Yara Asmar

Today we’re listening to Yara Asmar, a Lebanese composer based in Beirut. We previously recommended her music about a year ago, accompanied by an interview. Asmar, who is also a puppeteer, is interested in the mechanical production of sound, and gravitates toward instruments like the glass harmonica. On her 2023 record, synth waltzers and accordion laments, she blended synth pads with home recordings of music boxes and her grandmother’s Hohner Marchesa accordion. On her new record, Stuttering Music, which came out in November, she drew out the notes from that accordion in a studio, applying deep reverb. “At times reminiscent of Tim Hecker’s tectonic drones or Keith Fullerton Whitman’s ethereal signal processing, the most obvious referent may be the way Pauline Oliveros treated her own accordion sounds,” noted a closer listen, whose wonderful review is worth a read.

Stuttering Music - Yara Asmar (53m, no vocals)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Bandcamp / Tidal

synth waltzes and accordion laments - Yara Asmar (42m, spoken words on track 5)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Bandcamp / Tidal

Have a great Wednesday.

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