Omi

Biography

There are at least three artists with that name: 1) Omi (real name Omar Samuel Pasley) was born on September 3, 1986 in Clarendon, Jamaica. He is the last of four children of Kenroy and Rachel Pasley. As a child growing up, he sang at every occasion that provided an audience – the church, school concerts or any other community gathering. Much to the delight of his onlookers, Omi would rise to the occasion once he got the opportunity. Omi idolized his father and nurtured the desire to follow i...

There are at least three artists with that name:

1) Omi (real name Omar Samuel Pasley) was born on September 3, 1986 in Clarendon, Jamaica. He is the last of four children of Kenroy and Rachel Pasley. As a child growing up, he sang at every occasion that provided an audience – the church, school concerts or any other community gathering. Much to the delight of his onlookers, Omi would rise to the occasion once he got the opportunity.

Omi idolized his father and nurtured the desire to follow in his footstep as a visual artist and musician. For him, this was no easy feat to accomplish, as his dad was not only outstanding at painting portraits, but also a great musician known in the industry as Jah Ken. However, before Jah Ken could pass on all he knew about both vocations, he died of emphysema when Omi was only nine years old. His dad’s passing left a vacuum in his world and as young as he was, Omi pledged to use his talents to keep his family anchored together.

He attended the May Pen Primary School, before moving to the Garvey Maceo High School where he started to shine as a true performer among his friends. Omi was captivated by the beats and ‘raw street poetry’ that coloured the hip-hop music genre, so much so, that during class breaks, his peers would take turns belting hip-hop beats while he rapped. His friends were fascinated with the cutting edge lyrics he trilled and voiced their approval by drumming on the desks and chairs, while maintaining the rhythm to the lyrics he spun. It was at that moment Omi realized he could effortlessly create catchy melodies. As he grew older and his voice became more distinct, he also found singing more to his liking. He enjoyed the latitude it gave him in putting more “soul” and creativity into his compositions.

Omi is the newest prodigy for international talent wizard, Clifton ‘Specialist’ Dillon who successfully produced and marketed such luminaries as Shabba Ranks, Patra and Italian reggae singer Alborosie. Omi is a prolific singer and songwriter inspired by stars such as Nat King Cole, John Legend and Tanya Stephens. He enjoys reasoning on social, cultural and spiritual issues from which he solicits material to incorporate in the body of his songs. The timbre of his voice is smooth, bright and compelling. Omi’s fluid vocal delivery and his contemporary song writing skills will no doubt secure successive hits on both local and international charts.

Omi is being groomed in all aspects of the music business under the direction of the Shang Records Label, spearheaded by Clifton ‘Specialist’ Dillon. He is currently in the studio laying tracks for his debut album, for which intro singles Standing On All Threes, and Cheerleader will be released shortly.

2) Omri Harpaz (Omi), was born in 1977 in Israel, Studied computer programming and his goal is to one day rule the universe. Omi was attracted to electronic music ever since he can remember. Omi started Djing at the age of 17 and since then played all over the world (Japan, Mexico, Kenya, Holland, Germany, Portugal and in the Usa).

In the last few years, Omi started producing music. He started off with his project "Digital Manta" which was more progressive orientated, but after a while his style transformed to the more full on side of trance and he began his new project called "40%".

In his music Omi aims to the dance floor and his mission is to get the crowds up dancing, digging and kicking. For the past two years, Omi has joined "Shulman" producing psybiant, music that they have preformed all over the world.

Omi has collaborated with many other artists as well including: Exaile, Skazi, Beat on Phobia, Blt and more.

3) Omi (real name Juan Omar Ruiz Martínez) was born in Alicante (Spain) in 1988. Naturally talented, willing to learn and to work hard he rapidly developped and used his musical competences to produce his own music and find his own style. In 2004 he started producing electronic music and as he got to discover various musical styles he found himself particularly interested in foreign hardcore techno music.

Once he discovered hardcore music he rapidly started to produce his own and it’s with the netlabel PNZZ that his reputation started to grow. In 2009 with his first song released on vinyl with Megarave Records, he made his first step in the scene and since then his passion and willingness to succeed in this highly competitive sphere kept on getting bigger.

In 2011 he impressed DJ Promo with an innovative banging demo and he signed a contract with TTM, a significant result for this young artist.

A melancholic feeling mixed with drums, great strenght and forcefuleness, that’s how you can describe Omi’s melodies. With no restriction when it comes to production, Omi is comfortable with the most commercial as much as with the roughest industrial sound. His ability to combine various styles is what makes his strenght when it comes to mixing. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.