Fahmi Mursyid - Krakatoa (2019)

Fahmi Mursyid's music ekes out an existence somewhere between the natural and the artificial. On his newest release, a work that distinctly references the Krakatoa archipelago of volcanic islands, Fahmi expertly pairs the organic with the synthetic, sine waves rippling and mimicking the waves of the ocean, each echoing the other.

Much like the islands referenced, the songs reshape and attempt to rebuild after disruption and disturbance. Loops advance and reorganize after damage and strain, losing little momentum. Some islands end up more damaged than others - "Rakata" is especially fractured, dissonant, and distressed, while "Verlaten" is generally languid, subjected to only mild and infrequent interruptions.

By combining acoustic instrumentation found in world music with granular and modular synthesis, Fahmi effectively builds a world colliding with itself. Luckily, he sticks around to document the aftermath.