Ahadadream

Ahad Elley doesn’t just have a dream: he has a clear mission. The British-Pakistani DJ, producer and curator known as AHADADREAM is one of the most exciting talents in dance music, releasing top-tier club bangers, playing rowdy and celebratory DJ sets and championing South Asian creatives around the world. He’s created a signature sound with thrilling ripples of percussion and kinetic rhythms from across the bass spectrum. Through Dialled In, the platform and label he co-founded, he’s also spearheading a global movement. “Everything that I do is to inspire the next generation,” he says. Ahad’s star has been rising from the London underground to the forefront of electronic music. A viral Boiler Room set, breakout single ‘TAKA’ with Skrillex and Priya Ragu, BBC Radio 1’s Hottest Record and Essential New Tune, Coachella and Lollapalooza debuts, and Pete Tong naming him his ‘Future Star for 2024’ have cemented him as one of electronic music’s most exciting new voices. Now it’s time for his biggest move yet: his first full-length album, P ★ K I (pronounced Pee-Star-Kay-Eye). A powerful and deeply personal artistic statement, P ★ K I is unapologetic both in its dancefloor-focused tracks and in its nuanced message. By naming the album P ★ K I, Ahad reclaims a word he has personally been confronted with, reframing it within a body of work centred on joy, celebration, pride and self-love. “I’ve always viewed the dancefloor as a space where you can loudly and definitely be your whole self.” Drawing on South Asian classical instrumentation, qawwali and Punjabi percussion alongside UK funky, grime, breaks and bass music, P ★ K I pushes Ahad’s distinctive sound forward while remaining rooted in the rhythms that shaped him growing up between Pakistan and the UK. Featuring collaborations with Capo Lee, Dismantle, Jamakabi, Eliza Rose, Jolie P and Lamsi, the album embodies Ahad’s vision of a dancefloor where everyone belongs. “The intent for this release is to spread joy and positivity to people of all kinds on the dancefloor, should they choose to participate. I hope that everyone joins me for the ride.”