Sacred Horror In Design
Known for its more abstract sonic curation of electronic productions ranging from house and techno to 'other', UK-based independent imprint Opal Tapes is set to release a new album by Hamburg-born and currently Tehran-based electronic music composer and sound artist Ata 'Sote' Ebtekar. Sote made his extraordinary debut on the label last year, when he released his "Hardcore Sounds From Tehran" LP and will follow that up on July 28th with his latest feat on Opal Tapes entitled "Sacred Horror in Design". And we can't say we've ever heard something quite like it:
"Developed from a commission by CTM Festival as an audio/visual project in collaboration with Tarik Barri, and inspired by their 2017 theme of ‘Fear Anger Love’ and its relationship to his childhood following the 1979 Iranian revolution, the record reveals a dramatic blend of acoustic Persian instrumentation and contemporary electronics. [...] Now living in Tehran, his music has frequently grappled with the strict cultural restrictions imposed in his country over the past few decades, finding a space and setting to nurture new developments in experimental sound and performance. [...] Sote aims to devise an idealised fusion of the musical heritage and tradition of Iran with the forward-thinking vision which has propelled his storied career producing techno, hardcore and computer music [...]." (Opal Tapes)
The first two tracks are already available on Bandcamp and we can't wait to hear the remaining four as Sote is joined by Arash Bolouri on santour (Persian hammered dulcimer) and Behrouz Pashaei in "on the long-necked, four stringed setar. Sote frames and responds to their traditional artistry. On occasions he directly manipulates the music emanating from their ancient instruments, cultivating and thickening up a surreal and beautiful tonality plucked from their strings with a series of processing techniques, but mostly each track is a peaceful arrangement and partnership, Sote electro-acoustically augmenting their movements within his own cybernetic framework." What more could we possibly say other than 'yes, more please!' For more information, head over to Bandcamp, but before, listen to "Segaah" in the player above.
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