Asad Ahmed drops third solo album ‘Ascension’

Veteran guitarist’s latest ensemble includes seven tracks featuring Omran Shafique, Anas Alam among others

KARACHI:

 

Earlier in July, veteran guitarist and producer Asad Ahmed had dropped an instrumental EP called Severe Cuts. Being his second solo release, Severe Cuts was a product of spontaneity with all the tracks being written and produced within the first three months of the lockdown.

Now, Ahmed has released his third solo album titled Ascension, which was made available worldwide on various streaming platforms December 10, 2020, stated a press release.

The ensemble contains seven new tracks includingThe Second Coming, Ascension, Call of the Wild, The War Within, Speedin Down Kolachi Town, Through the Astral Plane and Summer Sun Ride. All the tracks were recorded through November 2019 to March 2020.

The album also features guest appearances by Omran Shafique on the guitars, Anas Alam Khan and Russell D’Souza on the bass, and Karavan’s Allan Smith on drums and percussion.

"Ascension is the next chapter in my journey as a producer and instrumentalist,” said Ahmed. “I really believe that fans are going to love this one. I could have waited longer to release it but with the success of Rebirth and Severe Cuts I feel that releasing new material every six months is paramount to building a solid foundation,” asserted the musician.

In Severe Cuts, Ahmed had played all the instruments himself with the exception of drums that were laid down by Smith. He also recorded and engineered the album alone. Under usual circumstances, for any new release the practice is to hold live shows in order to capitalise on the effort. But with the new normal, Ahmed was least bothered. In fact, this period of being physically isolated from the world at large is what “drove him to deliver new songs.”

“There aren’t going to be any live shows for the next year and that’s a global phenomenon. This is something I did for the fans,” Ahmed had said in July. “I even added new tracks to the album I shelved. I have been recording constantly. And I am still recording,” he concluded.

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