Echoes of Becoming

Born in Turkey and residing in Sweden, Canberk Ulas is a player and maker of the Armenian duduk, an ancient double reed woodwind instrument popular for its soft, mournful quality. On Echoes of Becoming, Ulas draws on Turkish, Anatolian, Armenian and Ottoman traditions and blends them with contemporary influences, such as electronic looping, extended techniques and digital post-processing. What results is a deeply reflective meditation on transformation and authenticity, which describes Ulas’ personal journey from despair to self-discovery. The yearning sound of the duduk is the perfect vehicle for this abstracted narrative, serving as a constant sonic protagonist among the gradually shifting soundscapes. Ulas is joined by multiple guest musicians – on trumpet, electric guitar, live sampling, piano and voice – each of whom contribute subtly and tastefully to the arrangements. The most prominent of these is Benedikte Kløw Askedalen, who sings in both English and Turkish on ‘I Came from Far Away’ – a haunting refrain that sees Ulas’ duduk settle into a supporting role behind Askedalen’s layered vocals, on what for many will be the album’s emotional centrepiece. While the tone of the album is largely one of melancholy, there is a thread of optimism running through Echoes of Becoming, as it resides in a liminal space of quiet introspection, before gently forging towards new beginnings.