L'Antidote – L'Antidote

      A vernacular enhanced by virtuosity...

      16 · 09 · 2025

      L’Antidote unites Iranian percussionist Bijan Chemirani, Albanian-Italian cellist Redi Hasa, and Lebanese pianist Rami Khalife, creating a project that transcends language, cultural, and geographical boundaries while resisting stylistic classification.

      Redi Hasa's exceptional cello performance has opened doors for collaborations with renowned figures like Ludovico Einaudi, and traces of this sweet touch can be found within ‘L’Antidote’. However, the album's essence emerges from a more traditional charm, driven by Bijan Chemirani's intense percussion techniques. Within ‘The Orchard's’ intricate harmonies, Chemirani’s rhythmic ventures lend both a pulsating energy and a vast soundscape. Primarily featuring the Daf (Persian frame drum) and the Zarb (Iranian goblet drum)—both instruments celebrated for their vibrancy, resonance, and intricacy—Chemirani’s sound architecture is mixed prominently by engineer Valerio Daniele and stands at the forefront of the album's identity.

      ‘Dates, Figs and Nuts’ shines as the album's standout track, an upbeat folk piece that evokes the lively spirit of celebratory dances like the Levantine Dabke or the Albanian Kolo. Rami Khalife’s palm-muted piano technique adds a sharpness that syncopates excellently with Chemirani’s shaker rhythms, creating a foundation for Hasa’s cello to navigate a Persian (double harmonic) melody that mirrors the quintessential Mediterranean flavors and textures implied by the title.

      Rami Khalife's versatile piano playing allows the project to traverse various musical landscapes. The palm-muted approach in ‘Pomegranate’ and its explorations occasionally recall Esbjörn Svensson’s vocal styles; at other moments, they hint at the finesse and precision associated with Glenn Gould’s playing. ‘The Wind through the Cedar Tree’ serves as Khalife’s centerpiece, incorporating arpeggio-heavy minimalism reminiscent of early works by Nils Frahm’s Says or Sébastien Tellier's ostinato-driven ‘La Ritournelle’. The track evokes a sense of nostalgia—not for a past era, but for an inaccessible place, a serene moment to escape to, or a remedy for what the group refers to as “the storm raging on a fragile earth.” Whether this escape is from memories of the Lebanese Civil War that occurred during Khalife’s life or from the ongoing genocide in Palestine, the intent remains evident: the music of this project acts as a clear antidote to human malevolence.

      The final track, ‘L’Ombre Qui Passe (The Passing Shadow)’, delves into prolonged instrumental passages reminiscent of the cyclical repetition found in Gavin Bryars’s Jesus’ Blood. At this juncture, the rhythmic elements of Chemirani’s percussion recede, giving way to extended loops of timelessness and placelessness.

      In a project devoid of lyrics, the narratives are conveyed through instrumental voices, as the traditions of dance and storytelling weave through the musicians’ heritages of Lebanon, Iran, and Albania. Folk tales and cultural memories resonate between instruments, expressed through rhythm, melody, and counterpoint. This focus on using instrumental voice to convey meaning is central to Hasa, who has, in recent projects, reinterpreted Nirvana with layered, extended cello techniques, embedding his unique microtonal signature into the dissonance of Cobain’s vocals. This very aspect reemerges in ‘L’Antidote’: the cello voices, the percussion articulates, and the piano engages—a musical language transcending words.

      8/10

      Words: Louis Borlase

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