AlbumRelease date:
29.06.2018
John Kameel Farah
Strands
Canadian composer, pianist and visual artist John Kameel Farah's second release on the Neue Meister label, "Strands" shows his more intuitive improvisation side. "Since my other albums are very meticulously composed, I thought it would be good to capture my improvisation side as well, since I've had a life as an improviser, but haven't officially released any improvisation recordings to date", says John. There was no plan, no style or genre in mind; Kameel Farah allowed his creativity and playfulness free reign. "I went to the piano shop 'Klavieretage' to record the piano part for Steve Reich's 'Six Pianos' for Gregor Schwellenbach, and Carsten Schulz, the owner, gave me a whole day to record on a Feurich upright piano. After I finished the 'Six Pianos', I realized I had a couple of hours left, so I decided to record some piano improvisations just for myself", he explains. Simultaneously using piano, synthesizer, computer, and at times harpsichord and organ, John Kameel Farah's solo performances exist between the worlds of the concert hall and the electronic producer, mixing forays into experimental improvisation, jazz, electro–acoustics, middle-eastern modes and rhythms with electronic genres such as Techno and Drum & Bass.
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John Kameel Farah
John Kameel Farah is a composer, pianist and visual artist based between Toronto and Berlin. He studied composition and piano performance at the University of Toronto, where he received the Glenn Gould Composition Award twice. In 1999 he had private lessons with Terry Riley, and later studied at the Arabic Music Retreat in Hartford. In 1998, he performed the solo piano works of Arnold Schoenberg in Toronto, and most recently, an electronified version of the first book of Bach’s "Well-Tempered Clavier" in Berlin.
Farah now focuses primarily on his own creative hybrid of improvisation, composition and electronic music. Still active as a pianist, he often mixes classical works into his programs, with a special passion for the music of William Byrd and other renaissance keyboard composers.
Simultaneously using piano, synthesizer, computer, and at times harpsichord and organ, his solo performances exist between the worlds of the concert hall and the electronic producer, mixing forays into experimental improvisation, jazz, electro–acoustics, middle-eastern modes and rhythms with electronic genres such as Techno and Drum & Bass.
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