Latching onto Form

Nice work by New Kid on the Ambient-electronica Block, Aria Rostami, whose ‘attempt to latch onto form, but losing it all to the elements...’ is worth more than a voyeuristic squint. His Form on Audiomoves comes with his own background notes: "Form was recorded in the Winter of 2010/2011 and marks that very specific time in my life. I started recording Form after my project, feie, went on hiatus and for all I know may never exist again. This work reflects my understanding and appreciation for all things coming to an end. The album starts off kicking and screaming and slowly unwinds from then on. Sounds burst out like living organisms, somewhat imperfect and random and then fall apart by refolding into themselves. It carries a bittersweet sentiment, a dying organism so to speak. It is a desperate attempt to latch onto form, but losing it all to the elements. The sound is unstable and fragile. The low ends hold power over everything. It is a battle between what an individual pursues and the overwhelming power of nature. The last song on the album is infinitely loop-able; an old memory as it plays forever."

Audiomoves is a download-only offshoot of David Newman’s estimable Audiobulb label, that has previous (good) form with budding talent - see Szymon Kaliski’s Out of Forgetting (previously on LMYE here and here), and Pascal Savy’s The Silent Watcher (psst! ...over 'ere). Form is a good fit with the 'bulb’s blend of experimental-lite ambient with electronica-IDM (pardon the terminological pile-up, but you’ll hopefully get my shorthand drift): melancholic keyboard lines, infusions of rhythm skitter, though overall Rostami’s approach takes more from ambient timbres – silvery synth lines and plentiful pianisms with a filigree of glitch stitching, as heard to good effect on the likes of opener "Japanese Parisian":

Japanese Parisian by ariarostami

And continued on the evocative likes of "Cleare" and "Mata Hari", which combine lyrical figure with low-end kinesis over fields of colour:

Aria Rostami-Cleare by Audiomoves

Mata Hari by ariarostami

Aria Rostami - "Black Tile" from Matthew Sevilla on Vimeo.

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