(2021) Saba Alizadeh - I May Never See You Again
Review:
This is another stupendous release from the emergent 30M Records. Kamancheh player Saba Alizadeh’s second solo album is an introspective, and at times uneasy, journey into previously unexplored regions. The album is situated at the nexus of instrumental, vocal, electrical and natural sound and deftly obscures the definitions of each, creating a brave new world of sound and gesture. The album mostly transcends national or ethnic connotations – the fact that he is Iranian and plays the kamancheh is merely incidental and throughout the recording he plays with the borders between natural sounds, white noise and static. On tracks such as ‘Silences Inbetween’ there is an almost imperceptible transfiguration from a backdrop of sea and wind to a gale of static. His kamancheh and esoteric vocals sit at the centre of the storm, giving it focus and, at times, something a little more tangible. The opening track, for example, features more recognisably Persian sounds: an octave effect and a breathiness evocative of the ney (flute). But these familiar sounds of the region are subtly altered here with various reverbs and delays, as if to say ‘yes we’re in Iran, but not as you know it.’ —
onglines.co.uk
Track Listing:
1.I May Never See You Again 03:41
2.Phasing Shadows (with Andreas Spechtl) 06:33
3.Silences Inbetween 03:34
4.Norooz 99 02:53
5.Ablution 06:12
6.Only Hope Breaks The Dark Waves 02:56
7.Touch (with Andreas Spechtl) 08:59
8.Hybrid (with Rojin Sharafi) 06:00
9.Azin 02:27
Media Report:
Genre: ambient, experimental, world
Country: Iran
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits