The artist I recently checked out the latest EP from composer/songwriter Nashaat Salman –Universal Melodies released in 2015. Salman hails from Meilen, Switzerland
The band: The compositions of Salman are pretty solid across the board. I would say he possess above average writing skills. Timing seems to be spot on within each sonic movement. Salman clearly has rock solid melodic instincts via these compositions that match the Worldly Ambient style of music perfectly. The music melodic, vibrant, unpredictable, interesting, thought provoking and highly entertaining are just some of the words I would use to describe his music. Musical textures reminiscent of Ravi Shanker, Cabelri, Zymosis and The Synthetic Dream Foundation. Pretty much anything ambient and Worldly-Vivid, thought provoking and possessing a lot of depth. If you like those kinds of artists you will no doubt get a kick out of this CD. The songs Above average songs. Very simple yet effective, conservative, highly original and passionate. Nashaat paints the perfect balance between Ambient Theatrics and Passionate Worldly Orchestration and is clearly just letting it all hang out as a songwriter. The end result is what comes out of the other side – unfettered brilliance. My favorite song on the CD is a toss-up between “Summer Night Joy” and “Chasing.” The vibe: Great vibe. Perfect for late night college parties, coffeehouses, Airports or even magazine shops. The production delivers a lot of musical variety. Honorable mentions go out to amazing production virtuoso of Nashaat for putting all this together. The mix and overall production strokes up to the caliber within the same genre. I give him high marks for taking chances with her music. Nashaat is not trying to be some catchy Ambient composer striving for mass appeal – he’s just being herself. The EP refuses to try to hard – that’s what makes it so amazing The good: very like able, marketable record – amazing songs, highly original, extremely melodic in nature. Much Instrumentation variety as well from Piano, Sweeping string movements, Flamenco style guitar, and sporadic percussive accents. Possesses a very unique signature sound.
The bad: I don’t care for the kit drumming –very predictable 4/4 type rhythms. Songs come across as overly synthetic and a tad bit robotic.
The verdict: Universal Melodies by Nashaat Salman is an amazing journey and solid release. I do however wish there were more songs to digest. The songwriting is clearly above average. The production gets its point across well. Again the most amazing thing about this EP is the composition genius of Salman. He’s clearly a premier talent. Fans of all things ambient World Music will love this release no doubt.
BANDCAMP: https://universalmelodies.bandcamp.com/
URL: http://universalmelodies.com/
Final Score: 6/10 Stars
Matthew Kent
