Recently, Crash Symbols has become one of the best cassette labels in the business, and with this release, they've secured their place in my upper echelon of fine repertoires. Aria Rostami's "Decades / Peter" quickly struck a chord with me. The lush and dense walls of sound are punctuated with subtle IDM rhythms, calling to mind late 90's UK artists (particularly Arovane and Casino Versus Japan) experimenting with beautiful ambience and clusters of beats. There is a strong narrative here. One could easily assume it to be a soundtrack for an epic film. This recording is very lovely, provocative and mature, with sounds so crisp and clean I had to read the liner notes immediately. It was a pleasant surprise to see that Taylor Dupree mastered it. What a package! I'm playing this one on repeat.
Check it out and buy the cassette:
From Crash Symbols Bandcamp:
"Hailing from San Francisco, producer Aria Rostami's music draws from the rhythms of the Bay and the creative landscape formed by the area's interlocking communities and climates, though his influences are varied; IDM to classical to noise, as well as ideas from world music, both contemporary and traditional. Decades/Peter collects two related sets of recordings, two dynamic concepts that play off of one another, though Rostami's work is normally highly narrative based thanks to his cinematic and literary influences. Peter is an aural distallation of his relationship with a former collaborator, written in his memory, and meant to encompass both his and the composer's identity, as well as their intersection. Peter represents a more open ended collection of songs, particularly tinted by Rostami's childhood love of video games. Decades was made as its deliberate antithesis. According to him, whereas Peter 'croons with vocals and strings,' Decades 'grinds and falls apart in lush ambiance and static,' though the thread of Rostami's identity runs throughout. Together, they serve as a compelling introduction to the producer's burgeoning body of work and conceptual repertoire."
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