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Art As Catharsis is proud to announce the release of Qais Essar’s new EP, Letters To My Best Friend – three heartfelt, unique tracks that accentuate Essar’s love of the rabab and diversity as a composer.
On Letters To My Brief Friend, Essar draws influence from musicians from East and West alike, from Steve Reich’s compositional flair, to the soaring vocals of Afghanistan’s Ustad Sarahang; from the melancholic folk of Nick Drake and Devendra Banhart; to the legendary classical sarod of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. The result is a sublime instrumental narrative which envelops listeners with nuance, depth and emotional power.
“With every release I am still ever so trying to push the rabab instrument to new limits, sonically along with my approach to playing it,” says Essar. “Be it giving departing from the traditional staccato style of play and creating a vocal style, where I try to emulate the human voice, or new techniques that I picked up from other instruments."
"The Hurt features the first time where you can hear tapping on the rabab. This along with the use of harmonics, triads, etc, I lifted from guitar. Compositionally it is still continuing the conversation forward that my rabab has had with the world around us - blazing the middle path between worlds, drawing from my experiences with both eastern and western classical, prog, freak folk, and jazz.”
Essar’s penchant for instrumental storytelling captures the imagination in a far more powerful way than words ever could, possibly the reason behind his continued success in music, film and theatre.
His accomplishments include a Canadian Screen Award for Best Achievement in Music, composing for Golden Globe and Oscar nominated film The Breadwinner – directed by Nora Twomey and produced by Angelina Jolie – along with working on performance musicals and live theatre in Brooklyn, New York where his talents generate a wistful atmosphere second to none.
Again, on Letters to My Best Friend, Essar continues to evolve his award-winning style of playing to new heights – spectacularly covering new forms of instrumental, compositional and emotional diversity in the process.
credits
released October 25, 2019
Produced By: Qais Essar
Mix: Qais Essar, Eric Zang (Phoenix)
Mastering: Justin Gray (Toronto)
"The Hurt", "To Mars and Back" (Q. Essar)
"Ahesta Bero" (Traditional)
supported by 21 fans who also own “Letters To My Best Friend”
Hashshashin's music is a bold fusion of sound and style, excitingly blending power with finesse to create sounds from another world. Urgent compositions possessing thunderous speed are swiftly countered by moody passages where darkness lies – each track attracts with unique attributes. Michael Reilly
supported by 15 fans who also own “Letters To My Best Friend”
I've been listenining this non stop since I discovered it. incredible musichanship and taste for harmonies. the tracks flow incredibly well but surprise you at every change. Love the rhythm fuckery that's going on, so inspiring. Gata Vrangr
supported by 14 fans who also own “Letters To My Best Friend”
I absolutely love the highly energetic mix of rock middle-eastern traditional music. This one is especially good. it instantly sucks you into it's story and tells you a wonderful and exhilarating tale. heraldofennui
Australian singer Jessica tempers ornate baroque folk with stark gothic poetry, infusing sadcore with transcendent sensibilities. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 26, 2020
Maer, from Switzerland, debut with a haunted (and haunting) folk song that will warm you heart as it sends shivers down your spine. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 23, 2022
Cloud Caverns bring together a host of different musical genres—everything from prog to electronic music to folk—for a deeply personal record. Bandcamp Album of the Day Aug 18, 2016
supported by 11 fans who also own “Letters To My Best Friend”
The most underrated band in all Australia. This appeals to everyone to fans of 60s psychedelia to the seediest bellies of metal. Hashshashin should be bigger than they are now. 黑之爱丽丝