Pakistani-American avant-composer and drummer of the cult experimental acoustic trio Dawn of Midi, Qasim Naqvi, will release a new record titled Beta, a limited edition on clear vinyl, on June 20th.
Meant as a sister release to last year’s acclaimed six-part modular synth suite Teenages, Beta is a series of experiments chronicling Naqvi’s understanding of writing for this type of instrument and the growth of the instrument itself.
The B-side of Beta is a live performance of the track Teenages, which was recorded at the first Erased Tapes x LCO: Purcell Session at Southbank Centre, London in February 2019.
If Teenages captured the sound of electronics living, breathing and mutating of their own accord, Beta rather describes the moment they came to life.
“Beta is a prequel to the story of Teenages. At the time I had the most basic elements of a modular synthesiser – one oscillator and a random voltage generator which is a module that releases sporadic currents through the system. Ironically, this component provided a lot of warmth and humanness to the music, a kind of fallibility. I fed simple melodic ideas and rhythmic patterns into this bare bones setup and observed the responses, while occasionally guiding the music in other directions. It was like a diagnostic test. At the time I felt that this music was underdeveloped but listening back, I think the Beta tracks add an interesting dimension to the entire Teenages arc. They’re the zygotes.” — Qasim Naqvi
credits
released July 3, 2020
Music for modular synthesizer
Composed and produced by Qasim Naqvi
Published by Erased Tapes Music Publishing Ltd.
Teenages performed live at Purcell Room, Southbank Centre, london
as part of the Erased Tapes x LCO Purcell Sessions on February 12, 2019
Recorded by Chris Kalcov
Mastered by Sarah Register
Vinyl cut by Barry Grint at Alchemy, London
Still life with dreamed stripes painting by Meg Franklin
Design by Torsten Posselt at FELD, Berlin
An infinite thanks to Johanna Ren Naqvi, Lauren Clark, Sarah Register, Meg Franklin, Chris Kalcov, Robert Ames, London Contemporary Orchestra, Southbank Centre, Robert Raths and Erased Tapes
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