Nils Petter Molvaer, Soheil Shayesteh | Sinfonietta Cracovia, Paulina Porszke (conductor)

Soheil Shayesteh

Soheil is an audio-visual composer, violinist, and Kamancheh player based in Amsterdam. His interest in exploring the sound of the Kamancheh with live electronics has led him to develop audio processing units which are unique to the instrument.

He weaves intricate and textured soundscapes with his layered drones, creating a hypnotic effect that seems to slow down time and transport the listener to a meditative zone.

Soheil has developed a new vocabulary for the Kamancheh, extending it with live electronics and audio-reactive visuals that go beyond the traditional way of playing the instrument, enabling him to immensely expand the spectrum of the Kamancheh’s sound. He creates heavily layered textures, processing them all from the live signal of the Kamancheh.

He generates dramatic soundscapes that are then crushed by crispy beats. He appreciates the unpredictable nature of live performances and hasincorporated this quality into every processing unit he has developed. This allows him to interact with and control the live electronics and Kamanchehdriven audio-reactive visuals regardless of any fixed timeline and based on the changes in the spectrum of the sound and the playing style of the player.

As a composer, Soheil has achieved significant recognition for his work, including winning the first prize at the ‘Tera de Marez Oyens’ award with his audio-visual composition ‘Zha’ for kamancheh, live electronics and visuals.