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Nih​â​vend Saz Sem​â​î "To Laiko"

from P​î​rî Reis by Kairos Collective / Michiel van der Meulen

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NİHÂVEND SAZ SEMÂÎ
To Laïko

This saz semâî was one of the first full compositions I created outside a seminar, so without guidance. It felt a bit like riding a bicycle for the first time, wobly at first but more confident down the road. As a matter of fact, the first six notes of the teslim (refrain section) came to me while cycling to work. It is actually difficult to compose while cycling if the metre is impossible to align with a your average pedalling rhythm. So either, you ignore this (which I find difficult), you will inadvertedly cycle rather awkwardly (as I do), or you will only produce slow rock ballads in this way (which I don’t).

When I was rehearsing the piece on my own at Labyrinth Musical Workshop in Houdetsi, Ross Daly came in from an adjoining room and asked, “what piece is this?” When we then tried it together his somewhat enigmatic comment was, “this is a real, proper composition.” I was very happy.

The title ‘To Laïko’ refers to a mainstream Greek musical genre, characterised by lightness and westernness. I find this a light piece, especially towards the end, and makam Nihâvend, which resembles a harmonic minor scale, is arguably one of the most easily digestable and relatable Oriental modes to Western ears. The piece is also light in the sense that it contains some (possibly nerdy) humor. Starting out in usul aksak semâî (10/8), it changes to 8/8 (usul müsemmen; 03:27) and then to 6/8 (yürük semâî; 04:36). Progressing from 3-2-2-3 to 3-2-3 to 3-3, the piece basically behaves like a bellows that squeezes out two’s.

credits

from P​î​rî Reis, released February 10, 2017
Musicians: Harris Lambrakis (ney), Giorgos Papaioannou (violin), Manolis Kanakakis (kanun), Yorgos Mavromanolakis (oud), Marijia Katsouna (bendir) | Composition: Michiel van der Meulen | Makam: Nihâvend | Usul: aksak semâî (10/8, 3-2-2-3)

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Kairos Collective Utrecht, Netherlands

Kairos Collective is the occasional ensemble that Michiel van der Meulen assembles to record or perform his contemporary modal music. Kairos is the personification of the right moment, the time to act or an opportunity to be seized, perfectly encapsulating the spirit and atmosphere of the collective's sessions. ... more

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