Draft:Obay Alsharani
Obay Alsharani is a Syrian artist based in Stockholm, Sweden. He started releasing music on SoundCloud in 2013 under the name Khan El Rouh. His music back then has been described as lofi hip hop beats with old arabic samples.[1] Inspired by the Swedish landscape, Northern Lights, the music of C418 (the musician behind Minecraft's soundtrack), Boards Of Canada, Colleen and Celer and in uncertainty about his future residency Alsharani released his debut album Sandbox with UK label Hive Mind Records on February 19th, 2021.[2][3][4]
Later that year Alsharani contributed a song to @0, a charity compilation album by Coldcut and Mixmaster Morris.[5]
Personal Life
[edit]When Alsharani was a child, his father had a job at an unspecified Japanese car company. This led to him having access to a lot of foreign music like The Beatles.[2]
In 2009 Alsharani started studying civil engineering at the University of Damascus.[2]
After the situation in his hometown of Damascus worsened, Alsharani fled Bashar al-Assads Syria in 2014. Following an Erasmus scholarship to Sweden, he lived in a refugee centre for a year.[2] In this time especially, Obay found refuge in the Swedish video game Minecraft.
Shortly after fleeing the country, Alsharani's cousin, who he studied with and who was politically active, was arrested and killed under torture.[2]
Discography
[edit]Albums
- Sandbox (2021)
Trivia
[edit]The coverart for Sandbox was created by Alsharani using video feedback art.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ "Below The Radar 36". The Wire. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Muggs, Joe (9 March 2021). "Obay Alsharani: the Syrian refugee keeping his mind free with ambient music". The Guardian.
- ^ a b Chuter, Jack (26 February 2022). "Crucial Listening #97: Obay Alsharani". ATTN Magazine.
- ^ "Hive Mind Records". Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- ^ Bergstrom, John (23 February 2022). "Coldcut Teams with Ryuichi Sakamoto, Suzanne Ciani, Steve Roach and More on '@0'". PopMatters. Retrieved 4 December 2023.