Stockholm-based pianist/composer Shida Shahabi follows up last year’s ‘Lake On Fire’ OST with the release of another short film score,  for Swedish director Maria Eriksson-Hecht’s ‘Alvaret’. Stepping away from her piano entirely, the EP’s five tracks are performed by Shida on electric bass and synth, alongside the cello of regular collaborator Linnea Olsson. It was mixed by Hampus Norén and mastered by Francesco Donadello, and will be released as a digital EP via FatCat’s 130701 imprint on November 26th. A beautifully rich and atmospheric soundtrack, ‘Alvaret’ posts further confirmation of Shida’s special talent and growing reputation as a composer of the highest order.   

Produced by Lars Von Trier’s Zentropa company, Eriksson-Hecht’s ‘Alvaret’ is a powerful, stunningly shot 20-minute study on the aftermath of tragedy and a young girl’s resilience and determination to hold her remaining family together. The film runs short on dialogue but deep in emotional honesty and integrity as it probes the depths of care and despair. Perfectly in step with the director’s vision, Shida’s score avoids tugging at hearstrings via the obvious tropes of sentimentality, instead pulling back to a cooler, more measured and complex emotional distance, and an intimation of the barren, low-lying island landscape in which the film is set.

Alvaret (original soundtrack)

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Shida Shahabi - Low Land

Arun Sood / The Old Dictaphone

Seeking (Holographic Field Rework)

Seditious Sedation

Land Of Ice

From the album Modern Country, out now on Merge Records.

Modern Country

William Tyler "Gone Clear"

Wall Sailor

The Swifter - Steel Murmuration

from 'The Death of Our Invention' [CD|LP|DIGITAL]
Denovali Records · den297
available on all formats at [http://denovali.com/birdsofpassage]

The Death of Our Invention

Birds of Passage - Without the World

Fallen

Small Collisions

Composer and drummer of Dawn of Midi, Qasim Naqvi, releases his debut album for Erased Tapes on May 3rd. 'Teenages' captures the sound of electronics living, breathing and mutating of their own accord – almost autonomously – with only subtle, sparing but perfectly-judged and masterful guidance.

This album is one singular synergy between Qasim and his machine within a broader milieu of sound, also explored by contemporaries Sarah Davachi, Alessandro Cortini, Caterina Barbieri and also the forefather, Morton Subotnick. At points tonal, textural and rhythmic, over six evolving and growing audio organisms, the album flourishes upwards in stages, from initial micro-sonics to something bigger, brighter and anthemic.

With 'Teenages', Naqvi summoned all the material on an analog modular synthesizer – a voltage-controlled sound generating system comprised of multiple modules. Naqvi built this synth over the course of two years and amassed a collection of works for this album. The album chronicles both Naqvi’s understanding of writing for this type of instrument and the growth of the instrument itself:

“I started with just a few modules. And naturally things had to be layered and pieced together but as the synthesiser and its components grew over time, I was able to create broader and more complex strokes in the moment. And by the time I got to ‘Teenages’, it was possible to create a robust, large-scale piece spontaneously. This is very much an experiential album for me because it was borne out of my direct experience of learning the instrument. And as the synthesiser grew over time with more components, it matured. At times I felt like it was even rebelling against my instructions or surprising me with what felt like its own choices. When everything was finished and I was thinking about track titles, this idea of artificial intelligence came into my head; a machine that reacts to your impulses and is capable of giving you something different from what you ask, and even defying you. It felt like different stages of growth and adolescence, and that lead to the album title, ‘Teenages’.”

Deeply rewarding on close listening, Naqvi has created an inspiring and synapse-stimulating new masterwork, within the analogue/modular cannon.

· pre-order 'Teenages' on LP/CD/DL: https://idol.lnk.to/QasimTeenages

12 Delta Sleep (Galya Bisengalieva Rework)

manudelago

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