Alien Jams presents VIKI STEIRI

CLOT Magazine

The next mixtape is by Greek/UK-based artist Viki Steiri, who has recently released her debut album on our beloved Alien Jams. The mix is a recollection of sounds that inspired her for her album production. 'Balm' is a powerful album anchored by ritualistic, monolithic cello layers. Steiri combines eerie soundscapes with electronic dance rhythms, synth-tinged folk songs from Istanbul, and reworked cello and santur improvisations. The album encapsulates a hauntingly poignant journey through melancholic soundscapes punctuated by electronic rhythms. Recorded intermittently between Athens and London over six years from 2017 to 2023, the collection of tracks serves as a deeply personal documentation of the artist's experiences and emotions. Steiri's compositions for this album navigate themes of rootlessness, loss, and identity changes, reflecting the tumultuous nature of existence. However, amidst all, there is a profound exploration of humanness, delving into the realms of imagination and introspection. Steiri mentions she had a lot of fun making this mixtape and while preparing it, it made her realize what her inspirations for the album had been: "I hadn’t given it too much thought before. This is music that has informed the album, either directly or indirectly, plus a couple of my own tracks. There’s no particular cohesion, but to me, these are all musicians who have transcended conditioning, and I feel their music is very free and individual." With this mixtape selection as well as through her music, Steiri uncovers moments of beauty and intensity while offering listeners a transformative and immersive sonic experience. Tracklist: 0:00-1:34 - Rap Street Palestine – Otsha 1:35-4:22 - Tigran Mansuryan – Extracts from ‘The colour of the pomegranates’ soundtrack 4:13-8:25 - Viki Steiri - Procession 8:22-11:55 - Kesarbai Kerkar - Lalat -Ghatan Lagi Rain 11:55-14:31 – Safiye Ayla – Aksaray’dan geçer iken 14:31-17:43 - Masahiro Ikumi - ‘Virtual Mima’ [Voice version]- (‘Perfect Blue’ soundtrack) 17:41-21:05 - Chrisman - Lupupu 21:06-22:51 - Mica Levi - Death 22:50-29:41 - Viki Steiri - Brink 29:31-32:54 - Ryuichi Sakamoto - Composition 0919 32:55-37:18 - Tzusing - Gait 37:18-43:33 - Ectopia - Sauna 43:27-46:46 - Avel Mismo - Habibi 46:46-49:36 – Senyawa - Tanggalkan Di Dunia (Undo The World) 49:09-53:12 - Iannis Xenakis – Charisma (for clarinet and cello) 53:13-60:34 - Viki Steiri- Balm