Aria Rostami

Aria Rostami is a Persian-American producer and sound artist based in Brooklyn. His discography includes wintry dark ambient releases as well as experimental techno and house tracks, often containing samples and instrumentation related to his Iranian heritage. These range from the playful broken beats of 2017's Reform to the polar vortex drone of the 2021-issued Still, one of his many collaborations with <a href="spotify:artist:7tsxPAgXkTT17LN75m6viw">Daniel Blomquist</a>. Rostami has released music on notable labels like <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Dark+Entries%22">Dark Entries</a>, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Glacial+Movements%22">Glacial Movements</a>, and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Crash+Symbols%22">Crash Symbols</a>.

The child of Iranian immigrants, Rostami started playing instruments as a child and began releasing music in 2011, while living in San Francisco. Two digital albums on Audiomoves, Form and Uniform, introduced his style of abstract beats and chilling textures. Decades/Peter, two related but contrasting sets of recordings, was released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Crash+Symbols%22">Crash Symbols</a> in 2013. Czarat, a clubby EP with a melody played on a tar (a Persian stringed instrument), appeared on Spring Theory in 2014. The electro-acoustic ambient work Sibbe was issued by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Audiobulb%22">Audiobulb</a> in 2015, and the calmer ambient techno LP Agnys came out on Spring Theory in 2016. Wandering Eye, the first of several collaborations with <a href="spotify:artist:7tsxPAgXkTT17LN75m6viw">Daniel Blomquist</a>, appeared on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Glacial+Movements%22">Glacial Movements</a>, and was quickly followed by Signal Artifact on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Jacktone%22">Jacktone</a>. Reform, a much brighter, almost Balearic album, was released by Zoom Lens in 2017. Rostami then moved to Brooklyn after living in San Francisco for 11 years. His self-released Numb Years reflected his experience living and working in a new city.

Distant Companion, a dark industrial techno album with <a href="spotify:artist:7tsxPAgXkTT17LN75m6viw">Blomquist</a>, was released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Dark+Entries%22">Dark Entries</a> in 2018. A more joyous solo effort, Sahm Balahm, was self-issued in 2019. Floating Tone (with <a href="spotify:artist:7tsxPAgXkTT17LN75m6viw">Blomquist</a>) was released as part of <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Geographic+North%22">Geographic North</a>'s Sketch for Winter series in early 2020. Later in the year, he self-released the lively, beat-driven Several Days from Now You Will Be Invited to Complete an Online Survey, and the more acoustic-based Acra appeared in early 2021. Still, recorded with <a href="spotify:artist:7tsxPAgXkTT17LN75m6viw">Blomquist</a> during the early years of their collaboration and initially intended for release in 2018, arrived on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Glacial+Movements%22">Glacial Movements</a>, also in 2021. Rostami also released the breakbeat-heavy full-length Maramar and Bolbol EP, which included remixes by <a href="spotify:artist:6O1tVpp8NoYMi9hNMVMEbz">Sepehr</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6xOjV520Oih4xkYyk2dqFZ">Sote</a>. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi