Ata Ebtekar (b. 1972, Hamburg Germany) aka Sote is an Iranian electronic composer and sound artist.
His compositions are sonic tales synchronously decoding and regenerating customary pattern of thought in nature; aural designs of crisis and harmony where contempo aligns with folklore, orchestrating an artificial saga with a variety of illuminations and analyses.
His music has been published by various companies, such as Warp Records, Sub Rosa, Sonic Arts Network, Isounderscore, Dielectric Records, Record Label Records plus others.
Global cultural exposure through transmigration has been a significant stimulant for his aesthetics.
Sote's goal is to create unique and timeless pieces of music that are not available anywhere except in his mind. He is interested in applying micro-tonal systems, preserving the tuning of Persian classical scales (Radif) and melodies from Persian folk songs within a new electronic framework. He has a firm conviction that rules and formulas must be deconstructed and rethought; hence he alters some of these modal codes from their original tonality and rhythm (tradition). He does not believe in using traditional acoustic instruments or performances on top of electronic music, but rather in making a new form of 'Art Music' with electronic gear. The only occasion he would utilize these ancient instruments is by first preparing them, and then transforming them with various analog and digital equipment in a modular sound environment to achieve vivid synthetic soundscapes.
He uses various recording methods such as music concrete and electro-acoustic techniques, as well as more conventional ones to challenge the way we hear, and more important how we interpret micro-tonal music (Iranian and beyond) within an untried and unfamiliar sonic structure. In order to accomplish dynamic expression on electronics, gesture and texture, he employs various synthesis languages and dsp techniques.
Ata Ebtekar believes that music is a cultural habit of sound and anti-sound (silence). Therefore, he generates music without a specific culture, which he believes to be "the other sound."
Hi and thanks for the friendship! The Six Tones is an attempt to merge traditions of improvisation and composition in Vietnamese and contemporary Western culture, For further reading (and concert videos) about the project, check this new online article: http://www.rooke.se/rooketime61.shtml
Here’s a video from a recent tour, in March-April. Nam Ai is a traditional tune from Vietnam, here in a version by The Six Tones played on Dan Bau, Dan Tranh and 10-string guitar. The video was recorded in a concert at Atalante in Gothenburg in April 2009. Stay in touch, all best! The Six Tones
hey! been listening to the CD on the commute today, LOVE it! i especially like track 9 -- i was in the space of its beauty -- way into its washy suspension -- and then suddenly you cut into it with jittery silence -- it's like you suddenly crumpled it up and threw it away. the smoothness of the first 2/3 of the track and the sudden splicing are VERY effective. each time i listen i like it even more. thanks for playing SFEMF, i look forward to hearing you play again very soon, you'll have to tell me what you're up to, k
