Amir – Rise, From The Depths, Of A Preliminary State of Youth: A Change Within One In Worlds

We rarely have a chance to stumble upon artists from Beirut. At least that’s the case with me on these pages. It seems like middle eastern artists are not getting enough exposure because of the rapidly growing global music industry. Luckily for all the readers who’re fond of discovering some fresh and unique artists, today I have a chance to review a brilliant recording by Amir. Rise, From The Depths, Of A Preliminary State of Youth: A Change Within One In Worlds represents a debut full-length recording by this Lebanon-based artist, who paid all the attention to the details. He avoided all the common mistakes you may stumble upon at the debuts by many upcoming artists, so this material sounds like it was performed by a highly experienced musician.

Rise, From The Depths, Of A Preliminary State of Youth: A Change Within One In Worlds carries thirteen sophisticated instrumental compositions. Four numbers represent various versions of Unconventional Strings, while there are also two versions of Preliminary and Depths. Some of them are radio edits, single versions, and stripped versions, probably edited and produced for various purposes. Amir’s sound dominantly leans towards the downtempo cinematic ambient, decorated with smaller chunks borrowed from the genres such as post-rock, shoegaze, dream pop, chillwave, and lo-fi music. He creates organic musical surroundings, soundscapes, and ambiances by focusing on sophisticated melodies, harmonies, chord progressions, polyphonic segments, and ear-appealing sequences. He achieves all of these sonic maneuvers on instruments such as guitars and keyboards with occasional rhythmic interruptions.

Rise, From The Depths, Of A Preliminary State of Youth: A Change Within One In Worlds continuously floats between organic and synthetic articulations, movements, accentuations, and it seems Amir is feeling most comfortable in these waters. Generous servings of reverb, delay and echo are giving more depth to these compositions. Most of the shoegaze/dream pop atmosphere comes from these effects. Each one of these effects decorates the engaging themes delivered by guitars, while the keyboard is mainly responsible for various arpeggios and background ambiances. The rhythmic structures are mostly programmed, but at some segments, you’ll get the feeling like you’re listening to a live drum performance. It’s nearly mindblowing how Amir levitates between minimalistic and more complex approach to all the beforementioned genres without spoiling the initial direction of his compositions.

This full-length material will be right up your alley if you’re looking out for a profoundly detailed downtempo ambient recording decorated with smaller chunks of shoegaze, dream pop, and post-rock. Rise, From The Depths, Of A Preliminary State of Youth: A Change Within One In Worlds comes on compact disc, but it is also available on Spotify, Soundcloud, and YouTube.