about the cassette

Born in Baghdad, raised in Tasmania, and now based in Barcelona, Dania Shihab moves between cultures and continents with an amorphous creative vision directly tied to her transient existence. As founder of experimental outpost Paralaxe Editions, Dania divides her time between Spain and the remote corners of Australia, where she works as an emergency doctor. Now, Dania presents her solo debut 'Voz,' which finds her rediscovering her voice as a primary instrument.

The title “Voz”—Spanish for “voice” and signaling to her transnational experiences between Spain and Australia for the last decade—is especially fitting, as Dania grew up in a household where singing was culturally frowned upon. “I used to record myself privately by dubbing my vocals onto tapes in my bedroom and lied about joining the school choir. A lot of what I did musically was done in secret. For that, I have a difficult relationship with my voice,” Dania explains. And although not all the songs have vocals, the tracks here show Dania’s voice in an undeniably self-reflective, introspective, and cathartic light.

Created using a smattering of looped-and-layered vocals, instrumental samples, modular synthesis, cassette tapes, and piano, 'Voz' is an entrapped exploration of harmonics and tonality, weaving together manipulated vocal fragments, processed field recordings, and meditative atmospheres.