Aria Rostami “Decades/Peter” // Label: Crash Symbols // Released 8 October 2013.
“Hailing from San Francisco, producer Aria Rostami’s music draws from the rhythms of the Bay and the creative landscape formed by the area’s interlocking communities and climates, though his influences are varied; IDM to classical to noise, as well as ideas from world music, both contemporary and traditional. Decades/Peter collects two related sets of recordings, two dynamic concepts that play off of one another, though Rostami’s work is normally highly narrative based thanks to his cinematic and literary influences. Peter is an aural distallation of his relationship with a former collaborator, written in his memory, and meant to encompass both his and the composer’s identity, as well as their intersection. Peter represents a more open ended collection of songs, particularly tinted by Rostami’s childhood love of video games. Decades was made as its deliberate antithesis. According to him, whereas Peter ‘croons with vocals and strings,’ Decades ‘grinds and falls apart in lush ambiance and static,’ though the thread of Rostami’s identity runs throughout. Together, they serve as a compelling introduction to the producer’s burgeoning body of work and conceptual repertoire.”