Saba Alizadeh creates music that is politically-involved and commenting on social matters. And as he is from Iran, you know that it is not going to be an easy-listening album. On his third album, Temple of Hope, the experimental musician talks about the issues in an extremely interesting and poignant way, even if he doesn't use many words.
"How can a sense of beauty be found amidst fear and cruelty", asks his Bandcamp account and I have to say, his post0industrial electronic soundscapes are far from the self-reflecting ambient pieces I usually listen to. Instead, they are filled with nerve-wrecking, thrilling sounds that come and go. There is the sense of danger and darkness as he "transforms the events during the >>Woman Life Freedom<< movement, as well as the struggles of the population in previous years, into poignant electro-acoustic music".
I said that he uses a few words and it's true: Alizadeh himself uses Kamancheh, a traditional, string instrument the sound of which is heavily transformed into the noisy, industrial output used to create the soundscapes. On some of the tracks, there are vocals though. They are provided by guest artists from Iran (Iran-born Sanam Maroufkhani) and from the Western World (Austrian Andreas Spechtl) and I have to say, the charm and beauty mentioned before can be found mostly in those places. The temples of hope.
Temple of Hope costs 8 EUR.
Check: Plain of the Free
Country: Iran
Genre: experimental post-industrial
Label: 30M Records
