Mohammad Razi – Lost At Night
Mohammad Razi – Lost At Night – EP Review
Absolutely sign me up for THIS.
I’ve really only been introduced to the music of Mohammad Razi for a short amount of time, but man has this guy made a serious impression already. Straight-up, he’s got a master’s grip on texture and sonic frequencies, and an incredible style of his own that shifts Ambient music altogether in a killer direction. This is for those out there that truly like to let their minds wander when they listen to music and see if they can find the imagery in their head from the sounds they’re listening to – and with the highly imaginative, subtly innovative, and expertly assembled new EP from Razi, they’ll get exactly that.
I make no illusions when it comes to Ambient music being an acquired taste to begin with, let alone once it starts becoming more of a complete sensory experience altogether like Razi’s music does. And hopefully that’s the case for Mohammad as well…it’s a niche audience that music like this tends to appeal to, but a fiercely loyal one when it’s Ambient music done right – and this EP is a perfect example of what that really means. People often associate the genre with entirely laidback sounds, which isn’t always the case by any stretch – in fact, like you’ll find on Lost At Night, these songs can be seriously gripping, compelling, and completely command your attention…all without using a single word. For me, no lie – I found this whole EP powerfully breathtaking; it might only be two songs long, but Mohammad Razi has woven together incredible ideas, textures, & sounds you couldn’t possibly take your ears off of.
Like, right away I was in love with this. I get that it’s not going to be for everybody and that’s just fine by me – kind of even makes this music even more special and precious somehow. Piano has & always will be one of my favorite instruments…it can be so beautiful…but if you add in just the slightest twist, the sound can quickly turn malevolent and eerie, creating a mix of haunting melody that hangs in the air, just as it does at the beginning of “Lost.” Listen closely though…because there’s a lot more to it than just smart choices in tones, it’s also about the editing & structure…listen to the way the piano moves and you’ll hear the slight digital manipulation or shifting of its movement that’ll tip you off that there’s much more happening in the mix here. The crunch of a distorted atmosphere comes in to crush the mellowness of this song with remarkable intensity, even though not a single thing you’ll hear is moving at any kind of quick speed at all. Nor does it need to when the sound becomes as full and enveloping as this does – you can genuinely feel “Lost” surround you, and you can truly get “Lost” within its sound. Ultimately, I think almost everything you need to know about Razi is right here in the mix – I mean that literally…the production is incredible…his understanding of sound, layers, and how to make music interact & react to each element of the song whether it’s through a sample or the use of space, is truly genius-level. Ambient music is often underestimated when it comes to how complex it can be or the entertainment value it can possess…to me, the stunning attention to detail on “Lost” and the amazing way that Mohammad allows this idea to develop & evolve had me on the edge of my freakin’ seat listening to every morsel of sound I could stuff into my ears! “Lost” is more than an impressive start – it’s a complete glimpse into the extraordinary and essentially superhuman abilities that Mohammad Razi has at his disposal and a full dose of the powerfully epic, unique, & visionary sounds & songs he creates. But make no mistake…just because it moves slowly doesn’t mean it doesn’t take an incredible amount of skill to bring to life…what Razi has pulled off here in ambition, ideas, and sound, is truly remarkable.
“Night” probably takes Razi’s sound arguably a bit further and becomes more involved on the second cut of this EP. Almost like a helicopter effect throughout this song, the static in the atmosphere chops up smartly from the lefts to the rights while the slight melody in the distant background plays a huge role whenever it peers through the audio-storm. He’ll go right into the heart of the darkness here, with that looming cloud of the Ambient atmosphere continuing to grow, expand, and take over; while it doesn’t entirely subside, it does break a little and let some light through. String sounds will join in…and in the background, buried beautifully beneath the surface layer of fuzzy goodness, you’ll actually find an extraordinary melody hidden in behind as “Night” plays on. Again, the reveal is brilliant, it happens slowly throughout the song, exposing more & more melody developing in the background, but true to the design, Mohammad keeps it buried in behind extremely intense layers of sound. For some people out there, that’ll make listening to this a challenge – for others like myself, it makes listening to a track like “Night” a challenge as well, but one that we’d certainly welcome and enjoy. When just about 99% of the rest of the music on the planet is so easy to digest and understand where it’ll go within mere seconds of its 4/4 beat, it’s seriously refreshing to listen to tracks like “Lost” and “Night” that not only keep you guessing as to which way they’ll turn next, but absolutely offer a whole different dimension of sound to experience. You’re really not in your world when you’re listening to the music of Mohammad Razi – you’re in his…and if you’re anything like me, you’ll be more than happy to find yourself there.
Massive thumbs-up from me to both these tunes and the remarkable ideas, sound, and production they all have – I think the Lost At Night EP is a freakin’ audio triumph personally. Like I said – I know I’m probably not the opinion of the masses when it comes to this EP…what Mohammad is doing is going to appeal to a smaller crowd, but as I mentioned, a fiercely loyal one. Take me for example – I’d listen to absolutely anything this guy does after the experience of checking out Lost At Night – and if I feel that way, there’s a seriously good chance a whole lot of you that read these pages on the regular in search of something truly different out there in the music-scene, are going to feel exactly the same way. Slowly at first perhaps…but real fans of the Ambient/Experimental genres are going to find Razi’s work and praise it for the incredible detail it contains and skill it takes to create…& those fans are never gonna leave him.
I’d be 100% willing to bet that Mohammad Razi is capable of even more extraordinary things in the future as well…I’m not even remotely kidding when I say I can’t wait for whatever this insightful sound designer & spectacularly innovative artist comes up with next.
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