Omar’s Latest Album 'Brighter The Days' (A Listening Party)

Summary

All Of It: Omar’s Latest Album 'Brighter The Days' – A Detailed Summary

Podcast Information:

• Title: All Of It
• Host: Alison Stewart
• Guest: Omar
• Episode: Omar’s Latest Album 'Brighter The Days' (A Listening Party)
• Release Date: July 21, 2025
• Description: ALL OF IT is a show about culture and its consumers, aiming to engage thinkers, doers, makers, and creators in discussions about their work and its cultural impact.

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1. Introduction and Episode Overview

The episode begins with Alison Stewart welcoming listeners to "All Of It" and introducing the guest, Omar, a renowned UK soul singer. The episode serves as a listening party for Omar's latest album, Brighter The Days. Alison provides a brief overview of Omar's illustrious career, highlighting his debut album, collaborations with prominent artists like Angie Stone, Erykah Badu, Stevie Wonder, and his recognition by the British Monarchy in 2012 as a member of the Order of the British Empire.

Notable Quote:

Alison Stewart [01:10]: “The song you just heard was called This Thing Called Life, the opening track from the UK soul singer Omar's latest album, Brighter the Days. He calls the 18-track project his magnum opus, a culmination of decades of musical exploration and growth.”

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2. Omar’s Career and 'Brighter The Days'

Omar reflects on his career spanning over 40 years and nine studio albums. He expresses pride in Brighter The Days, describing it as a significant milestone that represents his continuous evolution as an artist.

Notable Quote:

Omar [02:08]: “I feel really proud of the piece. Like as you said, it's 40 years in the business, nine albums isn't something to be shy about. So yeah, I had fun doing it and yeah, it just feels like another achievement, another part of the evolution.”

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3. Impact of the Pandemic on the Album

The conversation delves into how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the creation of Brighter The Days. Omar discusses the challenges of social distancing, the inability to perform live, and the emotional turmoil during that period. He utilized this time to set up a live-streaming studio and channel his creativity into music that would serve as therapy for himself and his listeners.

Notable Quote:

Omar [02:34]: “A lot of it was written during the pandemic, so we were going through all the problems of, you know, distancing, social distancing... I set up my studio in a way to live stream from there. But then I also just got into being creative and just making music that I thought was going to be sort of like a therapy...”

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4. Thematic Exploration of 'Brighter The Days'

The album's title, Brighter The Days, signifies hope and optimism emerging from dark times. Omar explains that the title track, written by his friend Vanessa Simon, encapsulates this sentiment. He emphasizes the album's purpose to uplift and support listeners through challenging periods.

Notable Quote:

Omar [04:02]: “There’s a light at the end of the tunnel... ‘Brighter the Days’... that speaks to my soul. This is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing.”

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5. Songs Overview

a. This Thing Called Life

As the opening track, Omar chose This Thing Called Life for its grand and expansive sound, likening its impact to "fireworks." He collaborated with Chris Cameron for string arrangements, aiming to set a powerful tone for the album.

Notable Quote:

Omar [03:30]: “It's like fireworks, you know what I mean? So I thought that's a very good way to start the album.”

b. There's so Much Love in the World

This track emerged from a collaborative writing session with friends and epitomizes the theme of love uniting people. Featuring string arrangements inspired by Henry Mancini, the song underscores the importance of love in overcoming divisions.

Notable Quote:

Omar [05:25]: “It's about having love for one another... There's more that unites us than divides us.”

c. On My Own (featuring Paul Weller and Darryl Jones)

Omar shares a nostalgic connection with Paul Weller, his first professional gig partner. The song embodies introspection and self-reliance, featuring contributions from Darryl Jones on drums and Ronnie Fo Cluster on organ.

Notable Quote:

Omar [16:35]: “It was amazing to reunite with him because we hadn't seen each other in a long while... He's the most humblest superstar that I know.”

d. Love is Like (featuring India Ari)

Rolling out as another collaborative effort, this song took Omar 25 years to materialize. India Ari's contribution adds a rich layer to the track, highlighting the enduring nature of love.

