Elegantly arranged strings and delicate percussion shape these gorgeously lyrical snapshots from Kadim Al Sahir’s oeuvre. He first caught attention throughout Iraqi in 1987 when a friend who worked in television slipped one of his music videos on air. True to the creative tenacity that has propelled his career, Al Sahir refused to censor the lyrics and the song was banned—but the controversy helped lift him to stardom. Whether it’s in his mastery of the oud or weaving Arabic maqam melodies into his pop ballads, Kadim Al Sahir distils pure emotion into sound.