Yair Elazar Glotman - Speculative Memories (2022)

Berlin's Yair Elazar Glotman follows albums on 130701, Subtext and Deutsche Grammophon with "an introspective dive into memory" using soaring vocals, ambient drones and glossy, cinematic strings.

It makes perfect sense that Yair Elazar Glotman was working so closely with composer Jóhann Jóhannsson before he tragically died. Glotman contributed to "Mandy" and co-composed "Last and First Men", and his work on "Speculative Memories" feels spiritually linked to this work. His inspiration for this album comes from his memories of growing up in a small village in Galilee; now a German citizen based in Berlin, his memories feel abstract and elastic. Immersing himself in feelings and triggering himself with tastes, smells and sounds, he pushed himself to create worlds and moods for each track, recording instruments and matching them with field recordings that mirror childhood experiences, like the howling of jackals and dogs.

From beginning to end, the album hovers around a particularly dark, cinematic mood. It's not a million miles away from Deaf Center or Svarte Greiner's low-light compositions (it's no surprise that Glotman has released on the Miasmah imprint), but Glotman's approach is more restrained and more academic. The most impressive moments are when he works with vocals, like the album's moving finale 'A Storm', that sounds like ecclesiastic power ambient.