The Inspiration Behind the Ya Albi Score

Being able to be a part of a production focused on the Syrian refugee crisis has been very important to me. My heart goes out to those who are victims of such senseless acts of violence and oppression, and while that is not hard enough, having to deal with being separated from loved ones while trying to escape from Syria and other horrible situations. I am a son of an immigrant, as well as a husband of an immigrant. Immigrating to the United States as a foreigner is no easy feat, no matter where you are from, and I was able to use my personal experiences, however significant, to fuel my inspiration for the score. While the situations where not as grave  for myself and loved ones as the ones that the main characters from “My Heart – Ya Albi” have to face, there are some significant parallels we can relate to. These are some of the reasons why I took on this project, I wanted to be a part of something that I knew I could express my compositional abilities to the fullest because of my personal connection.

When I received the script and film, I wanted to us to feel the separation Aya and her husband felt, that is why you will be hearing a male Arabic vocal melody pop up throughout the score. It is as almost as if Aya’s husband calling out to her, and she feels it. I was a part of a long distance relationship for a few years with my wife (back then, girlfriend). She was in Korea working and I was in Boston for College. We felt that we were connected on another level. We even would call each other a lot at the same time (not scheduled). When you are bonded very closely with someone and separated for some time, deeper connections are sometimes made. I noticed this in My Heart – Ya Albi and decided to go with how I would feel in that separation, good and bad.

The Scoring Process

My scoring process usually involves the melody. Being able to come up with a purely original melody that should come alive for the first time for one film, one purpose, it something that is carefully constructed. Sure, I enjoy hearing other people work, but sometimes, like My Heart – Ya Albi, I had to separate myself from other influences and hum something to myself that felt natural. The rest of the harmonies, stylistic (classical, modern, ethnic) choices, and production came later. Once the melody came to me, I know who I wanted to have recorded as a soloist on my score.

My Heart – Ya Albi Recording Session with Cellist Naseem Alatrash

The Music Team

I had the honor and privilege on recording one of my favorite musicians, Layth Sidiq (also known as the “Red Violinist”), a classically trained and successful musician who was born in Bagdad Iraq, grew up in Jordan, and based in Boston, Massachusetts. Layth is also specialized in Arabic Music and has also been able to use his vocal talent on the score for “My Heart – Ya Albi”. I was able to write a song for the film’s end credits in English, and Layth really ran with it and translated it in session into Arabic. This level of passionate collaboration made the score what it is, and I could not have done it without him. We also had the privilege of having Naseem Alatrash, friend and fellow colleague of Layth, who was featured as a cello soloist on the score. I want to give a special mention to Kaushlesh ‘Garry’ Purohit who was our recording engineer for this film.