Out today, Faten Kanaan’s fifth LP ‘Afterpoem’ – a mysterious, smudgy, bittersweet, and uniquely playful album. Deeply melodic, it continues her poignant exploration of counterpoint as a narrative tool.
From the repetitive structures of modern minimalism and early music/baroque influences – to more languid textural ebbs and tides, there’s a warmth in her use of synthesizers that gives the album a curiously timeless feel. Composing intuitively, her music has often been described as ‘strange’, mostly because it creates its own world- one that isn’t easily categorised.
“Leaning on looped synths/keys and counterpoint melodies in compositions that are as rich as they are dreamily mysterious.. all are rapturous in their repetition and irresistibly otherworldly” ★★★★ Uncut
The album’s title refers to the haze of a poem’s intended meaning being abstractly fleeting and barely graspable. Glistening threads of understanding still touch us – the poetry becoming intimately personal, and no further literal explanation is needed.
“I find pleasure in music as a language that nudges and hints. There’s a potential that lives in things left unsaid… meanings drifting in and out of focus… hovering like spirits. It’s a romantic and earnest album… of yearning for lost places and people, while still looking out at the world with tenderness and humour”.
This album traces the metaphysical threads connecting us. It’s about love: for people, for nature, for the world around us. Complex feelings are translated into tangible objects we extend to each other through words, actions, music.
It’s about being romantic in our approach to everything. About welcoming mysteries… being just on the edge of having answers, but not always needing them.
To celebrate the release, Faten will have an album release show in New York at National Sawdust in Brooklyn on 24th Feb followed by a run of live dates in the UK with Colin Stetson:
US
24 Feb: National Sawdust, Brooklyn, NY, US
UK with Colin Stetson
28 Apr: Union Chapel, London
29 Apr: Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, Brighton
01 May: Blues Kitchen, Manchester
02 May: Howard Assembly Room, Leeds
“An intriguing album from a composer at the peak of her powers.” ★★★★★ The Vinyl District
