Desert Tones and British Grit: A Personal Journey Between Two Sonic Worlds

My name is Abbas Sharif Alaskari, and my life has been a composition in contrast—each note a bridge between the familiar and the foreign, the ancient and the modern. I’m a British guitarist, composer, and music producer, but more than that, I’m a traveler between two sonic worlds.

Born and raised in the UK, I grew up immersed in the British rock scene, cutting my teeth on the riffs of Zeppelin, the layers of Pink Floyd, and the lyrical depth of Radiohead. I studied at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP) in London, graduating with a Bachelor’s in Contemporary Music Performance. By 2010, I was a session guitarist performing across London—venues like The Jazz Café and Camden Assembly were my playground. Yet even then, I felt a pull—an urge to explore something deeper, something more rooted.

That calling led me to the United Arab Emirates in 2013, where I would spend the next decade discovering a part of myself I didn’t know was missing. There, in the vibrant cultural fusion of Dubai, I found the heartbeat of Middle Eastern music—the emotive maqams, the complex rhythms, the soulful spirit of the oud. I went on to complete my Master’s in Music Production and Sound Design at SAE Institute Dubai, and my path as a fusion artist began to take shape.

I co-founded the band Desert Echoes, where I served as lead guitarist and primary composer. We weren’t just another rock band. We fused Arabic tonalities with progressive rock—a sound as experimental as it was emotional. Our albums, like Echoes of the Dunes and Sands of Sound, became sonic diaries of identity, displacement, and home. The desert gave me a different kind of clarity—one that showed me how music could be both a passport and a map.

As a producer and educator, I worked with local and expat artists across the UAE, producing tracks at Soundscape Studios and teaching guitar workshops at places like Berkeley Abu Dhabi and Dubai Opera House. I also trained in Muay Thai, explored the Gulf’s urban landscapes through photography, and built a vinyl collection that tells the story of two continents.

In 2023, I returned to the UK—a decade older, creatively evolved, and carrying the sounds of the desert within me. Now, based in London, I’m working on my first solo album, "Between Two Worlds"—an exploration of dual identity through sound. It’s my most personal work yet, where fretless guitar lines mimic oud phrasing, and heavy rock textures are softened by maqam scales.

I currently serve as a music director and fusion guitar instructor at BIMM London, and I run an online music academy dedicated to helping musicians blend Middle Eastern and Western styles with authenticity. My mission is simple: break the boundaries of genre, and inspire others to find their voice in the in-between.

Because that’s where I’ve always lived.

Between the echoes of the desert… and the grit of British rock.