A Study Of Losses is the brand new album from Beirut. Wallow in the placid tones of Zach Condon’s compositions which will challenge your expectations of music to accompany a ‘circus’ performance.

Release Date: April 18th

Label: Pompeii Records

Format: Vinyl / CD / Digital

AN EXPANSIVE SOUNDTRACK

Progressive rock musicians have long been motivated in many weird and wonderful ways but few can proclaim to have been commissioned by a circus company. The Swedish Company, Graff, needed music for their acrobatic show. They appealed to composer Zach Condon, aka Beirut, to create this expansive soundtrack to their show.

The solemn beauty of Disappearances and Losses, which open this epic work, is one of seven instrumentals. In complete contrast a subtle Latin rhythm clicks its way through Forest Encyclopaedia, given breathing space for the melodic wavy vocals. Several of the pieces are titled by the seas of the moon and vary from the ethereal light swirling orchestrations of Mari Crisium and Marie Ibrium to the jaunty folky Mare Humorum.

CONTRAST

There is much contrast in the songs too. Villa Sachet wouldn’t be out of place amongst the 60’s pop ballads and whatever vocal issues he had with his throat are clearly overcome in The Garbo’s Face, the enchanting Tuanaki Atoll and Guerick’s Unicorn with its catchy swaying melody. A gentle choral quality of the singing appears in Sapho’s Poem, while the sombre, celestial vocals of Caspian Tiger and the meditative Maris 7 Books with pared down musical accompaniment are purely aural nectar!

CHANGING TEXTURES

The changing textures throughout the album see shimmering and mesmerising instrumentals create a contemplative listening experience bristling with restful ambience. Most suitable to accompany a late evening warm beverage or bottle of red.. Perhaps the greatest achievement is that whatever pre-conceived ideas you may have about circus music can be thrown out of the tent because he has created a unique piece of work bordering on the operatic.

In this musical interpretation of Verzeichnis Einiger Verluste, the novel by German author Judith Schalansky, you can totally immerse yourself in the music. Although a theme running throughout is based on many aspects of life that bring quality to our lives which have been lost or abandoned there is many a joyful moment in the listening experience.

Here’s Guericke’s Unicorn:

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