Closer To Stranger is the new solo album by Pakistani-born dream-folk musician Ilyas Ahmed. Drawing on a wide range of influences, his songs incorporate classic singer-songwriter gestures alongside more experimental leanings. Recorded to tape in the studio by Justin Higgins in the fall of 2016 and finished in the spring of 2017, Ahmed’s instrumental palette includes: acoustic and electric 6 and 12-string guitars, Fender Rhodes, multiple keyboards, tanpura, and percussion. Closer To Stranger stands as a meditation on uneasy identity politics during times of unreason, seeking peace amidst chaos.
Jonathan Sielaff (of Thrill Jockey ambient duo Golden Retriever) cameos with guest saxophone on “Zero For Below” but otherwise the album is a solo affair, alternately feverish, tense, hazed, hypnotic, and narcotic. A slowly unfolding inward journey of late night lullabies and contemplative electric drift.
Tracklist:
01. Meditation on the Split Self (04:22)
02. False Front (02:56)
03. Passing Lines (05:17)
04. Zero for Below (04:05)
05. Fever Pitch (05:10)
06. Cancel to Reveal (04:21)
07. Untitled #1 (02:38)
08. Sleepwalker (05:46)
09. Untitled #2 (01:51)
10. Furtherness (04:43)
11. Two Steps Away (04:05)
![Great Lake Swimmers - A Forest of Arms (2015) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]](https://getimg.link/images/imgimgimg/uploads/2019/04/GMPBccL.jpg "Great Lake Swimmers - A Forest of Arms (2015) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]")
![Great Lake Swimmers - A Forest of Arms (2015) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]](https://getimg.link/images/imgimgimg/uploads/2019/11/GMPBccL.jpg "Great Lake Swimmers - A Forest of Arms (2015) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]")
![Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemaker - Rehab Reunion (2016/2018) [FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]](https://getimg.link/images/imgimgimg/uploads/2018/12/RzVcWWT.jpg "Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemaker - Rehab Reunion (2016/2018) [FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]")
![Bob Dylan - The Cutting Edge 1965-1966: Bootleg Series Vol. 12 {Deluxe Edition} (2015) [HDTracks FLAC 24bit/96kHz]](https://getimg.link/images/imgimgimg/uploads/2016/04/Gkvnwpj.jpg "Bob Dylan - The Cutting Edge 1965-1966: Bootleg Series Vol. 12 {Deluxe Edition} (2015) [HDTracks FLAC 24bit/96kHz]")
![Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo - Almanac (2011) [LINN FLAC 24bit/88.2kHz]](https://getimg.link/images/imgimgimg/uploads/2016/03/GNO8JvD.jpg "Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo - Almanac (2011) [LINN FLAC 24bit/88.2kHz]")
![Matt Mays - Twice Upon a Hell of a Time… (2018) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]](https://getimg.link/images/imgimgimg/uploads/2019/02/C1JCoc2.jpg "Matt Mays - Twice Upon a Hell of a Time… (2018) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]")
![Ani DiFranco - Binary (2017) [HDTracks FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]](https://getimg.link/images/imgimgimg/uploads/2017/10/kNyi7Oe.jpg "Ani DiFranco - Binary (2017) [HDTracks FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]")
![Paul Simon - You’re The One (2000/2015) [PonoMusic FLAC 24bit/96kHz]](https://getimg.link/images/imgimgimg/uploads/2016/08/4iJnffn.jpg "Paul Simon - You’re The One (2000/2015) [PonoMusic FLAC 24bit/96kHz]")
![Samantha Crain - You Had Me At Goodbye (2017) [Qobuz FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]](https://getimg.link/images/imgimgimg/uploads/2019/08/3oekngO.jpg "Samantha Crain - You Had Me At Goodbye (2017) [Qobuz FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]")
![Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate (1971/1995) [Qobuz FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]](https://getimg.link/images/imgimgimg/uploads/2016/11/7Q1WOaP.jpg "Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate (1971/1995) [Qobuz FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]")
![Luluc - Sculptor (2018) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]](https://getimg.link/images/imgimgimg/uploads/2018/12/alBm7Un.jpg "Luluc - Sculptor (2018) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]")
![Michael Chapman - 50 (2017) [Qobuz FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]](https://getimg.link/images/imgimgimg/uploads/2019/01/vKhqNq4.jpg "Michael Chapman - 50 (2017) [Qobuz FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]")
