The lucky ones get to take an actual trip where they escape from the pressures of their lives. They see new places and have uncommon experiences. I like to think the music on my album can serve as the soundtrack for their journey, whether it is a mental or a physical trip. Everyone needs to get away sometime’. In addition to the title track, ‘Secret Journey,’ all of the tunes were inspired by what might be seen or felt on a special trip.

Some of the compositions capture the heritage of Omar’s distant Afghani ancestors (Caravan, Nomadic Rhapsody, Gypsy Spirit). On such a journey you might see a distant lake-like ‘Mirage’, a ‘Shimmering Star’ in the night’s blue-black heavens, or a rare but beautiful ‘Desert Flower’. Omar says ‘Seven Secrets’ was influenced by the ancient architectural ‘Seven Wonders of the World’ like the Great Pyramids, but also references all the lost knowledge of past generations.

‘I want the music to sound multi-cultural,’ explains Akram, but not be tied to any particular country. Often the best trips include romance which is reflected on the new recording with ‘Running Away With Me’, ‘Passage of the Heart’ (Love can be quite a journey in itself, says Omar) and ‘Whispers in the Moonlight’ (It can be shared intimacies between lovers or the sound of wind-shifting sand in the desert at night).

The album closes with the gentle piano-violin duet ‘Angel of Hope’ because in today’s world with all the war, famine, pollution and loneliness, everyone needs hope for a better future. On his first two albums, he was simply known as Omar, but now he performs under his full name. Meanwhile, his music continues to change and develop.