When Smoke Rises

Mustafa began working on demos in the late 2010s.[3] Formal songwriting for the album began in 2019 in London with Swedish producer Simon Hessman also known as Simon on the Moon.[4][5] Following the songwriting process, frequent collaborator Frank Dukes came in to produce the album.[5] His production was inspired by the Smithsonian Folkways anthologies of Sudanese and Egyptian music which he samples throughout the record.[3] Additionally, tracks on the album were produced by London-based musicians James Blake, who contributed to "Stay Alive" and "Come Back", and Jamie xx, who produced "Air Forces" and "The Hearse".

Mustafa has noted that the songwriting of the record was influenced by Richie Havens, Joni Mitchell, and Leonard Cohen,[4][6] as well as Sufjan Stevens' 2015 album Carrie & Lowell.[3]

The album's name is in reference to Smoke Dawg who is featured on the cover art alongside Mustafa.[3]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100[7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Evening Standard	[8]
Exclaim!	9/10[9]
The Guardian	[10]
Pitchfork	7.3/10[11]
Rolling Stone	[12]

When Smoke Rises was released on May 28, 2021, fourteen months after the first single "Stay Alive" was released. It was released independently by Mustafa under the name Regent Park Songs and distributed by Beggars Group.[13] A limited edition of the album pressed as different color vinyl records was released by a number of independent record stores including Rough Trade and VMP (Vinyl Me, Please).[1][6]

Mustafa appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on May 27, 2021, to promote the release of the record.[14] In the year leading up the release, Mustafa received significant press coverage, including profiles by The New York Times, GQ Middle East, Pitchfork, and American Songwriter.[3][15][5][4]

Overall, the album received generally favorable review from critics, with particularly positive support from Canadian publications like Exclaim!

Songwriting credits adapted from SOCAN and liner notes.[16][17]

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer.
• ^{^[b]} signifies an additional producer.
• "Stay Alive" features backing vocals by Sampha.
• "Air Forces" features uncredited background vocals by Frank Dukes.
• "Separate" features additional vocals from Fatima Ali and cityboymoe.
• "What About Heaven" features backing vocals by Sampha.
• "Come Back" features backing vocals by James Blake.

Sample credits

• ^{^[A]} "Air Forces" contains samples of "Heaven Help the Child", written and performed by Mickey Newbury; "The Age-Set" by Dinka People of Abyei from Music of the Sudan: The Role of Song and Dance in Dinka Society.
• "The Hearse" contains a sample of "The Spreading Horns" by Wife of the Paramount Chief from Music of the Sudan: The Role of Song and Dance in Dinka Society.
• "What About Heaven" contains samples of "Allah" from The Music of Upper and Lower Egypt; "The Tribe of Babo" by Dinka People of Abyei from Music of the Sudan: The Role of Song and Dance in Dinka Society.

Adapted from TIDAL, Jaxsta, and liner notes.[19][13][17]

Musicians

• Mustafa – vocals
• Ben Reed – bass guitar ("Separate", "What About Heaven")
• cityboymoe – additional vocals ("Separate")
• David Wrench – additional music ("Air Forces")
• Dylan Wiggins (Sir Dylan) – keyboards ("What About Heaven")
• Fatima Ali – additional vocals ("Separate")
• Frank Dukes – synth (tracks 2, 3, 5, 8); drum programming (tracks 3, 4, 6, 7); programming ("Air Forces"); guitar ("Ali")
• James Blake – synth ("Stay Alive"); vocals, piano ("Come Back")
• Jamie xx – synth ("Air Forces", "The Hearse"); programming ("Air Forces")
• Matthew Tavares – guitar ("The Hearse", "Ali"); synth ("Ali")
• Nate Mercereau – bass guitar, horns ("What About Heaven")
• Pete SCUM Nebula (The Antydote) – arranger, programming, drum programming ("What Abouut Heaven")
• Rodaidh McDonald – synth ("Ali")
• Sampha – featured vocals ("Capo"); backing vocals ("Stay Alive", "What About Heaven"); piano ("Capo"); bongos ("What About Heaven")
• Simon Hessman – guitar (tracks 1–4, 6, 7); synth bass ("Stay Alive")
• Teo Halm – bass guitar ("Stay Alive")

Spoken word and dialogue

• Rax ("Stay Alive")
• Puffy L'z ("Air Forces")
• SAFE ("The Hearse")
• Ali Rizeig ("Ali")
• CAPO ("Capo")
• Smoke Dawg ("Capo")
• AK ("Come Back")

Technical

• Manny Marroquin – mixing
• David Wrench – mixing ("Stay Alive", "Air Forces")
• Chris Galland – mix engineer
• Jeremie Inhaber – assistant mix engineer
• Robin Florent – assistant mix engineer
• Scott Desmarais – assistant mix engineer
• Emerson Mancini – mastering
• Matt Colton – mastering