Omid

Born in Chicago, living in Iran from age 1 to 7, then moving to Los Angeles right after the Iranian revolution, Omid has seen a lot, and is influenced by it all. Growing up in Los Angeles, Omid got first turned on to Hip Hop by listening to KDAY, L.A.’s first all Hip Hop radio show. Learning early on that rapping or breakdancing was not for him, he did realize he had a fascination with the beats. In junior high, Omid started his first musical experiments, trying to create his own beats by using his only piece of equipment: a tape recorder. Using the record and pause buttons, plus his many tapes of jazz and soul that he taped off of local radio station KXLU, the first Omid beats were born. It wasn’t until freshman year in highschool that he borrowed a simple sampler, the Korg DSS-1, that he was able to make real beats. Though what started as a hobby was soon taken more serious.Attending an open mic in Los Angeles called the “Goodlife” in the early 1990’s was a pivotal moment in Omid’s life. A safe haven for positive, artistic, and innovative poets and musicians, Omid was inspired to take his bedroom beat experiments more seriously, in order to be part of this thriving music scene. At the “Goodlife,” the artists were encouraged to be cutting edge and innovative, if they didn’t want to get the legendary “Please pass the mic!” reception. Already a scene with great producers, Omid knew right away would make him stand out: his roots. This inspired him to research and collect music from Iran and the Middle East, along with the usual jazz, funk, rock, etc. that is the root of hip hop. One day Omid was brave enough to show a Goodlife producer named Ebow his music. Ebow liked what he heard and together they released a home-made beat tape that they sold only at the Goodlife, entitled “Beat Stampede.” Soon, Omid’s beats caught the ears of the local talent and the collaborations began. In 1998, Omid produced “Beneath the Surface,” a 14 song compilation that brought many unknown talents from all over Los Angeles together for one album. This album was also the first official release of many who went on to be L.A. favorites. Omid produced all the songs, tailoring each beat for each dynamic MC, forging collaborations with artists that had never worked together before. Omid originally released the album by himself, and it was re-released in 1999 by Celestial Recordings. Although this album was done strictly for the love, it won Omid critical acclaim in such publications as The New York Times, Spin, and URB. “Beneath the Surface” gave Omid the courage to pursue music as a career full-time. This album was also one of the first, if not the first, to include Persian/Iranian samples in a “hip hop” record.Since “Beneath the Surface”, Omid has produced 2 solo albums, “Distant Drummer” and “Monolith” (Mush Records), plus collaborated with countless cutting edge artists, such as the Beastie Boys, Aceyalone and the Freestyle Fellowship, Buck 65, Sach, 2mex, Xololanxinxo, Scarub (Living Legends), Ellay Khule, Pigeon John, Thavius Beck, Bus Driver, Hymnal, Spoon (of Iodine), Abstract Rude, Ceschi, Iriscience, Grand Puba (Brand Nubian), Grzegorz Karnas, Clifton Cameron and many others.Movie soundtracks have also been a big influence on Omid, so it is not a surprise that his music has blended well with film. Omid’s music has been used on: - “Freestyle: Art of Rhyme” (Palm Picutres) - “Rock Fresh” (Calico Arts) - “Firecracker” (featured on PBS/KCET) - T.V. shows “The Handler” (CBS) and “Shark” (CBS), and countless background moments of MTV reality shows.Omid is currently music supervising a documentary about the Goodlife open mic.Omid’s newest venture is the live performance arena. Using a laptop, midi keyboard, turntable and mixer, Omid recreates his music live, always designing his show to inspire improvisation while keeping the crowd interested and moving. He performs with his brother Arien, a visual artist and painter, who paints live to Omid’s music on the stage. Like Omid’s music, Arien’s painting style ranges from their Persian roots, to Hip Hop, to jazz and funk, to classical, and the experimentalOmid has performed live in 7 European countries, as well as over 40 U.S. cities. But his crowning achievement was performing in Jesolo Italy in 2006. Along with his brother Arien, the show featured a 30 member dance troupe, who choreographed a performance set to his music. The choreography was written by Omid Ighani and Marisa Ragazzo, two artists that have given a new visual interpetation to Omid's music.