Notable Quote:

Omar [18:12]: “We've been trying to work on, get a song together for the last 25 years... She just sounds amazing on there.”

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6. Songwriting and Recording Process

Omar elaborates on his songwriting methodology, emphasizing that the music typically precedes the lyrics. His process is fluid, often starting with various instrumental elements like drum beats or melodies. He believes a song is complete when it feels right to him personally, balancing musical complexity with clarity to ensure each element serves the story.

Notable Quote:

Omar [08:58]: “It's always generally 98% the music first, then the lyrics, because the melodies... dictate what the song is going to be about.”

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7. Reflections on Music Creation Then and Now

Comparing past and present, Omar reminisces about the live recording sessions of the 80s and 90s, akin to Motown's one-take recordings. He laments the loss of this spontaneous element in modern production but appreciates technological advancements that have streamlined the creative process. Omar acknowledges the ease of creating music today, noting the reduced need for extensive travel and equipment.

Notable Quote:

Omar [10:55]: “The live element... losing that element is a bit sad. But in terms of technology, much easier... everything is on the computer. So that's so much better that way.”

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8. Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks

As the episode concludes, Alison Stewart expresses gratitude towards Omar for sharing his music and insights. The final tracks played reinforce the album's themes of love, resilience, and personal growth. Omar emphasizes the importance of focusing on positive aspects of life and disregarding negativity, urging listeners to cherish the good.

Notable Quote:

Omar [08:18]: “Life is short. Let's focus on the good stuff, all right?”

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Alison Stewart [01:10]: “The song you just heard was called This Thing Called Life, the opening track from the UK soul singer Omar's latest album, Brighter the Days.”

• Omar [02:08]: “I feel really proud of the piece... another part of the evolution.”

• Omar [02:34]: “A lot of it was written during the pandemic... making music that I thought was going to be sort of like a therapy...”

• Omar [04:02]: “There’s a light at the end of the tunnel... ‘Brighter the Days’ speaks to my soul.”

• Omar [03:30]: “It's like fireworks... a very good way to start the album.”

• Alison Stewart [07:52]: “I have really hung on to this quote that you told the Guardian...”

• Omar [08:18]: “Life is short. Let's focus on the good stuff, all right?”

• Omar [10:55]: “The live element... losing that element is a bit sad. But... everything is on the computer.”

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Conclusion

This episode of All Of It provides an intimate glimpse into Omar's creative journey with Brighter The Days. Through heartfelt discussions and exclusive tracks, listeners gain an appreciation for Omar's musical craftsmanship, resilience during challenging times, and unwavering commitment to spreading love and positivity through his art.

Transcript

[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart and this is the latest from Omar.

[Omar]

For many kids I've learned to play the game.

Learn to play it well.

Getting something out of nothing ever works.

You got to give to get.

Never settling Valencia all that I felt beginning I deserve the Lord make my whole career sticky tonight Principle and what a womb ba I see greater need I will always fight the struggle.

[Alison Stewart]

The song you just heard was called this Thing Called Life, the opening track from the UK soul singer Omar's latest album, Brighter the Days. He calls the 18 track project his magnum opus, a culmination of decades of musical exploration and growth. Since stepping onto the music scene in 1985, Omar has released nine studio albums, starting with his well received debut, There's Nothing like this. Throughout the years, his talents caught the attention of Angie Stone, Erykah Badu, Stevie Wonder, all of whom have become collaborators, and even the Monarchy when he was named a member of the Order of the British Empire in 2012. Brighter the days features collaboration with some of neo souls and R&B's most respected voices like Letici and India Ari, among others. The album is out now and Omar joins us in studio for a listening party. It is really nice to meet you.

[Omar]

Likewise. Good afternoon.

[Alison Stewart]

I heard on Instagram you describe this as your magnum opus.

[Omar]

Yeah, I kind of like tried a thing, I think saying that. No, I feel really proud of the piece. Like as you said, it's 40 years in the business, nine albums isn't, you know, something to be, you know, shy about. So yeah, I had fun doing it and yeah, it just feels like another achievement, another part of the evolution.

