Eve Matin
Through Leaving Records, Berlin-based Persian/Peruvian composer and in-house harpist for Cirque Du Soleil Eve Matin has released her debut album (and first published recorded work ever), TRANSMUTANCIA. The record is a cohesive 5-track lineup of instrumental harmony with intentional off-kilter touches of distortion. The album offers a soundtrack to questions like “What does it sound like to birth a new world? What rings out when practice slips into play?”
As stated by Leaving Records, TRANSMUTANCIA offers “No sugar-coating or cap - this tape is an ultra wild gem - a fiery, unabashed 31 minutes of viscerally all-improvised harp weavings live from Berlin / Morphine Raum stage & studio.” The record truly does feel like stepping into a curated world, with a storyline that feels tangible yet up to interpretation. In this way, TRANSMUTANCIA could be the soundtrack to a visual art exhibition. Or a film. Or a meditative journey/experience. This is not to say that TRANSMUTANCIA is background music by any means. It is first and foremost a journey in itself. But, like all great music, it has the capacity to be something bigger, too.
Leaving Records has done a notably good job of promoting the mini record, specifically with the charming idea of releasing an exclusive cassette. It has been “curated, tailored, mixed, mastered, and packaged onto a single exceptionally-sounding cassette in a deluxe edition of strictly 200units.” This choice makes sense, as it is truly a top-to-bottom packaged bundle of songs that build onto each other. In this way, the record demands a thorough listen - which, in a time of overconsumption and short attention spans, is beyond refreshing. On TRANSMUTANCIA, Matin’s soulful, storytelling “harp art” fulfills us.
Matin’s artistry escapes her. It bleeds outside the borders of these sound waves and into every aspect of her work. She is clearly an artist in every sense of the word - not just in her “harp art”. Leaving Records mentioned that we can anticipate Eve’s full-length studio album sometime in 2026. I look forward to what worlds she will go on to create. For anyone who appreciates experimental, instrumental, and/or storytelling strings, Eve Matin is definitely an one to watch.
