'A Paradise In The Hold' album announcement!

Today’s the day! My new single is out!

Hey cats!

I hope everyone is well.

I’m bursting with excitement because I can now reveal to you that my fourth studio album, A Paradise In The Hold, will be released on the 28th of February 2025, by Night Time Stories, and preorders are live now!

https://yazz-ahmed.lnk.to/aparadise

Also, today is the release of the first single, the title track to the album. Here’s a trippy visualiser to accompany the music (also featuring the incredible artwork by Sophie Bass) ~

If you would like to hear some of this music live, I’ll be previewing a selection with my quintet and a very special guest vocalist (top secret) this Saturday at Grand Junction, Paddington! Would be lovely to see a friendly crowd!

Here’s where you can book tickets ~

https://grandjunction.org.uk/events/yazz-ahmed/

Thank you all for supporting me on this journey - I’m very excited to share this music with you!

Peace and love,

Yazz x

P.S. If you’re interested, here are the accompanying press notes which describe the album in a little more detail ~

On her new single, Yazz offers: “Composition began during experimentation with recordings from a research trip to hear the Pearl Divers of Muharraq in 2014. I processed short fragments of ceremonial sounds and morphed them into an undulating beat emulating the rise and fall, the breathing of the ocean, the creaking of the boat’s timbers.The piece has evolved during live performances into something of an epic, with solos from myself, George Crowley on bass clarinet and Naadia Sheriff on Fender Rhodes. It continues with a darbuka solo by Corrina Silvester, played over an extended vamp with polyrhythmic clapping from the ensemble, before the uplifting coda. I wanted to paint a picture of the joyful celebrations of the collective efforts of the sailors to bring their riches home.”

A Paradise In The Hold is an album of yearning. It’s about Yazz’s dual heritage, drawing on traditional music and folklore as well as her own personal experience as a British-Bahraini woman. A sweeping epic where tradition meets innovation, she melds ancient rhythms with contemporary musicianship. The record is a tribute to the sorrowful songs of Bahrain’s pearl divers, the strength of Arab women, and the celebratory rhythms of women's traditional drumming circles, while also telling the story of Yazz’s own decade-long voyage of self-discovery. 

On the album, Yazz says: “A thread in my work has been searching for, establishing, and now finally embracing and celebrating my cultural identity. I want to change the narrative about Arab women. So often, they are misrepresented as oppressed, but in Bahrain, there are many creative women forging new paths. I hope this album shines a light on that vibrancy and strength.” 

The album also marks Yazz’s first foray into writing lyrics, in both English and Arabic, bringing a new dimension to her expansive sound. The project features an impressive roster of collaborators, including vocalists Natacha Atlas, Brigitte Beraha, and percussionist Corrina Silvester. An Ivor Novello Award-winning composer and one of the most innovative trumpet players of her generation, with A Paradise In The Hold, Yazz Ahmed delivers a groundbreaking fusion of tradition and innovation, creating a contemporary jazz project that is set to make a lasting impact on the genre.