[Alison Stewart]

What stood out to you about this album? Why did you, what did you evolve for with this album?

[Omar]

Well, a lot of it was written during the pandemic, so we were going through all the problems of, you know, distancing, social distancing, couldn't be with loved ones, couldn't bury loved ones and you know, really dark times. And we had to like reset. So I had to find a way of like being able to occupy myself because all the gigs were stopped, you couldn't go and see live concerts, can perform. So I set up my studio in a way to live stream from there. But then I also just got into being creative and just making music that I thought was going to be sort of like a therapy, you know, therapeutic for, for people because people were kind of responding quite, quite nicely to the stuff I did on, on, you know, live on social media as well. So yeah, it was one of those things that helped me get through it.

[Alison Stewart]

That first track that we heard, this thing called Life. Why did you choose that as the opening track?

[Omar]

Oh, it's just so big and broad. It's like a James Bond type effect, you know, I had a friend of mine, Chris Cameron, who's also done a lot of the string arrangements over for a lot of my albums. I decided to go back to basics. And with the way it just opens up, it's just so fantastic. It's like. It's like fireworks, you know what I mean? So I thought that's a very good way to start the album.

[Alison Stewart]

You talked about this coming out of the Pandemic, which was kind of a dark time.

[Omar]

Sure.

[Alison Stewart]

But you call the album Brighter the Days? Yeah, why?

[Omar]

So it's like, you know, there's a light at the end of the tunnel. And also, a friend of mine, Vanessa Simon, wrote a lot of the lyrics for the album. And for the title track, she wrote in, you know, in the lyrics of that song, Brighter the Days. And I was just like, that is it. That speaks to my soul. This is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. There's another song on there called It's Gonna Be all right, which is where I got a John Barry piece of music called 007 and counting. And I cut it up and like one o' clock in the morning, I was just repeating this thing over and over again. Did it live on Instagram as well. And just the reaction from people from that was amazing. That I thought, okay, this is something that I can use to help people get through their, you know, get through their dark times, because I hear a lot from my friends, is that that my music has helped them through certain periods in. In their life.

[Alison Stewart]

That's a cool thing about social media that people don't necessarily talk about.

[Omar]

Right.

[Alison Stewart]

The ability of fans to reach out and tell you how much something means to them.

[Omar]

And especially for an artist like myself, who's not mainstream, you know, there's a way to still reach to. To the masses, and that's the way to do it.

[Alison Stewart]

I am talking to Omar. He's joining us for a listening party for his latest album titled Brighter the Days. Let's listen to a track. This is. There's so Much Love in the world. How did this come about?

[Omar]

This was after a writing trip with some friends of mine, Ben Jones, Ben Edwards, James Garland Bateman, Dan Bingham. And we just wrote a couple of songs. One was sort in the style of Al Green, and then there was this Version, which is a Latin vibe. And then I also got Chris Cameron to do the string arrangements for it as well, in the style of Henry Mancini. So I thought it would just made all the sense in the world. And it's just about having love for one another, you know what I mean? This is the kind of thing that we. We need to share a bit more. There's more that unites us than divides us. Pretty much, that's what the song's about.

[Alison Stewart]

This is. There's so Much Love in the World by Oma.

[Omar]

Sam. There's much stuff in the world that's sitting there waiting for you. You must make yourself available to be infused with love. Love, love, love, love. Surrender yourself to its un. You can't control the feeling, Might as well see it through. Oh, doesn't matter if it's rain or shine if it defeat that. Cause I'm high of mine. I give thanks every day that you come my way.

[Alison Stewart]

First of all, the strings are gorgeous on that.

[Omar]

Thank you.

[Alison Stewart]

And you got everybody in the control room. Everybody's grooving. Everybody's grooving at that time.

[Omar]

That's a good sign.

[Alison Stewart]

Yeah, it was really interesting and I have really hung on to this quote that you told the Guardian, because I've been thinking it myself. You said, I'm closer to the end than I am the beginning, and I refuse to be negative about stuff.

[Omar]

Yeah, it's.

