Artist Statement:

In 2018, I started learning how to play the tombak, and at the same time I got into modular synths. I began experimenting on the dialogue between those two sonic entities. It was appealing to see how these two instruments were polar opposites. The dichotomy between a piece of wood and skin, built by one person in Iran, and a super-geeky synth made of different sub-elements designed by manufacturers from all around the western world fascinates me.

It took me a couple years to realize that this hybrid setup, born from a technical and empirical perspective, was actually a metaphor of my own identity : I’m the son of Iranian immigrants but I never got to go to Iran. I speak farsi with my parents but I didn’t grow up in the same country as them. What should I do with this heritage? How can I support the weight of this culture which is mine and not mine at the same time? This project is my way of dealing with this question.

For the past 4 years, this setup has been used in 60+ live concerts, all of which were totally improvised. The combination of those two sonic entities opens up an improvisation field that I explore during gigs in order to create musical ideas on the spot. As I was starting to think about recording an EP with this setup, it took me a lot of time and research to find the right way of doing it. When I’m playing live, especially during an improv, I’m taking into account the physical space, the acoustics, the people, the lightning, the time of the day…
All those “environmental” parameters are out of the equation in the context of a fixed track in an EP. Furthermore, some ideas that work very well in the heat of the moment during a live-set can be totally out of the context in a fixed track.

This EP is my first attempt at tackling this question. All the tracks originate from live recordings of shows that I did in September 2022 in Bourges, France. I’ve composed and produced around them, keeping the live energy and the idea born out of the improvisation, but took them further in terms of composition, structure, mixing and sound design.


Artist Bio:

Cinna Peyghamy is a composer and sound artist, born in France to Iranian parents. His debut album ‘Gamut’ released in 2017 under the moniker Cikkun, soon followed by the EP ‘Injonctions’. Both showcased a unique turn on IDM and bass music’s standard as the young producer started to implement what would define his sound: fragmented rhythms, severe pattern seizure, abrasive melodies and abyssal mood swings.
Born within the Parisian experimental/noise scene, his live act gravitated more and more towards full-on improvisations with self-made sound devices. True to his scientific and programming background, Cinna Peyghamy creates and designs unique instruments, from DIY synthesizers and soundboxes to motor-based mechanical structures that serve as tools for his compositions, performances and sound installations.
Leaving his alias and performing under his full name since 2019, his recent work focuses on real-time transformation of acoustic sounds. At the center of his setup is the tombak, a traditional Iranian percussion instrument. By combining it with the endless possibilities of the modular synthesizer, Cinna blends the boundaries between acoustic and electronic, between traditional and contemporary. During his improvised live set, he builds a dialogue between these two sonic entities and explores the never-ending improvisation field created by this hybrid setup.
His work has been shown in numerous festivals such as Nuits Sonores, Switch Festival, Propagations, Archipel, Bruits Blancs, Nuit Blanche Paris, Tehran Contemporary Sound…