D U A L I T Y
AHARI
a coming of age story
DUALITY
TRACKLIST
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time waits for no one
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the hardest challenges take you to your lowest lows and highest highs
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responsibility is a blessing and a curse
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it’s the journey, not the destination
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you can evolve without forgetting where you came from
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your successes and failures do not define you as long as you keep moving forward
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love and loss are irrevocably intertwined
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fight for what (and who) you love
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the most important memories are often bittersweet
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you define who you are
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often going forward means going back to the beginning
we are A H A R I
Raised in New York and California, we crossed paths in Chicago twelve years ago and discovered shared passions for music and storytelling. Seven years ago, we moved to Los Angeles and joined the companies we currently run. Five years ago, we were married; two years ago, we started working on what would become our debut album, DUALITY. We are first-generation Americans and the children of immigrants who lived with pragmatism to allow us the privilege of dreaming. Nevertheless, in today’s world, every dream has a cost. At the time, we mutually agreed that either we’d create on our own terms, or we wouldn’t create at all.
This album is thus self-made and self-funded. After nearly a decade in our corporate careers, we saved enough to build a small studio in our home and brought these songs to life without having to compromise or worry about consumption. The result? An 11-track cyclical journey processing the things we’ve struggled with most: Identity, community, responsibility, relationships, growth, and grief. As third culture kids raised in some of the most diverse cities in the world, the album also ricochets between a variety of genres, including electronic, r&b, bossa nova, hip hop, classical, and more.
For better or for worse, this album is authentically us. It is also a homage to countless artists - and our own loved ones - who have not only influenced us, but quite literally kept us alive through so many trials and tribulations. For those going through the same things we are, we hope it resonates with you.
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new yorker living in california. obsessive-compulsive writer. thought everyone was a musician until i turned five. guilty of spending too much money on video games. COO of a recruiting consultancy working with innovators of every creed and color. sang for the obamas once but i blacked out for the whole thing. can’t walk into a bookstore without buying something. reconciling the reality of what this world is with an insatiable desire to make it better.
whether in the corporate world or creative realm, passionate storyteller always.
WHY D U A L I T Y ?
When you’re young, the world often seems easier to understand. Good is good. Evil is evil. There is right, and there is wrong. You know what you believe, and you’re not afraid to stand behind it. You argue with those that came before you. You want to be the change you wish to see. You take risks. Everything seems possible.
Time passes. The more you learn about even the most long-held convictions, the more complicated things become. It’s actually pretty difficult to get things done. You realize that there are usually two sides to every story — or infinite sides, as the case may be. Suddenly you’re not so sure of yourself. It occurs to you that imposter syndrome is universal, and there was no magical inflection point at which the “adults” in your life figured it all out. You go from rebelling against the authorities in your life to being regarded as someone else’s authority, and a new generation pushes you to defend and justify your faith with the same passion that you had all those years ago.
Coming of age stories aren’t just intended to capture ages 17 through 21. We are all continuously forced to confront, evolve, and grow. It’s painful. It’s exhilarating. It keeps happening — over and over again.
We are also making a statement about equity. We are husband and wife, friend and partner. In most duos, particularly those involving a man and a woman, there are stereotypical roles each person is expected to inhabit. We want to break the (often gendered) cycle of expectations with our work. We are fully formed individuals, and we are a team. In whatever form they take, we value our contributions equally. We hope you’ll do the same.
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born in india, raised in california. it took a lap around the country for me to come back, but i’m thankful i did.
a builder at heart - of relationships, businesses, sonic universes, ideals - i find there’s nothing quite so satisfying as creating something that has never existed before
i search for meaning in everything around me, often to discover all i need to do to find it is look
A L B U M T R A I L E R
w e ’ r e j u s t g e t t i n g s t a r t e d.
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