[Alison Stewart]

See that sign, Right.

[Omar]

Work hard and be nice to people.

[Alison Stewart]

Right?

[Omar]

Absolutely.

[Alison Stewart]

That's the way I feel about it.

[Omar]

Well, this is what I'm saying. You know, they're trying to. You know, there's. There's certain factions out there trying to make you hate this person and that person, where I know down on. Down on the ground, we all get on quite well. Do you know what I mean? And we've got to kind of stop listening to the bad voices and just listen to the good ones because, you know, our time on earth is. Is limited. And, you know, me being the age that I am as well, like I said, I'm closer to the end and I'm winning, so I've got less time for nonsense is basically what I'm trying to say. Do you know what I mean? Life is short. Just. Let's. Let's focus on the good stuff, all right?

[Alison Stewart]

Let's focus on the good stuff. Writing songs. What's your process?

[Omar]

Process is getting the studio, for one, or it doesn't even have to be there. You know, I play bass, drums and keys. So it could start with the. The Drum beat. It could start with the bass line, it could start with the chords. It could be the melody, it could be any. Any kind of factor. But it's always generally 98% the music first, then the lyrics, because the. The melodies of the. Of the whole piece or the feel of the songs, the dictate what the. What the song is going to be about. So that's the basics.

[Alison Stewart]

How do you know when a song is done.

[Omar]

When you tell yourself that it's done? You know, certain people that I know would. They. They say, well, you know, you kind of like, you know, you need to just leave the bare bones. And my thing is, because I'm a producer, I'm always thinking of what can be added as well. But you just don't want to add too much because everything needs to have its. And if you have too many things going on in a piece, then things can get covered up and there's no point of having them in there, you know, unless they're, you know, they're supposed to be there. But I mean, this album took me eight years to finish one of the songs. Lovey Dovey with Eric Robeson and Raheem Devaughan. We actually started that. My brother Scratch professor and myself, we started this about 2007, and it passed over two albums before I actually used it on this one. So it's not just the song being finished. It has to be right for the album. Because I feel it's like telling a story. So when you start the story, you don't finish until it's, you know, you don't stop listening until it's finished. And that's. That's the basics.

[Alison Stewart]

Thinking about recording music now, as when you were recording in the 80s and the 90s, it's really changed a lot. What is something that's changed significantly? You think this is really great. And something that changed that. You think I don't know about this?

[Omar]

Well, the live element, you know, that's what I was saying when. When I got together with my friends and we did some writing together, I think that's. There's something within that that people do much less of. I mean, if you go back to Motown and how they used to record there, I mean, it used to be a whole bunch of guys in the room one time, one take. Oh, yeah. Or have two or three goes, and you take the best of that. I think that element, losing that element is. Is a bit sad.

[Alison Stewart]

Yeah.

[Omar]

You know what I mean? But the. In terms of technology, much easier. I mean, I used to travel to la and I have to take my computer, Then I'd have to take the interface. Then I have to take all these other sounds. So I'll be traveling. Like, what's his name? Used to sing with Frank Sinatra. Squint Black guy. Sammy Davis Jr. There we go. Thank you. Sammy Davis Jr. With his 10. With his 10 suitcases. That's how I used to have to travel. Whereas now everything is on the computer. So that's so much better that way.

[Alison Stewart]

My guest is Omar. He's joining us for a listening party for his latest album titled Brighter the Days. Let's listen to another song. This is called holding on to Life. We can talk about it on the other side.

[Omar]

Sure.

I want to know but if it seems to snow Positivity makes all say yeah. Yes. Let's make a plan so we can understand I can't believe that we can begin again I want to be your friend let's see where this universe is meant for us to grow Every living soul moves to happy Help me begin maybe feel love again Try a different way there so much more to life.

[Alison Stewart]

So who are we listening to?

[Omar]

That's Legacy, the wonderful, wonderful. Let us see. She reached out to me, she DMed me, actually on Instagram and just similarly wrote, have you got a song for us? And I was like, wow, okay. Talk about direct. And at that point, I was actually working on that song. The music you can hear in the background, I was working on that. And I was thinking, actually. But I was thinking of another song. But then when she reached out, I was like, oh, actually I could write something for the two of us. And she just sounds amazing on there. So I'm very, very honored and happy that she could. Yeah. Be on the album.

