A Chat with Magdi Aboul-Kheir (03.08.2026)
Magdi Aboul-Kheir is taking listeners on a high-speed trip down memory lane with his album Yesterday’s Future. With 9 tracks, the album embraces the nostalgic sounds of the 80s with synths and drum machines chiming in their timeless fashion. Tempered with soaring guitars and string arrangements, the Germany-based composer fills you with neon lights and retro vibes while melodies stick in your head. We had the chance to chat with Aboul-Kheir about the album, what he would like people to take away from the album and his future plans.
OSR: You started your musical journey as a trained pianist, but have moved into music that is more synthwave. What prompted this evolution?
Aboul-Kheir: The piano was my starting point, and it remains the foundation of everything I do. But I’ve always loved moving between styles and genres, finding the form and sonic palette that best expresses what I want to say. You could see it as an evolution, but I think it’s just as much an expansion of my creative vocabulary and expressive possibilities.
OSR: Your album, Yesterday’s Future, fully embraced 80’s synths introduced in your last release, Into the Retroverse. What drew you to this specific tone for the albums?
Aboul-Kheir: The music of the 1980s certainly left a lasting impression on me. In many ways, it was a defining decade for popular music, and its influence continues to resonate today—particularly in electronic music. Many of the sounds, techniques, and musical ideas that emerged during that era have become part of a shared musical language that still feels remarkably current.
Growing up, I was deeply inspired by artists such as Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, and Vangelis. Their work profoundly shaped my appreciation of electronic soundscapes, rhythmic structures, and the expressive possibilities of synthesizers.
I’m also fascinated by the idea of looking back at the past to see how people imagined the future. Revisiting that vision through music is both nostalgic and imaginative. Sometimes those old visions feel wonderfully naïve, sometimes unexpectedly accurate—but they always invite us to reflect on how every generation dreams about the world to come.
OSR: The album is a high-speed trip down memory lane, but what were you looking to achieve through the tracks?
Aboul-Kheir: It’s not about simple nostalgia. I didn’t want to recreate something from the past just for the sake of bringing it back. Instead, I wanted to take elements from that era and use them in a contemporary way—mixing and combining them freely, with a sense of playfulness rather than trying to achieve strict authenticity.
For me, it’s not about musical purism. It’s about taking a language that still resonates today and placing it in a new context. At the same time, the album reflects—through a light and entertaining approach—our perception of time and our relationship with it: how time passes, how it sometimes seems to stand still, how we look back on the past, how it transforms us, and what we choose to do with it.
OSR: There is a shift in the energy of the music between tracks with some having bright energy and others hitting darker tones. How easy do you find it to create these shifts while keeping the album together as a whole?
Aboul-Kheir: I definitely wanted to explore different shades of brightness and a little darkness throughout the album, but above all, it was about creating a sense of flow. The goal was to achieve a balance between contrast and coherence—allowing the tracks to have their own character while still feeling like parts of one larger journey.
OSR: If people could listen to only one track from the album, which do you think perfectly encapsulates what the album is all about?
Aboul-Kheir: That’s almost like asking me to choose my favorite child 🙂 If I really have to pick one, I would say “Endorphine Wave.” It has drive and energy, and hopefully a melody that stays with the listener.
That was actually something very important to me throughout the album: writing memorable melodies that feel as if they have always existed—or at least as if they have been around since the 1980s.
OSR: While the songs have a timeless tone, there is a modern edge to them. What is your creative process to achieve this?
Aboul-Kheir: By not imagining that I’m sitting in a museum of the 1980s, trying to recreate the past. Instead, I approach these sounds and textures from the perspective of the present, using them to compose and produce something that acknowledges its roots while continuing to grow and bear new fruit today.
For me, it’s about carrying the spirit of that era forward rather than simply looking backwards. The sounds may come from the past, but the way they are combined, shaped, and given meaning belongs to the here and now.
OSR: What are you hoping people will feel and take away from listening to the album?
Aboul-Kheir: That’s actually quite simple: I hope they experience the same thing I felt while creating it—having fun!
OSR: You’ve released a number of albums that cross everything from synthwave to ambient tones and orchestral pieces. How do you get into the headspace to create such different pieces?
Aboul-Kheir: Ultimately, all the music I write is a sonic expression of my thoughts, emotions, and aesthetic preferences. It’s less about deliberately switching between genres and more about finding the right form and the right means of expression for a particular idea.
Once I have found that direction, I enter a kind of tunnel where I can fully immerse myself in that world. But when I emerge from it, another road and another tunnel immediately start to attract me. Constantly shifting focus while still remaining true to myself is both a wonderful challenge and a great source of inspiration.
OSR: What is the one piece of advice that you would give to musicians just starting out?
Aboul-Kheir: Have the courage to express what truly matters to you on the inside. Be authentic. Then try to bring that vision to life as well as you possibly can—but don’t become trapped by perfectionism, because it can hold you back.
OSR: Do you have any exciting plans for the future?
Aboul-Kheir: I will continue to explore different musical worlds and find the right form of expression for each idea. There will be another retro-electronic album with a sci-fi and space-inspired atmosphere, as well as an album of romantic chamber music. I work on minimal compositions for multiple pianos, too. And probably some truly powerful orchestral action tracks as well.
Many thanks to Magdi Aboul-Kheir for speaking with us. Find out more about Magdi on his Facebook, Instagram, SoundCloud, Bandcamp and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
