Music by: Igor Iofe and Thomas Nakas 
Piano: Thomas Nakas @to_mi_nor
Trumpet: Igor Iofe @igoriofe-1
Art Cover by Luana Bento: www.instagram.com/offluaph
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This musical material is very dear to me and it came to me many years ago, in about 2002. I would walk to my bus stop to go to school or walk to the bazar always humming these few very simple chords. They were stuck in my head for quite some years. Strange that at that time I had never considered doing anything with this material. Maybe because I was very much occupied with abstract contemporary conceptual music back then. The older I become the more I appreciate clarity, simplicity and emotion in music rather than complexity and hidden abstract concepts. The time to unfold this material came 20 years after. Thomas Nakas aka @to_mi_nor brought it to life  by creating a beautiful piano part, structure and arrangement. This is our second EP and there are more works to come!

The improvisations are rough, meaning that I recorded them in one take with no corrections or editing and this represents the concept of this EP. Do we have to be perfect at all? Or is it maybe more important to honestly communicate your thoughts, your feelings, regrets, nostalgia?..

#tomi # Igor_Iofe

Imperfect//Monologs (Intro)

https://open.spotify.com/track/6ZqzH5qSUIeWQWTJJY9ppr?si=bceddb7ffcc9470d 

[rough translation]
RITUAL
I preserve the little ritual,
so you can return anytime.

Every day, when evening falls,
I prepare the table: an extra plate,

cutlery, your own chair, a candle, a glass,
as if you just were delayed.

I hear (how could I think that what
makes me who I am, was gone forever?)

I hear, as if the house still existed,
the gravel, the latch, the dog barking,

and you come in at the moment
I light the lamp, arrange the flowers.

I just hope I can stay calm
and without looking up from my silent routine

find the words, as if it were self-evident:
sit down, help yourself, you were expected.

[Dutch poem]
RITUEEL
Ik houd het kleine ritueel in ere,
opdat je elk moment terug kunt keren.

Iedere dag, wanneer het avond wordt,
maak ik de tafel klaar: een extra bord,

bestek, je eigen stoel, een kaars, een glas,
alsof je enkel opgehouden was.

Ik hoor (hoe kon ik denken dat hetgeen
waardoor ik ben, voor altijd was verdwenen ?),

ik hoor, alsof de woning nog bestond,
het grind, de klink, het aanslaan van de hond,

en je komt binnen op het ogenblik
dat ik de lamp ontsteek, de bloemen schik.

Ik hoop alleen dat ik dan rustig blijf
en haast niet opziend van mijn stil bedrijf

de woorden vind, als was het vanzelfsprekend:
Schuif aan; tast toe: er is op je gerekend.


Poem: Jean Pierre Rawie
Music & mix: Bas Kooman
Master: White Sea Studio (2022.06.27)

RITUEEL (mastered)

LYRICS

Phone on the sofa, 
oh you're taking in nothing,
vaguely listening to the scene.
I would kinda love it if you'd give me something, 
something to work with, 
something to grow.
I would kinda like it if you showed some feeling,
or if there's nothing you would let us know. 

We're heading out to see the queen.
We're here to see what's going wrong.
We're all relaxed and so serene.
We're heading out to see the queen. 

The beer bottles pile up by your feet, 
your grieving; isn't aimed above but rather just below.
Any excuse to feel collective meaning, 
just laying back to enjoy the show. 

We're heading out to see the queen.
We're oh so worried what's gone wrong.
We're all relaxed and so serene.
We're heading out to see the queen. 

We're heading out to see the queen.
We're here to see what's going wrong.
We're all relaxed and so serene.
We're heading out to see the queen. 

Your eyes barely flicker as you light up your cigarette,
take a drag and survey the scene.
I was kinda hoping that you'd be my princess.
kinda hoping that you'd be my queen.

The Queen [with The Fall of Saigon]

From the upcoming album The NTT's Funk Odyssey Vol. 2 due in 2023

The NTT - The Hereafter

The wine makes you look pretty
You know we think you're sweet
It's all the same to you
Party those demons away

A butterfly like you
A bird in rainbow colors
You flutter and you charm us
Nectar flowing through your veins
The stage is your home base 
The night is your lover
The light of day is far away but closing time too soon

Abandonment makes us feel pretty
Anarchy keeps us young
It's all the same to me 
Let's laugh the night away 

A butterfly like you
A bird in rainbow color 
You flutter and you charm us
Nectar flowing through your veins
The stage is your home base 
The night is your lover
The light of day is far away but closing time too soon

A butterfly like you
A bird in rainbow color 
You flutter and you charm us
Nectar flowing through your veins
The stage is your home base 
The night is your lover
The light of day is far away but closing time too soon

Pretty

My Cup of Tea

GENTLE GHOST Chamber String Ensemble

As the crocuses rise from the ground.
The boots of the wise man still tramping them down.
As the world makes its slow turn around.
An infinite circle just spinning to ground.
Don't be sad that you live by the ocean,
stone throw to the sea. 
Whilst your bodies in infinite motion, 
but how can that be? 

First things first comes the test, got to prove you're the best, just hitch up on your horse and lets go.
'Cause the meltwater flows where the crocuses grow, 'tween the rocks and the stones that don't know. 
That the river has taken its toll.
That the winter is set to move on.
That the boulders that it set to roll.
Will return to the place they belong.

As the crocuses rise in the spring.
The world in a state of bewildered mourning. 
Though most made it through to this dawn.
There is bare earth where once stood a ripe field of corn. 
There's a chill that comes with your devotion, 
an obvious fee.
Like the wind crossing over the ocean,
just naturally.

Crocus

Warm Soda and Cold Dogs

September Prelude - Mazurka-inspired Rhythmic Lilt

CMYK ( Orchestral)

Igor Iofe is a
composer whose musical
paths lead to diverse stylistic destinations. Currently Igor's focus in music is Armenian traditional duduk repertoire which he performs on trumpet. He brings the beauty and warmth of the duduk into his trumpet playing.

At the Conservatorium van Amsterdam he studied with  Wim Hendrickx,Richard Ayres,  Fabio Nieder,Willem Jeths and Jorrit Tamminga. Igor attended masterclasses with Misato Mochizuki, Dmitry Kourliandski, Tristan Murail andTan Dun. His music was performed at the Composers’ Festival Amsterdam (2012 and 2013), Atlas Academy (2010-12),  Looptail XXX and at such venues as De Link, De Duif, Het Bethaniënklooster, Het Veem, STEIM, Muziekgebouw aan 't Ij and CvA in Amsterdam and other cities of the Netherlands. His piece Y+Ywas performed by the Joint Venture Percussion Duo at several venues in the USA and Europe.

Parallel to his Classical Composition studies Igor studied Composing Music for Film with Jurre Haanstra and graduated as a Master in Composing for FIlm at the CvA. During his studies he wrote music for several movies which were shown at the Beeldbuis Filmfestival, Keep an Eye Film Festival, VERS Awards, Cinekid Filmfestival, M2M Filmfestival and Pleinbioscoop Rotterdam.

Igor is one of the organisers of the Toets des Tijds Concert Series