Kutiman (AKA Ophir Kutiel) is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, orchestra leader and film maker and Dreams in Aspamia is his new EP release. It’s a slick and entertaining journey through cinematic music that perfectly mixes soundtrack with wistful, middle-eastern colours, afro-beat, and trip-hop.
Given that Lalo Schifrin sadly died in June this year you could argue that, along with David Holmes (a long-time writer of scores for director Steven Soderbergh), Kutiman could be a natural successor to the composer. When you listen to ‘Fog Ahead’ you get a heady mix of lush strings, flute and some clipped wah-wah guitar. It’s a track that wouldn’t be out of place in a pre-chase sequence in Bullitt (1968), Dirty Harry (1971) or Soderbergh’s Out of Sight (1998).
‘Pastoral Melancholia’ is a floatation tank of dreamy electric piano and more lush strings which underpin a synth-sax sound that remains the right side of saccharine due to its use of non-western scales. The title track is an aching drift through smeared strings and semi-tone shifts. It’s reflective and dreamlike, and the repeated plucked string phrase might easily get lodged in your subconscious. ‘Dim Dum’ is the shortest track built on a synthesised voice, like a call to prayer, and dramatic pauses. The EP finishes with one of the standout tracks ‘So Long, Stay Safe’ which has the optimistic strains of eastern strings sounds sliding over synth sounds that judder and bubble. At its foundation is the pitch-perfect syncopation of drums and percussion that bounce along, almost skipping through the track.
Dreams in Aspamia sits in a Venn diagram between Lalo Schifrin and Kruder & Dorfmeister. Both production and performance are superlative, and every track drips with both class and style.
Dreams in Aspamia is available to download, stream and as an ultra-limited coloured vinyl edition.
Kutiman: Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | YouTube
Review by Paul F Cook
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