The composer, pianist and producer Omar Akram received a unique experience as a child. Living in different countries made the worlds of the East and the West equally close to him. The first Afghan musician living in America to receive a Grammy for Best New Age Album.
Omar Akram began to study music in early childhood. Parents, wanting to at least slightly calm the energy of the hyperactive offspring, presented him with a piano and invited a teacher. However, the kid composed his own tunes, not wanting to learn.
The beginning of the way
The biography of the future celebrity began in 1964. The boy was born in New York on November 23 in the family of a diplomat representing Afghanistan at the UN.
Due to the peculiarities of the father's profession, the parents often changed their place of residence. The boy has traveled to many countries. The child began to study music at the age of six. Despite the desire only to create his own melodies, he came to the conclusion that study was necessary. Omar studied with a musician of the Prague Symphony Orchestra.
From the age of 14, the teenager performed with local bands in Havana. Passion for electronic music ended after getting acquainted with the work of Lanz and Winston. In 1993, Akram returned to the States. He gave solo performances in Los Angeles.
In 2002, the musician presented his first album, Opal Fire. The novelty immediately won recognition, taking high positions in the Billboard magazine ranking. The author creates multicultural works without reference to specific countries. This is his creative credo.
Confession
He works in the direction of new age with an oriental and Latin ethnic bias. The listeners noticed the peculiarities of writing from the first experience of Omar. Like his debut compilation, the second album, "Free as a Bird", was released by the composer under the name Omar in collaboration with Greg Karukas, who became both a sound engineer and a producer. The author indicated the full name from the third disc.
Collaboration with top-class musicians has brought variety to the soundtrack of the creations. The sound of an acoustic piano and keyboards was combined with a guitar and flute, ethnic percussion instruments were used. Almost all plays are thematically related to travel. You can hear the motives of wanderings, fanned by romance, or flights to the worlds of feelings of two hearts.
One of the most famous admirers of the composer is the writer Paolo Coelho. Thousands of new fans have brought the use of "Dancing with the wind" as music to the writer's Myspace page.
Living with music
The maestro lives with his wife, daughter and son in Los Angeles. Akram continues to enter the world's most prestigious venues, loves to travel, he studies traditions, trends and styles.
He perfectly knows several foreign languages, but prefers to speak with fans in the international language of music, which is not afraid of cultural barriers.
His work gives people a sense of peace and harmony. In amazing compositions, oriental accents are often heard, exotic motives complement the sound.
The work of the 2014 Gramm winner for the Echoes of Love collection is understandable and close to everyone. Music makes you immerse yourself in it, evoking its own video sequence for each listener.
