Arash Yazdani — Propagation Of Uncertainty

Propagation Of Uncertainty is a two-CD set bringing together a selection of pieces from Estonia-based modern classical composer Arash Yazdani. His work mixes acoustic and psycho-acoustic elements- to create an often very wonky, highly disorientating, and at points downright unbalancing work.

This release is put out by Austria’s Kairos Music. With the two CDs are presented in a six-panel digipak, which takes in a stuck on twenty-four-page inlay booklet- with both English & German texts, and pictures of Yazdani/ those who play the pieces.

Yazdani has been creating work since around 2007- with his compositions alive as well as moments of sear & noisily grating chaos. So certainly not a composer for those looking for relaxing or soothing fare – this is modern classical music to warp, bend, and break conventions- with little or no thought/ care for conventional harmony, or sonic pleasantries.

Each of the discs takes in five tracks- with total runtimes of sixty-four & seventy-four minutes. On the first disc, we go from "Gā Geriv"- a 2020 composition for four flutes, which creates this slowly wavering & warping quality- like the sonic equivalent of darting & bending flames, which seem to alter the very air around it. Onto 2007’s Stromateis:...emergence...which is for four Saxophones, and is all about slowly pitch bending disquiet- as the track itself seems to melt & drip away in front of your ears.

The second disc opens with 2013 "Convolutional Emergence", which is for violin & percussion. Here we find a series of stretched & shrill tones moving with more loosely bowed fiddles, darts and knocks- all making for a most unpredictable and wonky lively composition. There’s  2020’s "Hommage à Georg Friedrich Haas"- this is for two pianos, and moves from clusters of growing-then-reseeding high-pitch chop, onto slowly pitch warping mid key note flow. With the second disc playing out with 2019’s "Nakba" which is for a large orchestra. Here we shift from mixes of swiping slices & mid-ranged saws. Onto sour malevolence with baying bass billow, darting percussion, and wavering pitch unease.

Propagation Of Uncertainty is a great introduction to the warped modern classical world of Arash Yazdani. Most certainly a release for those who enjoy their sound world bent, unstable, uneven- music to feel queasy, uncomfortable, and uneasy too