[su_dropcap style=”simple”]A[/su_dropcap]shkan Kooshanejad is a futurist but comes from one of the most ancient countries in the world. It’s not surprising: as old as it is, the culture of Iran has always had a strong sense for the modern and this young man, now based in London, is sure making something new. A tireless experimenter, Ash Koosha treats sound with the curiosity of a scientist. Fiercely electronic but shaped by years of Persian and Western classical music theory, his work comes from thought but ends up being intensely physical, always split between chaos and structure. These premises hold perfectly for his sophomore album, “I AKA I”.

“I AKA I” is a study of music as a chemical substance. It melts, it hardens in new shapes, it sublimates and then melts again. It all happens at a microscopic level as if Ash was working with molecules instead of notes. That’s sort of what he does actually: his “nano-compositions”, as he calls them, are made of small samples which get magnified, cut-up and re-packaged in a new entity, often without much deliberation. He’s an alchemist.

In “Mudafossil”, Persian suggestions and harsh, hard-hitting beats get combined in a dense digital embroidery of elastic rhythms and shape-shifting melodies. The video for the track was directed by Hirad Sab, who has worked with our girl Sevdaliza before, and Dalena Tran. It’s a disquieting display of computer-made flesh, metallic bodies with no skin distorted and recomposed like wax by an invisible force with a taste for CGI.

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“I AKA I” is out now via Ninja Tune. It’s good stuff. Buy it here.

[su_dropcap style=”simple”]I[/su_dropcap]ranian multi-instrumentalist Ashkan Kooshanejad, better known as Ash Koosha, will release his new album “I AKA I” via Ninja Tune on April 1. After the lead single “Mudafossil”, here is “Biutiful”, a spectral and volatile track that spreads beauty and emotions all over the place.

Like Mikael Seifu, the Tehran-born but London-based producer mixes experimentation, world music and emotions and the rendition is an invitation to travel and to dream.

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