Jakub Knera
There have been many albums for voice and solo electronics, this one adds another image to this panorama. Dania Shihab with her voice creates a peculiar musical introspection, she creates an intimate world, in a globalised world full of chaos and anxiety building a subtle and courageous statement.
Mr. Conner
Gorgeous. Contemplative. Addictive. An abstract vocal expression of oneself set in an encapsulating dreamy atmosphere. An album that plants a seed and begins to grow deep roots from within.
marine eyes
tender & emotive, this debut from Dania tugs on my heart strings more and more with each listen. a new favorite from 2022 <3
Favorite track: An Individual.
Born in Baghdad, raised in Tasmania, and now based in Barcelona, Dania Shihab moves between cultures and continents with an amorphous creative vision directly tied to her transient existence. As founder of experimental outpost Paralaxe Editions, Dania divides her time between Spain and the remote corners of Australia, where she works as an emergency doctor. Now, Dania presents her solo debut 'Voz,' which finds her rediscovering her voice as a primary instrument.
The title “Voz”—Spanish for “voice” and signaling to her transnational experiences between Spain and Australia for the last decade—is especially fitting, as Dania grew up in a household where singing was culturally frowned upon. “I used to record myself privately by dubbing my vocals onto tapes in my bedroom and lied about joining the school choir. A lot of what I did musically was done in secret. For that, I have a difficult relationship with my voice,” Dania explains. And although not all the songs have vocals, the tracks here show Dania’s voice in an undeniably self-reflective, introspective, and cathartic light.
Created using a smattering of looped-and-layered vocals, instrumental samples, modular synthesis, cassette tapes, and piano, 'Voz' is an entrapped exploration of harmonics and tonality, weaving together manipulated vocal fragments, processed field recordings, and meditative atmospheres.
Dania sets the scene with the melancholic majesty of “I Lied,” a solitary chorus of lifted and lilted vocals and peripheral drones wafting through the air. “Aleph” floats in an ascending, slow-motion sprawl of synth tones, distant pianos, and kaleidoscopic lyrical abstractions. The low-fi churn of “Fire Dash” offers a vibrant milieu of witching hour merriment; a sinister snapshot that searches in the shadows to find even odder beauty.
“Whale Song” departs the well-trodden path and ventures into a thick brush of humid ambiance like a sweltering aural travelog of some uncharted place. The backward drift of “An Individual” levitates in a bubbly fog of heavenly harmonics, while “The Other Thing Is” awakens in a calm, piano-drenched state of hustle and bustle. “Anomaly” closes 'Voz' in a grandiose din of ethereal melody and glorious devastation.
credits
released August 19, 2022
Composed, performed, produced by Dania
Mixed by Dania & Rupert Clervaux
Mastered by Rupert Clervaux
Designed by Farbod Kokabi
Muted, greyscale ambient that aptly mimics the introspective calm and leaden stillness of winter. Hushed pads rise and curl like frosted mists, brittle rhythmic elements crunch and crack, and there's a resigned sense of solitude that permeates every second. This isn't quite as vibey and whimsical as "Only Love From Now On," but it's still a worthy addition to Villain's growing discography. PannionSeer
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