[Cover photo credit to Jose Cuevas]

Global music ensemble Yemen Blues has announced their upcoming full-length album, Only Love Remains, due today, on August 28th, 2024, via Kartel Music Group. Unlike their prior releases, which were created from finished compositions by vocalist Ravid Kahalani, this time the band reserved a studio for two weeks with only a few ideas in hand. The result is a “collective of music” that draws on all four musicians’ strengths and reflects on their individual cultures.

Yemen Blues have also released the title track, “Only Love Remains”, which is dedicated to the late Yemeni musician Ahmed Alshaiba, who died in a car accident in New York in 2022 at just 32 years old. Released with an accompanying music video, directed & filmed by Shaul Luria & Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz, the video is a tribute to Alshaiba also.

Kahalani adds:

Ahmed was an incredible oud player and an exceptionally kind person. I started writing Only Love Remains in New York when I was longing for Yemen, my father’s country. Ahmed translated the song from English to Yemeni Arabic, and then after he passed, the song became about him. About Ahmed being the beauty of Yemen and how we remember him and glorify his legacy. Sonically, it’s influenced by African tribal music, we wanted a simple but soulful fierce groove.