Fusion it to me baby - introducing Abu Ashley and habibi house

Posted by: Polar Vortex 6 years, 4 months ago

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I have a soft spot in my heart for fusion. Something about taking two very different things and swirling (not blending) them together in such a way that this union intensifies the essential qualities of both while creating something new really does a number on me. Cuisine, movies, art, architecture - all of them feature amazing examples of how a mixture of different genres can rejuvenate the style and portray something familiar in a completely new light. Music in general and in my opinion electronic music in particular offers perhaps some of the most vibrant examples of fusion. Perhaps due to the availability of infinite digital library of sounds to compose from or the ease of collaboration between artists residing on different sides of the planet, but when it comes to emerging genres electronic music has no competition. From electro swing to gypsy trip hop one can find literally anything. Today I’d like to show you a great example of such fusion called habibi house. I was recently introduced to the musical stylings of Abu Ashley - an emerging artist based out of Brooklyn. Seamlessly blending Middle Eastern melodies and drums with chill ambient house and techno, Abu Ashley takes his listener on a musical magic carpet ride. I think the most difficult thing to accomplish with fusion genres is the balance between the components and the “swirl”. Use too much of one component and you end up with lopsided monster of a track. Blend too much and both components lose their flavor. A great fusion track is supposed to be like a delicious marble cake - both chocolate and vanilla present in every bite.

Abu Ashley achieves this effect and makes it look effortless. Check out this release which premiered on rinse.fm. The track was engineered by Tanner Ross (Wolf & Lamb) and executive produced by Jules Born from Voices of Black. The artwork was done by Phil Wong from Hood By Air, and the single was remixed by Alexi Delano of Drumcode. This single is a preview of Abu Ashley’s upcoming EP release on [par•ka] records scheduled for July 15th (vinyl) and July 22nd (digital). I really hope to see more from this artist in the future.


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