Tectonics 2024 Artist Profile
Mariam Rezaei is a multi-award-winning composer, turntablist, and performer. She previously led experimental arts projects TOPH, TUSK FRINGE, and TUSK NORTH, and in November 2022, she received the Paul Hamlyn Foundation #AwardsForArtists, in recognition of her contribution to music composition. Her music has recently been described as ‘genuinely ground-breaking’ (London Jazz News 2022) and ‘high-velocity sonic surrealism’ (4* The Guardian 2022).
The recent release, BOWN (Heat Crimes) charted no. 6 in The Wire and no. 10 in The Quietus’ ‘Albums of the Year 2023’, and was album of the week in The Quietus. Boomkat described it as ‘harnessing extreme technical prowess—phenomenal stuff’.
Recent performances include Turntable Trio with Evicshen and Maria Chávez at Counterflows Festival 2023 (Glasgow) and REWIRE 2023 (Den Haag), soloist with Frankfurt Radio Orchestra for the closing concert at IM Darmstadt 2023, soloist with London Sinfonietta at HCMF 2023 and Taipei Biennial 2023 in a quartet with Dj Sniff, Rex Chen and Dj SlowPitchSound. For her three day residency Café Oto in November 2023, Mariam premiered three new projects: a string trio with Angharad Davies (violin), Atzi Muramatsu (cello) and Semay Wu (cello); a quartet with Mette Rasmussen (alto sax), Gabriele Mitelli (trumpet, electronics) and Lukas Koenig (drums); and a duo with fellow turntabist Edward George.
Past performances include ‘This World Which Is Made Of Women’ 2022 成人快手 Radio 3, ‘SADTITZZZ' LCMF 2022, 成人快手 Radio 3 After Dark Festival, April 2022, Tusk North April 2022. ‘The Sound of Hate’, EKKO Festival, Nov 2021. ‘We Are Not Finished’ with Fevered Sleep, Nov 2021. ‘Wolf’s Tail : II’ for Archipel Festival, April 2021. ‘Paradoxes’, West Den Haag, Jan 2021. Duos with Cath Tyler and Stephen Bishop for TUSK VIRTUAL 2020 and 成人快手 Radio 3 Late Stages, Oct and Nov 2020. 成人快手 Radio Freeness ’SKEEN’, July 2020. ‘AGENCY-SKEEN’, AMPLIFY 2020. ‘The 42 Mirrors of Narcissus’ TUSK Festival 2019. ‘Wolf’s Tail’ HCMF 2019. ’TOP///‘ at Tectonics Mosaic/Cresc. Festival 2018, Wiesbaden, for Ilan Volkov, and Ensemble Modern.
Mariam has been featured and reviewed in numerous publications and in April 2023, she appeared on the front cover of The Wire with Maria Chavez and Victoria Shen. In addition to appearing in both The Wire and The Quietus’s top ten releases of 2023, it came Highly Recommended on Boomkat, with Victoria Shen and Valentina Magaletti placing it at the top of their personal charts. Mariam presents a podcast on contemporary turntablism called ‘These Are The Breaks…’ and is guest DJ on’ Radical Scotland’ by Stewart Smith, both on repeater-radio.com. She is currently writing a book on turntablism for Repeater Books.
Mariam Rezaei/Matthew Shlomowitz
6 scenes for turntables and orchestra (2023) c.22mins
Scene 1: The First Scene
Scene 2: Screech (recit.)
Scene 3: Organ Tones
Scene 4: Milford Graves in heaven
Scene 5: Beat juggle shuffle
Scene 6: Harp Whip (recit. and chorus)
In “6 scenes for turntables and orchestra”, we wanted to make a divine collision of lots of things we love, and there are also some allusions to conventions from opera and concerti. The work was co-commissioned by Darmstadt Summer Course, ICTUS, deSingel, Brussels Philharmonic and nyMusikk.
