On a day like today, sunny and just shy of 80 degrees Fahrenheit (here in the DMV, at least), troubles temporarily fade away...especially when you have a song as perfect as Bill Withers' "Lovely Day" as your soundtrack. The pandemic horror sweeping across the globe, unemployment, anxiety, fear, sickness, death and even the recent loss of the soulful icon himself become surmountable as the lyrics and warm instrumentals radiate hopefulness and joy from the inside out.
If there's anyone who knows a thing or two about keeping your head up in spite of challenges, it's our boy Ahmed Sirour. The talented producer has had to "shelter in place" overseas due to travel restrictions, plus deal with the setback of not being able to perform live. Even worse, he has seen the effects of COVID-19 firsthand, spending the past couple of weeks tending to his girlfriend as she fought the virus. Thankfully, she's almost back to full health. And leave it up to Ahmed to find a creative way to celebrate her recovery and pay tribute to one of his/our favorite artists with "Lovely Day (Ahmed Sirour Tribute Remix)."
He expresses his admiration for Mr. Withers, saying, "Bill was THAT artist...came in when he wanted to, left when he wanted to, did it his way and did nothing to please anyone except what felt right to him." Sirour took a page from the veteran soul man's playbook, and created a Bounce-Worthy track that keeps the sunny appeal of the original while sprinkling some house and funk into the mix until it felt just right. "I remixed it from scratch," he shares, "and (aside from the first few seconds of the intro) ONLY used Bill's wonderful vocals from the original recording...May it bring you joy, hope, fill you with positivity and make you dance and feel grateful for any good thing in life that we sometimes take for granted but appreciate more than ever!"
Scroll down and give Ahmed's "Tribute Remix" a spin, then make this "Lovely Day" yours by downloading a copy via Bandcamp.
