We're back for another exciting episode of The Self Portrait Gospel Podcast with our friend, the talented multi-instrumentalist, artist, and fellow Nicolas Cage enthusiast, IIyas Ahmed. Pulling up a digital chair to chat with us about his visceral vision of the world and the people in it, the never-ending landscape of jazz, and its related juxtaposition, Ahmed tells the tonal tale joining the melodic machine that is Grails, his favorite films, a solo career that spans over two decades, and the intimate instincts it takes to be an artist in this day and age.

Having come from a Greek/Pakistani background, Ahmed, like most of his generation, connected with the critical climate of the punk and hardcore bands of the 1980s before establishing a more spiritual setting on the melodic meter of self-discovery and existential expression. While exploring the atmospheric alchemy of instrumental music and its cinematic nature, Ahmed's overall style and approach are undeniably universal, as he confidently communicates a language that is both lyrical and legitimate.