‘Southern Oscillation’ marks five years of Seasonal Affected Beats
The new track becomes a catalyst for the artist’s sonic evolution, focusing more on the contemplation of sound
Seasonal Affected Beats, the musical alias of drummer, producer and composer Tarun Balani, today releases ‘Southern Oscillation’ — the second single from his upcoming album ‘Where the Ice Meets the Water’.
Many artists and composers draw inspiration from the seasons. In 2017, Tarun Balani embarked on a musical experiment, creating twelve pieces inspired by the seasons and the climate crisis, which led to the release of two EPs and solo performances under the name Seasonal Affected Beats.
“Stories and messages about climate change are at the heart of the music I make as Seasonal Affected Beats; the upcoming album ‘Where the Ice Meets the Water’ and the track ‘Southern Oscillation’ are no different,” says the artist.
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Describing the track’s sound as “Improvised, ambient, minimalistic and cyclic,” Seasonal Affected Beats also adds how the album represents a departure from his prior work as it is more focused on sound contemplation, embracing minimalistic composition and production while preserving harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic complexity.
Known to champion the creation of improvised electronic and acoustic music, each time he performs a piece it changes slightly and the composition and production happen in real time; “There’s no post-production or edits that I make to my music.”
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And same goes for ‘Southern Oscillation’ — the version on the album is performed on a single synthesizer, the Moog Matriarch, using its semi-modular and paraphonic capabilities to create unique imperfections in sound. In the single-take video version, he uses three synthesizers and effects, switching to the Sequential Take 5 as his main synth.
‘Southern Oscillation’ is out now on all streaming platforms. Watch the video for the track below.
You can also pre-save Seasonal Affected Beats' upcoming album ‘Where the Ice Meets the Water’ here.
Amira Waworuntu is Mixmag Asia’s Managing Editor, follow her on Instagram.
