Some records come to the world at their appointed moment. The heat of the contextual social atmosphere is particular enough to make us call that music “urgent” or “essential.” Those records attain musical truth via their time and place, relying on external factors to deepen their beauty. There is no shame in this, but pride and joy at crystallizing history beyond the boundaries of language.
Ishta, this debut EP from guitarist Ahmed Warshanna, is not that. Rather, this EP comes of its own accord. It is a breath of fresh air.
The five tracks on Ishta are a musical journey that could have been released at any point in the last half century and would still contain the same multitude of musical truths that they do today. By shrugging off temporal burdens, Ishta demands relevancy across historical contexts. This music necessitates itself.
Though this music is steeped in timelessness, it is not at all unmoored. Ahmed’s music is, rather, centrally grounded by its physical occupation in the world as a dual citizen of both Egyptian and American musical tradition. Place is an exploration of self. This music proves that.
Here is a call to search for meaning in the diasporic, to center ourselves at the intersections of inner-identities that can be disparate and otherwise opposed. With this music, the chains of heritage do not bind and arrest, but are jewelry, and liberate the spirit through a celebration of its weighted beauty.
1. Inty Omry – Ahmed Warshanna (9:33)
2. Alf Leila - Ahmed Warshanna (9:13)
3. Samaka – Ahmed Warshanna (6:58)
4. Azra’ – Ahmed Warshanna (8:24)
5. Intisar – Ahmed Warshanna (9:39)
Guitar, Ahmed Warshanna
Trumpet, Hart Guonjian-Pettit
Tenor, Saxophone Dominic Ellis
Trombone, Daniel Sperlein
Piano, Josh Miller
Bass, Thomas Owens
Drums, Charlie Seda
Record Label: Tiber River
Recorded and Mixed By: Noah Maruyama
Mastered By: Alan Wonneberger
Production Coordination: Alan Wonneberger, Matt Belzer, Tom Lagana
