Nancy Mounir's debut work conjures the spirits of great Egyptian composers

Tracks of dialogue with ghosts summoned by a composer who inherits traditional Egyptian music, where the past and the present intersect.

Based in Cairo, Egypt, Nancy Mounir is a composer and multi-instrumentalist well versed in violin, piano, basse, theremin and the traditional Egyptian reed flute Kawara. She also has a unique musical background which saw her as a member of the metal band Massive Scar Era in the past. She helps to modernize the traditional techniques of Arabic music gained through research on Egyptian singers from the 1920s and their musical life.

Her debut album, Nozhet El Nofous, means "Promenade of the Souls" in Arabic and brings the passion of Egyptian singers (she calls them "ghosts") who were active in the early 20th century to the present day.

For example, the song "Khafif Khafif" recorded in this work uses the archive recording of Saleh Abdel Hay, who was famous at that time. The recording, which sounds like a magical prayer of a ghost, has been reconstructed with a modern ambient arrangement. The rough sound quality like a frayed tape makes her feel the rebellion, open air and heat of that time as if she were traveling in time. Also, this unique emotional sound, which uses a sub-scale tune called "Makam", which is often used in Arabic music, may not be familiar to listeners who are accustomed to Western music tunes at first. But once you get used to it, you might just feel the slow pull of this graceful and fantastic world. Encounters with Egypt's past souls will give you new musical experiences and inspiration you’ve never experienced before. 


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Capturing the Physical, Frond’s ‘Every Particle’

In the build up to his second album, Frond sets out plans for an ambitious ambient collection

Frond is the alias of Richard Bultitude, a UK based artist whose speciality lies within soundscapes which reach to define intangible sensations, and transport physical locations into ethereal realms. To achieve this, Frond looks to the genres of ambient, drone and experimental electronica. Field recording is often at the heart of Frond’s style, and serves as the link between physical inspiration behind the track and the final release.

Live instruments and custom-made synth add to the potent balance of familiarity and innovative methodology.  The artist’s discography invites calm introspection, oriented towards ambience which looks to progress expansively rather than chronologically.

The latest release from Frond is ‘Every Particle’, an exploration of intimacy and tactile closeness. Carefully manipulated samples of campfire create a calming sound which evades abstraction, falling into the gradual melodies which spread across this patient track. Recorded before the isolation of this year began, it’s an appropriate attempt to recreate a deeply instinctive atmosphere.

The single precludes an upcoming second album titled ‘Always There, Somewhere’ out now on esc.rec. A collection which considers cinematic tones, string instrumentation and emotionally rich chord progressions, the central aim for ‘Always There, Somewhere’ is to express perspectives on permanence and the lasting connections we create.

Support the album on Bandcamp or stream it on Spotify

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Holographic Field folds nature into ambience, with ‘Gravity’

Jonas Meyer has been behind a curious variety of projects, each taking a different approach to the world of electronica. Collaborating with visual artists, jazz musicians and acoustic performers, Meyer’s work has taken him through genres both well established and strikingly experimental. With audio-visual trio ‘Cordial’ he has delved into consciousness warping synth, but the tracks produced with groups ‘Unland’ and ‘Frames’ welcome a rich element of acoustic sound, playing with guitar riffs and real-time orchestral input.

Now, Myer has begun to make more decisive moves towards solo work, having released ‘Konfusion’; a debut album with Welsh record label Serein in 2019. Within this electro-acoustic album Myer obsesses over the details of minute samples, before pulling back to wider, all-encompassing waves of synthesiser.

Myer’s most recent activity is a continuation of his main solo project, ‘Holographic Field’, where he focuses on ambient electronica. With an EP back in 2012 and an album in 2015, the release of ‘Illuminate’ on February 14th of this year marks the third collection under this alias.

Containing ten tracks of ambience charged with strange, experimental energy, Illuminate is at times emotionally soothing and elsewhere disconcerting. With our sample track ‘Gravity’ field recordings blur with static, and synths quietly shine

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