“I imagine waking up on the other side feels very much like the sensation you feel when you place your face on the cool side of the pillow,” says composer Qais Essar. On his new track “The Ghost You Love Most”, he captures this feeling of simple pleasure perfectly and transforms it, building sweet relief into a transcendent melody. The soothing sound of Essar’s rabab, an Afghan instrument rife with millennia of history, builds a soundscape evocative of a natural paradise. A “breezy avant-pop song in 13/8”, it moves with a gait both long and light, elevated further by Kamaljeet Alhuwalia’s sparkling santoor accompaniment.
“There’s a coda of sorts on the end,” Essar continues, “a shift where there’s a pensive moment… where the task ahead is realized and acts as a segway into the next piece.” This grounding moment makes for the perfect finish to the piece, one that allows for a deep, stabilizing breath to settle the listener after such invigorating movement.
Based in Phoenix, Essar has a well-recognized skill for the instrumental storytelling present in “The Ghost You Love Most”. His song “The Crown Sleeps”, written for animated drama The Breadwinner, earned him a Canadian Screen Award this year, and today’s Treefort Music Festival in Boise is just one of many indie festivals that have showcased his cinematically oriented musicianship.
On the brink of releasing his fourth album on 13 April, Essar’s penchant for wordless narrative continues to grow. “The Ghost You Love Most” serves as the title track, a taste of how the album plans to sweep listeners into an ecstatic new state of mind, one with incredible scope for imagination.
The Ghost You Love Most will be released April 13.
UPCOMING SHOWS
Mar 23 – Treefort Music Festival – Boise, ID
Mar 24 – Yogafort – Boise, ID