut album, Inheritance, out now

08 July 2023

Yesterday saw the release of Inheritance, the solo debut album from Palestinian-American composer, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and DJ Omar Ahmad. Poignant and reflective, the album is influenced by contrasting feelings as the press release describes, such as “empathy / disconnection, loss / discovery, longing / isolation.”

On the run up to the album release, Ahmad had shared two singles, ‘Lapses’ and ‘Cygnet Song’.  ‘Lapses’ was offered with a moving video created by Ahmad, visual artist ACE and painter Singha Hon. Of the song, Ahmad said:

“‘Lapses’ is a solitary walk at night. Relinquishing control, tension, and pain as your feet trod aimlessly. Letting the visions overcome you, falling through lapses in time, lapses in judgement, lapses in focus. This track represents a catharsis for me in many ways and of all the songs on Inheritance it most adequately summarizes the emotional cascade of life at the time of its writing. A hopefulness bursts through the melancholy, and a path materializes out of the ether, pulsing and inviting you to continue on.”

The second single, ‘Cygnet Song’, is also charged with emotional force and cements Ahmad as an artist capable of striking tenderness. He had this to say abou the track:

“I lost something between early childhood and high school, and gained another. “Cygnet Song” is a gentle yet somber, cyclical tale of losing oneself and rediscovering what makes me … me, and lamenting the time with myself that I lost. The simplicity and softness of the guitar layers and unfinished textural quality are an ode to childhood, and retaining the fragile soul amid the desire to refine ourselves in the public eye.”

Check out both tracks below and be sure to listen to the whole album, you’ll encounter a platter of emotions.

Inheritance is out now through AKP Recordings.