Cypriot-French soprano Sarah Aristidou and Turkish-German composer and sound artist Kaan Bulak present their new collaborative EP titled ‘S’Agapo‘. The release transcends geographical and cultural barriers, and features remixes by Ricardo Villalobos and Peruvian sound artist Ale Hop.

Pre order: Soon at Bandcamp

‘S’Agapo’ EP due out December 28 (Digitally) is the first of Feral Note‘s Origins series, where artists retake traditions, songs, sounds from their childhood within their contemporary sensitivity. And indeed, ‘S’Agapo’ EP is all starting from Sarah Aristidou’s memory of Cypriot folk songs, ‘S’Agapo’ and ‘Agiá Marína’: intimate, folk yet contemporary, where acoustics are augmented by electronics until hallucination and psychedelic. This is definitely a piece that any good music collector must have. Read below full details.

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Cypriot-French soprano Sarah Aristidou has known Cypriot folk songs S’Agapo und Agiá Marína since her childhood. Far from the opera stage she recorded the songs with Turkish-German composer and sound artist Kaan Bulak in the label studio in Berlin. Closely microphoned and electronically augmented, her soprano voice appears more intimate and palpable than on a grand opera stage. In both remixes her voice is carried and surrounded with electronics instead of an orchestra, that creates an experience from a new perspective. The result is the unification of traditional and contemporary influences on a record with two electroacoustic folksongs and remixes thereof. On Feral Note’s tenth release, diverse approaches to art and geographic histories are merged.

S’Agapo was remixed by the Chilean minimal pioneer Ricardo Villalobos and Agía Marína by Peruvian sound artist Ale Hop. In his remix Ricardo Villalobos embeds the soprano voice in his cosmos of lively breathing electronic impulses with expressive breaks and goes on to augmenting, layering, and creating a psychedelic vocal ensemble. In contrast, Ale Hop sets the folksong in a dark and mighty space with profound beats and distortions of the voice that surround the listener in a hallucinatory manner.

Ink paintings being layered through effacing hand gestures, building new structures and finding new depths like Sarah Aristidou’s vocals: the release is visually completed with two videos by the Syrian-Armenian artist Kevork Mourad who also made the cover painting specifically for this release. Despite travel restrictions throughout production phases, the collaborative release allowed the artists to virtually stay connected and inspired between Berlin and New York.

Origins is the new release series by Feral Note that follows a contemporary perspective on traditions and folk songs. The series that starts with S’Agapo focuses on music pieces and sounds which were present in the unconsciousness of artists since childhood. Their connection to the modern day is emphasized through electroacoustic production, remixes and visual art.

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Artist. Sarah Aristidou & Kaan Bulak —
Title. S’Agapo
Cat#. FN010
Format. digital/vinyl 12”
Label. Feral Note
Release date. December 28, 2021 digital/2022 tbd vinyl

Tracklist.

A1 / 1. S’Agapo
A2 / 2. Agía Marína
A3 / 3. Agía Marína (Ale Hop Remix)
B1 / 4. S’Agapo (Ricardo Villalobos Remix)

Credits.

Vocals: Sarah Aristidou
Artwork & Videos: Kevork Mourad
Production & Mixing: Kaan Bulak
Mastering: Kassian Troyer (Dubplates & Mastering)
Remixes: Ale Hop & Ricardo Villalobos
FN010 — all rights reserved
℗ & © Feral Note 2021

Cover photo: Sarah Aristidou Kaan Bulak by Nailya Bikmurzina

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