Yazz Ahmed // The Eisenberg Review Interview
For the past decade as the high priestess of psychedelic Arabic jazz, Yazz Ahmed has been reshaping the possibilities of the genre, bending its contours with Arabic maqams, electronic textures, and deep, hypnotic grooves that craft compellingly textured exploratory soundscapes. On A Paradise In The Hold, the British-Bahraini composer and trumpeter crafts her most expansive sonic world yet: an album inspired by the seafaring history of Bahrain and the untold stories of those who navigated its waters.
Rooted in that rich narrative underpinning, the record finds Ahmed exploring new sonic territory, blending traditional Bahraini rhythms with modular synths, flugelhorn melodies that stretch like mirages, and polyrhythmic structures that evoke the ebb and flow of the tides. Tracks unfold like journeys—some meditative, others feverish and restless—mirroring the push and pull of history and identity. There are echoes of her past work, but here, her vision feels even more fluid, more exploratory, as if she’s chasing a horizon that never quite settles.
I caught up with Ahmed to talk about the inspirations behind A Paradise In The Hold, her musical upbringing, and why she needs to be on a Little Simz track.