Crown Jewel is the debut release on Sepehr‘s label Shaytoon Records (meaning “little devil” in Farsi), a label dedicated to Middle-Eastern and Iranian underground sounds.
An online biography of dubious credibility depicts a charming young Sepehr who “tamed a dolphin for the first time at the age of 5. Inspired by the squeaks and sirens of dolphins, he connected pots and pans to Ableton by age 6 and began producing at 9000bpm. This lead to back-to-back 16 hour sets with German classmate Franz in 1st grade on the school jungle gym.” Putting journalistic disbeliefs aside, I would like for this to be true.
Sepehr has toned it down quite a bit since his 9000 bpm playground raves. “Crown Jewel” begins with a kaleidoscope of tones that could be a mixture of dolphin sirens, avian chirps, and an aggressive leaky faucet dyeing the fabric of his fascinating sonic texture. What starts out bright and innocent turns ominous when a haunting bass note tolls and a minor arpeggiation elucidates the initial chirps and sirens to be canaries in a coal mine, putting you on the alert for what’s to come. When a twisted acid line enters, it is most unexpected yet satisfying. This one is a trip, with ambient pads and acid lines constantly shapeshifting, leaving you curious to replay the track at least once more to make sense of it all.
“The Night is Young” is another standout track on this EP. It begins with an undulating dissonant chord followed by a steady kick that recedes into the background, giving way to a croaking, droning acid line. It blends with an ethereal, voice-like melody, and a house beat pattern provides some outward stability while spliced with distorted vocal incantations.
“Riposte” might be the most effective track. A minimalist, vibrating electro beat, and a jagged kick drum line set out on a hunt. When the waves of a ghostly ambient melody emerge, it appears as fleeting and mysterious as the Northern Lights– a beauty both electrifying and terrifying. The underlying hats and claps add freneticism, and the ambient phrasing loops in swells, inducing slight nausea. Sepehr’s techno is captivating, brainy, enigmatic and after this 30-minute psychedelic journey, it might leave you just a tad paranoid.
-Lina Xing
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