AHMED ZAINAL

Music / Earlier work

The archive
still moves.

Before releases carried the name Ahmed Zainal, aliases, collectives, live experiments, and conversations formed the practice underneath the current work.

2012-2016Ed Buzzerk

A catalogue built below the surface.

Fourteen house, techno, and electronica tracks, alongside art.haus and Rumble in the Depths.

Ed Buzzerk was the name attached to a formative period of underground production, DJing, and scene-building in Bahrain. The 2012-2016 collection brings fourteen tracks from that chapter together in one place.

The period also included art.haus and Rumble in the Depths, a radio series that moved through deeper house and techno while opening conversations with Bahraini DJs and artists about the local nightlife scene.

Listen to the collection ↗Hear Rumble in the Depths ↗
2015-2020QWRK

Club pressure with room for the unexpected.

The War Poem EP brought techno, spoken word, and collaboration into the same frame.

War Poem began with a recording of a poem written and voiced by Hala Abdullah. The music and the words found each other later, turning a difficult unfinished idea into one of the clearest examples of QWRK's darker, exploratory approach.

The two-track EP, War Poem and Dark Spots, was released by Granular Music in Dubai in 2016. Later releases, including Hang Eric, continued the project's interest in texture, tension, and groove.

Find War Poem on Beatport ↗Listen to QWRK ↗
2020-2022XO

A live improvised electronic music platform.

Improvised electronic dance music made in the moment with artists and noise-making machines.

XO was created as a collaborative electronic music platform. Machines, individual instincts, and the energy of the room determined where each performance went.

The project brought together artists including Rashed AlDhaen, Na Der, Papa Push, and HSE Vogue. A two-hour sunset performance at Disorder and a compact session at The Cult show two very different sides of the same open method.

Watch XO at Disorder ↗Watch XO at The Cult ↗
2014-2017Slim Fit Tea

Finding a shared language through experimentation.

Seven guitar-led house, techno, and electronica tracks created with 7MND.

Slim Fit Tea began as a bedroom experiment: what would happen if melodic guitars and vocals were placed inside a deep house track? Over three years, Ahmed and 7MND followed that question through seven individual pieces.

Groovy beats, funky basslines, warm pads, and melodic guitars became the shared vocabulary, with each track moving differently between the ethereal and the dark.

Hear 7MND on SoundCloud ↗
2020Jazz X Machina

An electronic canvas for live musicians.

Electronic improvisation meeting guitar, trumpet, jazz, and blues at Bahrain Jazz Fest.

At Bahrain Jazz Fest 2020, Ahmed created the electronic canvas for guitarist Jason Swami and trumpet player Szabi Nigo. The three musicians blended jazz and blues elements into a deep, groovy, and fully live hour.

The performance remains a clear example of what happens when structure supports improvisation without closing it down.

Watch the performance ↗
2021Live hardware

One hour, built completely in the moment.

A completely improvised techno set made for Techno Bahrain Radio.

Instead of submitting a conventional DJ mix, Ahmed recorded a one-hour live set at 130 BPM. Roland TR-8, System-1, and TB-3 machines, other sound sources, and a Pioneer mixer formed the complete setup.

Nothing was arranged in advance. The recording captures the live act as a decision-making process, with groove, texture, and direction shaped in real time.

Listen to the live set ↗
2020Music conversations

Talking through the work.

Three informal sessions with 7MND about producing at home, inspiration, and collaboration.

During the COVID period, Ahmed and 7MND opened their ongoing music conversations to an audience through three live sessions and Q&As.

The topics were practical and human: becoming a bedroom producer, questioning the myth of inspiration, and learning how to collaborate. The conversations are early public evidence of the warm, honest approach that now informs Ahmed's educational work.

Bedroom Producer ↗The Myth of Inspiration ↗Collaboration ↗

Current work

The archive explains the path.
The music keeps moving.

Return to current music ↗