Zenith/Nadir by Amirtha Kidambi & Luke Stewart

Zenith/Nadir is an improvised seance, conjuring the spirits of ancestors through urgent frequencies, to excavate the intergenerational trauma which haunts and guides our living present. Recorded in Brooklyn during the tumultuous Summer of 2020, the album reflects extreme contrasts of high and low, in a time where despair and possibility were inextricable.

In the underexplored combination of bass and voice, Luke Stewart and Amirtha Kidambi mine maximal possibilities, from pure acoustic intimate interactions, to harsh electronic walls of sound. In various configurations of upright bass, amplifier feedback, effects pedals and looping, the duo explores dichotomies, with a side of pristine acoustic duets and another of visceral noise, where the sonic boundaries between the instruments dissolve and obscure. Kidambi employs a distinct vocal effects pedal, meeting Stewart in his amplifier-centered sonic universe. Combining their unique improvised vocabularies which draw from free jazz, noise, rock, Indian music and Black music, their raw chemistry is apparent in their shape-shifting improvisations.

Tracklist

1.	Circulation	4:06

2.	Premonition	3:31

3.	Postmonition	3:15

4.	Exaltation	11:10

5.	Relics	7:44

6.	Medium	6:34

7.	Telepathy	6:40

Credits

released July 15, 2022

Amirtha Kidambi - Voice/Electronics
Luke Stewart - Bass/Electronics, Sound Engineer

Nathaniel Morgan - Mixing
Weasel Walter - Mastering

Recorded at Pioneer Works, August 2020

Cover art by Justin Daashuur Hopkins

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