Microlocking
People Places, 2021
9/10
The Iranian-Canadian composer Saman Shahi’s career has been nothing if not diverse, and here he offers 4 pieces that place an inimitable focus on texture and rhythmic interplay, as each portion assumes an identity all its own.
The album starts with the 6 digital pianos of the title track, where pitch and tonality are key as the junctQín Keyboard Collective present a very sonically adventurous opener, and “Microlocking II” follows with Andrew Noseworthy’s fascinating electric guitar acrobatics that manipulate the instrument in a rock meets classical sort of way which also finds some curious grooves.
“Microlocking III” then recruits Matt Pulkki’s accordion and Shahi’s electronics for a very peculiar and exciting display of blurry gestures and other worldly tones, and, interestingly enough, the short listen exits on a remix of the first song, where Shahi’s electronic prowess unfolds across nearly 8 minutes of downtempo, beat friendly and playful textures with the producer Behrooz Zandi’s Iranian roots right at the surface.
A record that pushes the boundaries of microtonality, Shahi’s rich vision is one that could never be easily classified, but it’s quite easy to be in awe of, and he makes great use of fierce musicianship as well as charming, unique noises that are experimental in all the best ways.
Travels well with: Warp Trio- Warp Trio’s Pandemic Disco Fantasy; Matt Magerkurth- Amends