Nashaat Salman – Universal Melodies Vol. 1

Nashaat Salman – Universal Melodies Vol. 1

BANDCAMP: https://universalmelodies.bandcamp.com/

It’s apparent from the poly-harmonic keyboards lines that intro the first track “Summer Night Joey” that this is an album of soaring heights. The three to the point songs included on Nashaat Salman’s debut Universal Melodies Vol. 1 are of the highest quality and incisive in the way instrumentation wraps around the senses like a warm blanket.

Immediate in its intimacy, “Summer Night Joy” imbeds itself into the mind as its lucid keys shimmer and ripple like the calm waves of the sea. The ethereal surrealism of the interlocking keyboards melodies are akin to the forces of nature in motion. This would be great music to listen to while taking a hike into the woods. Everything moves in a deliberate trot with just enough kinetic energy to keep it interesting. Once an organic crescendo is reached thanks to some stellar horn segments, the song tosses and turns into slight variations on a theme in terms of the piano and standard keyboard harmonies. This is the only track on the EP to feature a stringer instrument and the sitar provides another aspect for the ears to become enraptured with.

Simplicity and syncopation is important for a track like “Dancing Star” to hit its mark. Every melody is in-tune and dialed into each other. The synths are the highlight of this song and are performed with more subtlety than the opening track. This quiet tune uplifts and bewitches by maintaining a distinct melody to follow while many other microcosms of sound explode around the lead keyboard component. This is the perfect song to listen to right before bed whenever you are trying to detox the mind from stress. It’s a companion piece to “Chasing” which it immediately segues into thanks to maintaining the same subdued tone and floaty synthetic melodies. Salman treats these two tunes like brother and sister; making them congruent in terms of the genteelism. You can tell that he knows his way around a studio and the sequencing is that of an expert producer who has worked on many recordings besides his own. It’s a shame there isn’t more detailed information about the performer online because he is definitely one that you would like to learn more about.

There is something for everyone on Universal Melodies Vol 1. Whether you are looking to sway your soul in the grip of feel good musical energy, take a break from the hardships of life or need a new soundtrack to your day, there is music to fit whatever mood you are feeling. There is enough congruence here to make each track work within the framework of the whole at large as well as enough change-ups to lend the song an individual identity whenever weighed up against the one before. It is also interesting that a Swiss musician incorporates Indian scales and Arabic desert folk music into his sound, so he’s dipping into a different cosmos than most artists are willing to search. Nashaat Salman has no limits to his boundless talents and I will be listening to this beautiful recording over and over again.

8 out of 10 stars.

David Beals