In Episode 3 of the PRESENT Podcast I talk with one of my favorite music producers Kareem Ali كريم علي, a musician and composer from New York, now based in Tucson, Arizona.
I really enjoy Kareem's work now for many years and wanted to know more about his life, his background, his motivations and his whole process.
We talked about the importance of bringing positive messages to his community through music. Afrofuturism is Kareem's guiding light and iconic innovators such as Sun Ra, Herbie Hancock, Larry Heard, Underground Resistance and Drexciya all have shaped his worldview.
His first musical love was jazz, and he found an early hero in Miles Davis and the Kind of Blue LP, which inspired him to pick up the trumpet as a teenager. More than a decade later, he's still playing, now in the electronic music field, with forays into house, techno, ambient, R&B, garage, drum and bass.
I was always impressed by Kareem’s consistent and high-quality output and it was great to find out more about his way of life and his process from long bike rides in the desert to his idea capturing methods. Enjoy!
Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:22 Early Musical Influences 02:30 Discovering Electronic Music 03:09 Breakthrough During the Pandemic 06:10 Leaving New York: A Fresh Start in Arizona 08:31 Creative Process and Daily Routine 12:00 Overcoming Perfectionism and Releasing Music 16:30 Journey of Playing the Trumpet 19:50 Afrofuturism: Music as a Message of Hope 25:10 The Power of Routine and Discipline 28:30 Staying Inspired and Avoiding Creative Blocks 28:37 Treating Creativity Like a Job 30:55 Financial Realities of a Music Career 31:48 Balancing Side Gigs and Passion Projects 35:05 Afrofuturism and Personal Identity 37:20 Advice for Young Artists 42:00 Future of Music and Society 46:49 Staying Focused and Managing Stress 52:30 Favorite Unrealised Project and Dream Collaborations
Kareem Ali Links: https://www.instagram.com/kmx15 https://kareemali19.bandcamp.com https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/artist/4Uhgu5miW68A3eqRl26xtf
Hugo and PRESENT: https://www.instagram.com/present_xx https://www.present.zone https://www.instagram.com/hugohoppmann https://www.hugohoppmann.com https://hugohoppmann.substack.com