Featuring appearances from Nicolas Jaar, Rosalía, Daniel Caesar and Clairo, Sudanese-Canadian artist Mustafa's second album is a tender, heartbreaking set of soulful reflections on God, romance and trauma that'll appeal to fans of Sampha or Sufjan Stevens.
Formerly known as Mustafa the Poet, Mustafa Ahmed is a gifted songwriter, having penned singles for The Weeknd and Camila Cabello. So it was hardly surprising that his debut, 2021's 'When Smoke Rises' was a starry affair, with production from James Blake, Jamie xx and Sampha, among others. Comparatively, 'Dunya' is a stripped-down affair; it feels more intimate than its predecessor, and is right at home on Jagjaguwar. Mustafa offers his own soul-inspired take on folk, wrapping his poetic words - that touch on raw, personal subjects - in subtle production touches and languid acoustic plucks. But it's a surprisingly weighty record that buries its eccentricities beneath a veneer of pleasantness. 'What good is a heart?' is a familiar, banjo-led whisper, and Mustafa's careful not to overwhelm his crystalline voice with extraneous elements, but the gentle orchestrations that simmer beneath the surface are just dramatic enough to punctuate his romance.
Similarly, the muted clapped polyrhythms and choral chants on 'I'll Go Anywhere' point outside of Mustafa's comfortable framework, and 'Old Life', one of the album's most tender, affecting moments, swaps the folk arpeggios for syncopated thuds and kora-like plucks. On 'Gaza is Calling', Mustafa integrates Arabesque instrumentation into a moving ballad, and he enlists Danial Caesar to help out on the lilting, sample heavy 'Leaving Toronto'.
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Featuring appearances from Nicolas Jaar, Rosalía, Daniel Caesar and Clairo, Sudanese-Canadian artist Mustafa's second album is a tender, heartbreaking set of soulful reflections on God, romance and trauma that'll appeal to fans of Sampha or Sufjan Stevens.
Formerly known as Mustafa the Poet, Mustafa Ahmed is a gifted songwriter, having penned singles for The Weeknd and Camila Cabello. So it was hardly surprising that his debut, 2021's 'When Smoke Rises' was a starry affair, with production from James Blake, Jamie xx and Sampha, among others. Comparatively, 'Dunya' is a stripped-down affair; it feels more intimate than its predecessor, and is right at home on Jagjaguwar. Mustafa offers his own soul-inspired take on folk, wrapping his poetic words - that touch on raw, personal subjects - in subtle production touches and languid acoustic plucks. But it's a surprisingly weighty record that buries its eccentricities beneath a veneer of pleasantness. 'What good is a heart?' is a familiar, banjo-led whisper, and Mustafa's careful not to overwhelm his crystalline voice with extraneous elements, but the gentle orchestrations that simmer beneath the surface are just dramatic enough to punctuate his romance.
Similarly, the muted clapped polyrhythms and choral chants on 'I'll Go Anywhere' point outside of Mustafa's comfortable framework, and 'Old Life', one of the album's most tender, affecting moments, swaps the folk arpeggios for syncopated thuds and kora-like plucks. On 'Gaza is Calling', Mustafa integrates Arabesque instrumentation into a moving ballad, and he enlists Danial Caesar to help out on the lilting, sample heavy 'Leaving Toronto'.
Featuring appearances from Nicolas Jaar, Rosalía, Daniel Caesar and Clairo, Sudanese-Canadian artist Mustafa's second album is a tender, heartbreaking set of soulful reflections on God, romance and trauma that'll appeal to fans of Sampha or Sufjan Stevens.
Formerly known as Mustafa the Poet, Mustafa Ahmed is a gifted songwriter, having penned singles for The Weeknd and Camila Cabello. So it was hardly surprising that his debut, 2021's 'When Smoke Rises' was a starry affair, with production from James Blake, Jamie xx and Sampha, among others. Comparatively, 'Dunya' is a stripped-down affair; it feels more intimate than its predecessor, and is right at home on Jagjaguwar. Mustafa offers his own soul-inspired take on folk, wrapping his poetic words - that touch on raw, personal subjects - in subtle production touches and languid acoustic plucks. But it's a surprisingly weighty record that buries its eccentricities beneath a veneer of pleasantness. 'What good is a heart?' is a familiar, banjo-led whisper, and Mustafa's careful not to overwhelm his crystalline voice with extraneous elements, but the gentle orchestrations that simmer beneath the surface are just dramatic enough to punctuate his romance.
Similarly, the muted clapped polyrhythms and choral chants on 'I'll Go Anywhere' point outside of Mustafa's comfortable framework, and 'Old Life', one of the album's most tender, affecting moments, swaps the folk arpeggios for syncopated thuds and kora-like plucks. On 'Gaza is Calling', Mustafa integrates Arabesque instrumentation into a moving ballad, and he enlists Danial Caesar to help out on the lilting, sample heavy 'Leaving Toronto'.
Featuring appearances from Nicolas Jaar, Rosalía, Daniel Caesar and Clairo, Sudanese-Canadian artist Mustafa's second album is a tender, heartbreaking set of soulful reflections on God, romance and trauma that'll appeal to fans of Sampha or Sufjan Stevens.
Formerly known as Mustafa the Poet, Mustafa Ahmed is a gifted songwriter, having penned singles for The Weeknd and Camila Cabello. So it was hardly surprising that his debut, 2021's 'When Smoke Rises' was a starry affair, with production from James Blake, Jamie xx and Sampha, among others. Comparatively, 'Dunya' is a stripped-down affair; it feels more intimate than its predecessor, and is right at home on Jagjaguwar. Mustafa offers his own soul-inspired take on folk, wrapping his poetic words - that touch on raw, personal subjects - in subtle production touches and languid acoustic plucks. But it's a surprisingly weighty record that buries its eccentricities beneath a veneer of pleasantness. 'What good is a heart?' is a familiar, banjo-led whisper, and Mustafa's careful not to overwhelm his crystalline voice with extraneous elements, but the gentle orchestrations that simmer beneath the surface are just dramatic enough to punctuate his romance.
Similarly, the muted clapped polyrhythms and choral chants on 'I'll Go Anywhere' point outside of Mustafa's comfortable framework, and 'Old Life', one of the album's most tender, affecting moments, swaps the folk arpeggios for syncopated thuds and kora-like plucks. On 'Gaza is Calling', Mustafa integrates Arabesque instrumentation into a moving ballad, and he enlists Danial Caesar to help out on the lilting, sample heavy 'Leaving Toronto'.