Iván Muela ‎- Unsound (2016)

The sonic world created by the young composer in “Unsound” is a swirl of emotions. The melodies and textures captured in its 11 tracks bring the listener into a different dimension in which feelings like desolation and hope walk hand by hand.

This time Iván’s exploratory spirit took him to traverse new musical territories, blending classical-sounding passages with modern electronic elements. Unsound, Ivan’s most ambitious work to date, features several upright and grand pianos, modular synthesisers, guitars, bass, upright bass and even a 9-piece string ensemble recorded in a church.

“ I wanted to create some music that would integrate technology as part of the compositional process. I was driven by this desire to make some beautiful compositions that could also be sonically exciting and surprising for the listener. There was a certain romantic feel in the production process; by trying to explore uncommon instruments, tools or techniques, I wanted my music to breathe, to feel like it’s moving.
The music contained in Unsound is full of ironies and contradictions. Sounds that took weeks to achieve are ornamenting spontaneous piano improvisations; thorough studio production alternates with simple field recordings I made while walking home with a worn-out Walkman in my hand”.

While not being necessarily a conceptual album, Unsound is heavily inspired by the composer’s everyday life. Some tracks are little snippets of his thoughts, reflections of personal events and some sound passages are reflections of life in a big metropolis. “Trying to find beauty in a hectic city like London is sometimes tough. Hope, worries, calm, bliss, elation, feeling like exploding inside... There are a lot of emotions put into this music but what each person makes out of them… that is very personal”.