LIKULLI FADAIN EQAEH | VINYL RECORD (LP)

Khaled Kurbeh, Likulli Fadain Eqaeh to each space it's own rhythm 2019-23 a landscape of ever amusing contradictions on unstretched canvas: - of predictable rhythms (day and night, high tide and low tide, routine and intuition, rent and bureaucracy) and unpredictable rhythms (good fortune, bad poetry, chance, mistakes and chaos). Berlin-based Syrian musician Khaled Kurbeh makes his Research Records debut with Likulli Fadain Eqaeh, a tapestry of soundscapes written, performed and recorded across four years as part of his practice muhawalat [attempts, variations] and hawamesh [margins]: an outlet of gestures, sonic footnotes and observations from the everyday. Kurbeh's first release in seven years departs from his largely acoustic debut, Aphorisms, a collaboration with oud player Raman Khalaf and ensemble with elements of maqam and jazz. Likulli Fadain Eqaeh offers a collection of 10 electroacoustic compositions - they're brooding and experimental with hints of musique concrete. The tracklist implies a mapping or an itinerary. Field recordings of swallows and the snapping and un-shelling of sunflower seeds on interlude Nuzha I [Excursion I] are countered by sparse composition of low-end synth, harmonium, upright piano and prepared fender rhodes played with mallets on Darb I-II [Path I-II]. Patterns of cymbals and agitated bells appear on Jauqet Ajras [Choir of Bells], while currents of bowed strings shiver and stutter on al-Ajraf [The Cliffs]. The release captures four years of overlapping sonic wanders, finely balancing tensions of harmony and dissonance, stillness and resonance, texture and rhythm - recorded inside and outside. The gatefold vinyl features artworks by Ida Lawrence and includes a booklet of 10 painted variations of the one scene. On the outer cover, paths stretch under a dramatically accented and vivid sky; while inside, the same landscape appears over and over in another light. Likulli Fadain Eqaeh [to each space it's own rhythm], is set for release on July 18th 2025 via Research Records, Naarm/Melbourne. A follow up solo piano album by Kurbeh, recorded in his studio in Kreuzberg, Berlin, will be released later this year.