| Wherever AHI goes, people fall under his spell – an essential trait for an artist who has travelled everywhere from the creative hotspots of Nashville, Toronto and London to the desolation of the Ethiopian highlands. The seasoned soul of his voice brings his authentic, storytelling songs to life, each of which catalogues the spectrum of experiences that he’s lived through. His talents have been rewarded with a coveted Tiny Desk / NPR session, 14 million streams of his track ‘Ol’ Sweet Day’, and a Juno Award nomination. AHI is now set to gain a wider international discovery as he today shares his new single ‘Until You’, along with an accompanying video. It’s the first track to preview a new body of music from the acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter. Listen HERE. ‘Until You’ is a beautifully elegant tribute to that person that changes everything. Its intimate, reflective songwriting possesses a timely, feelgood vibe and a broad pop appeal that extends beyond AHI’s influences. You can hear echoes of Sam Cooke, Jason Isbell and Bill Withers within his enduring style, but it’s a song that can also speak to fans of Michael Kiwanuka, Dermot Kennedy or Leon Bridges. The song’s central lyric “I was one of the wandering / Trying to fight through the elements” encapsulates AHI’s entire story. As he explains, “You don’t have to backpack across the wilderness of North America, trek through the tropics of the Caribbean islands, or climb the Ethiopian highlands without a penny to your name like I have, to understand the extreme weight of loneliness and isolation. But in my experience, that weight was only lifted once I found someone who helped me find myself. When that person walks into your life, you feel like you’ve conquered the world. It’s as rare as some of the most remote parts of this vast earth.” ‘Until You’ was solely written by AHI, with production from the Grammy-winning Paul Mabury (Lauren Daigle) and mixing courtesy of George Seara (Shawn Mendes, James Bay, Ed Sheeran). The accompanying video for ‘Until You’ is set in the Bata Shoe Museum in AHI’s hometown of Toronto. Its vast collection of artifacts spans 4500 years, including items from many of the world’s ancient cultures. Each shoe depicted is symbolic of AHI’sown travels and his journey to finding himself as an artist. He chose the museum as he was eager to shine a light on some of the city’s most cherished indoor spaces, as part of a greater call to support the many businesses that have been hardest hit by COVID. Watch HERE. After backpacking around the world, AHI (pronounced “Eye”) had a spiritual awakening and found his calling through music. He taught himself to sing and play guitar with a mission: writing songs that would help others find their voice too. He recorded his debut album ‘We Made It Through The Wreckage’ in Nashville in under a week, and it was released by his own label 22ND Sentry in collaboration with Thirty Tigers. Its breakthrough song ‘Ol’ Sweet Day’ became a grassroots viral hit and fan favourite, setting him up for his second album ‘In Our Time’. AHI toured relentlessly until the live industry was shut down last year, travelling gruelling hours playing gigs from coast to coast, across the soulful southern states to the northern ice of Nunavut, through Death Valley and the endless Prairies, sometimes spending sunrise to sunset behind the wheel with just enough time to run up onstage. That commitment to touring also gave him the opportunity to perform at some of the nation’s most storied venues, including the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Radio City Music Hall in New York, and the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. |
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