Terrorbird

Born in Chicago, living in Iran from ages one to seven, 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. 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 high school 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 at South Central's Good Life Cafe in the early 1990s 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 Good Life, 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 homemade beat tape that they sold only at the Good Life, entitled Beat Stampede.

Omid's beats caught the ears of the local talent and collaborations soon 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. Beneath the Surface 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 two solo albums, Distant Drummer and Monolith (Mush Records), plus collaborated with countless cutting edge artists, such as the Beastie Boys, Aceyalone, Buck 65, 2mex/OMD, Murs, Pigeon John, Slug, and many others. After Monolith, he produced albums for Sach (Sach 5th Ave) and Ellay Khule (Califormula). With no projects in mind, Omid began making music which would lead to a partnership with Alpha Pup for the release of his new instrumental album, Afterwords3.

Afterwords3 is more upbeat and jazz-influenced than his previous works, with an interesting story behind its conception. Omid explains, "Back in 2000 I put out a limited beat tape entitled Afterwords, a collection of mostly unreleased beats. I did a part two a few years later. So the Afterwords title was a way to get out unreleased music, but this 3rd installment is a special release. It is more progressive and evolved than the first two. Also very visual, or at least it seems to me that way. Unlike the first Afterwords 1 and 2 projects which were 'beat tapes' Afterwords3 definitely comes off like an album; the tracks are more produced, well-mixed and have more movements. What's interesting is the Afterwords 1 was an analog tape, Afterwords 2 was a CD-R, and now thanks to Alpha Pup, the 3rd installment will be strictly digital and vinyl. I have no idea what format the next installment will be, maybe 8-track!" With this proper release, Omid was able to rework songs ("Chemical Wedding" now has 3 movements, whereas originally it had one) and include fan favorite bonus tracks ("Minors into Fire" is a song that 2mex and Busdriver rap to at almost every show).

A crowning achievement occurred in Jesolo, Italy in 2006 when Omid and his brother Arien performed with a 30-piece dance troupe. Italian artists Omid Ighani and Marisa Ragazzow choreographed movements to Omid's music. According to Omid, "most of the tracks off of Afterwords3 I performed in Europe. For example, 'Electric Children' and 'Aquarium Song' were made with the dancers in mind, abstract but visual. The original versions of the beats were a lot more simple, but once I knew they were going to be used as dance pieces, I added more layers and changes."

When he's not busy perfecting his live set, Omid is hard at work in his music studio. "I am half way done with a solo album that is very Persian/Middle eastern influenced. I am very excited about it and it's something that I always wanted to do," says Omid. "I am simultaneously working on a collaboration album with a singer/song writer that I respect a lot. On that project, we are using minimal sampling and instead, writing and composing most of the music from scratch. No raps, just singing and playing, but of course, it'll still be banging." Expect more great things from this gifted musician in the near future.