- Since his 2014 debut on Ilian Tape, Sciahri, real name Sciahriar Tavakoli, has given his techno a softer focus. As RA's Andrew Ryce noted earlier this year, the Florence producer's Behind The Line 12-inch for Black Opal was "a big leap" from his first EP, adding beautiful layers of atmosphere to the propulsion underneath. Now back on Ilian Tape, Tavakoli's third release wanders even further towards the ether. Much like his label mates Djrum and Skee Mask, the producer moodily blends techno, ambient and breakbeat, but Chronicle is perhaps the grandest of the bunch, exploring supple yet extravagant soundscapes.
The A-side holds two versions of "Atonement." Tavakoli's original is an atmospheric techno track, with emotive pads that construct grand halls around its broken and rugged rhythms, so that by its peak everything is bathed in light. On the remix, by drum & bass producer Pessimist, the track is gutted down to its ruins, taking on a sparse and sinister quality. The B-side goes back to Tavakoli, and here he draws further outside the lines. "Enemy Sound" has a shamanic quality to it, forged from distant chimes and windswept textures. "Departure" is abstract and aqueous techno, with ceremonious-sounding strings that adorn it in a kind of romance. The EP is less functional than usual from Tavakoli, but it's definitely not a misstep.
TracklistA1 Atonement
A2 Atonement (Pessimist Remix)
B1 Enemy Sound
B2 Departure