Last December, when COVID-19 was officially announced gradually by the governments and media around the world, were there any of us who thought that this crisis would be as serious as it is today?
During the last eight months, our world has been introduced to a new type of crisis that none of us were ready for. The pandemic has been damaging so many aspects of our lives that it requires a lot of time to estimate the extent of the damage, and it might even be impossible to do so. Because, of course, it’s possible to estimate economic damage and pressure, but is it really possible to accurately estimate how this crisis has damaged us mentally and emotionally? The confrontation with an unknown virus, the fear and anxiety of contracting the virus and the fear, sorrow and pain that losing friends and families inflict on us along with the day to day encounter with fake news and contradictory information as to how to stay safe, subjects us to an ‘Infodemic’ as well: a condition that probably causes damage beyond estimation.
Beside the pandemic, the world has faced other important, affective, and mostly unfortunate events, happening rapidly one after another. The dreadful killing of George Floyd and the anti-racism protests around the world that followed it; the horrible explosion in Beirut, and the bloody military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan are only a few examples of events that exhibited the anger, fear, and stress among people.
With all of the above-mentioned traumas, it seems that the current state of the world has caused humans to be confronted with new depths of thought-to-be-familiar emotions like Anger, Stress, Disappointment, and Fear. Also, there are other concepts that don’t even mean the same as before: and what of our perception of words and concepts like ‘touching’, ‘being touched’ or ‘passage of time’? Is our imagination and understanding still the same when we hear these words?
When I contracted the virus myself many months ago, the fear and level of stress that I suffered was much more considerable than the physical pain and damage. I had met some friends and family two days before the symptoms showed up and I was massively scared about whether I had transmitted the virus to them or not. What if one of them dies? How can I continue to live when I’m responsible for that? These feelings, along with the stress, fears, and dark thoughts that were related to the illness itself –like what will happen tomorrow, or is it going to get worse – put me under such severe mental pressure that after some weeks, when I got better, I still carried with me that depression and messed-up mental condition.
SINK looks at all the things that have happened from different angles and perspectives; phenomena that have influenced my ideas on how to translate the aforementioned conditions into a sound piece. The pace of events, and the fact that they have been happening very suddenly and without preface, has shaped my approach to the form of the piece: differentiation has inspired a range of vibes, spaces and feelings that look beyond my personal experience.
You can purchase a high quality download of the new electronic composition SINK available exclusively from Beaconsfield at bandcamp .
A limited vinyl edition of this unique collaboration will be released in February 2022 (edition of 20). To purchase a copy please click here:
SINK_VESSEL 12′ Vinyl (limited edition of 20) is available for purchase at £80
About the artist Shahin Entezami aka Tegh
About SINK_VESSEL collaboration between TEGH + BAW
SINK composed and recorded in Iran by Shahin Entezami aka Tegh. VESSEL composed and recorded in England by A.David Crawforth & Naomi Siderfin aka BAW. Mastered by Michael Lawrence aka The Bricoleur. Lathe cut vinyl by Bladud Flies! Commissioned and produced by Beaconsfield 2021.
Photo Amir B. Ash