[Alison Stewart]

I love this. Sort of like a full circle on this. That your first professional gig was playing with Paul Weller style council in 89. And he's on the record.

[Omar]

And he's on the record. Yeah.

[Alison Stewart]

That's so amazing.

[Omar]

Yeah. I was just very lucky to reunite with him because we hadn't seen each other in a long while, and I went to see him in concert and backstage I was like, let's do something. He goes, yeah, man, come to the studio. And I indebted to him so much because I used his studio for like, a month and he didn't charge me hardly anything to use the studio. So a lot of the record is made at a studio called Black Barn. But, yeah, to get the songs that we did, because you're hearing one of three, so there's Another two to hear as well. But it was just amazing. He's the most humblest superstar that I know, let me put it that way. He's the mod father, you know what I mean? So, yeah, it was great.

[Alison Stewart]

And we're gonna hear a track titled On My Own, featuring Paul Weller and Darryl Jones.

[Omar]

Darryl Jones is on drums and also Ronnie Fo Cluster on. On organ as well.

[Alison Stewart]

So let's take a listen.

[Omar]

Cool.

The city streets that I walk alone on my own Taking time to straighten things on my own Got no plans I got no dreams It's a feeling inside yeah, yeah, yeah I final get.

A mirror head on my.

Can nobody pressure me to detour oh, I got my feelings, got my pride It's a feeling inside up above the houses in my mind.

[Alison Stewart]

That'S called On My Own from Omar. It's from the album Brighter the Days. Let's roll back to your debut album.

[Omar]

Okay.

[Alison Stewart]

There's nothing like this. What stands out to you now about that time in your life?

[Omar]

About that time. I was five singles in when that album came out. It was 1990. The first single I released was 85, as it said. And I released a single every year after that, and it was on my father's label. My dad had his own record label called Congo Dance because he was a drummer, 60s and 70s, played with Doris, Troy, Bob, Andy, Marcia Griffiths. But then he had his own reggae band, so he wanted to release music independently. And also my little brothers had a band, but they had no soul music. So here I come along, start making my music as well, using the studio. And then when we got to 1990, he was like, well, we need to do an album. So I had all these songs put together except the one that everybody knows there's nothing like this. That came out of nowhere because I went to his record collection and I came across a band called the Ohio Players album called Skin Tight.

[Alison Stewart]

Oh, the best.

[Omar]

Yeah. And there's a song called Heaven Must Be like this. And that's the direct inspiration for There's Nothing like this. And I made a demo of it and just a cassette. Look it up. Go Boys and Girls, cassettes. And just repeated that one song over and over again and didn't get bored of it and played it other people, same thing. And, yeah, the rest is history.

[Alison Stewart]

The last track we're gonna hear from the album is titled Love is Like. It features India Ari. Tell us a little bit about this.

[Omar]

Song, the wonderful India Ari. Yeah. We've been trying to work on, get a song together for the last 25 years, I think. And I started it with my friend Stuart Zend, used to play bass for Jamira Choir. And we got this groove going together and I'm like, I think somebody could be singing on this. And I asked India if she was interested. She said yes. And then, you know, I just leave it. Listen to the track. It's fantastic.

[Alison Stewart]

The name of the album is Brighter the Days. I've been speaking with singer Omar. Thank you so much for coming to the studio.

[Omar]

My pleasure. Thank you for having me.

[Alison Stewart]

This is love is the like from Brighter the days.

[Omar]

Just we can do Whatever this ain't gonna change it through and through it's just me and you Whatever this ain't gonna change Fascination the eye up for you drives me so down but you got me thinking I don't know what to do as fuck tomorrow Will I still be the same? Damn straight we got the love that's right we ain't playing no losing game Come on now and that's what love is like if I ever fall down I know you'll be the one to catch me Making sure that I am never all alone you're the one that saves me that I have to use.

[Unknown]

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