Based in Brooklyn,
Faten Kanaan is an experimental composer whose mesmerizing work is built around haunting, cinematic synthesizer loops played manually without the aid of sequencers, samplers, or arpeggiators. Although she has been involved in New York's underground electronic scene since moving there in the mid-2000s, her recorded catalog begins a decade later with captivating sets like
The Botanist & the Archaeologist and
Pleiade Hex 6. On
A Mythology of Circles, her first album for U.K. indie
Fire Records and fourth overall,
Kanaan weaves themes of cosmology, mythology, and mysticism into 13 cyclical pieces that seem both vaporous and grounded. The subtle nuances in her distinctive looping approach and her apparent reverence for nature give the music an earthy, organic feel, while her crystalline synth tones, choral samples, and harp-like leads rise effortlessly into the ethereal mist. Much like electronic pioneers
Tangerine Dream,
Kanaan is a natural spellcaster of analog synth warmth, creating fantastic worlds on tracks like "The Archer" and "Hesperides," two standouts referencing Greek mythology. Accentuated by the album's vinyl release,
A Mythology of Circles is divided into a "dusk to evening" side and an "underworld/dream-state" side, which helps build a sort of sonic narrative. The sense of spiritual uplift that characterizes the front half slowly gives way to darker hues as parts become more distorted and textured, like on the haunting "Reve-Riviere" and the cavernous "The North Wind." Just as powerful and beautiful as their above-ground counterparts, these songs suggest inner journeys and fathomless depths. It's a striking album of hidden layers and plenty of craft that entrances from start to finish. ~ Timothy Monger
