Maryam Kiani 'Embrace' [Digital]

Maryam Kiani, known as Out Of Phase, is an Iranian sound artist and composer. She primarily works in electronic styles such as IDM, experimental sound art, and ambient.

Embrace tells the life story of a man who finds himself surrounded by an unwanted predetermined destiny, while a strong desire to change calls him beyond his current existence, and forces him to break the walls around him, taking the rudder of his own way. Doing this, he creates a song out of his own power and that of nature, in its extreme harmony and uniformity, in which he feels born again.

The primary atmosphere and composition of these pieces is experimental, while also utilizing drone and industrial sounds, responding to different emotional situations. Most of the melodies here have been created and written with digital synthesizers and oscillators. A variety of sound sources and audio effects, such as human voices and environmental sounds, have been produced through recording unique sounds and focusing on digital sound processing.

"It’s an emotional record with visceral throughlines, building on the concept of changing life’s trajectory. Kiani uses an array of instrumentation and compositional techniques to create unique sound worlds filled with emotive synth passages, angular rhythms, and textural samples. It’s rich and immersive, reflecting the journey of the album’s protagonist as he alters his destiny to discover his own power. Embrace is such an impressive debut."

-- Foxy Digitalis