about the record
Melancholy Sabotage marks Lebanese-American musician Solpara's full-length debut and return to Nicolas Jaar’s Other People label. Although it was recorded during the COVID-19 lockdowns, Jaar had been talking about wanting to back a Solpara full-length since he put out Swing. The album came to life while Solpara was living alone in a Brooklyn loft, collecting unemployment checks, and viewing the ample free time as the artist residency he had always dreamed of. Previously, he had been forced to make music in brief windows between numerous jobs and the relentless pace of city life. Free from obligations, he would wake up early to take Arabic lessons online, read Tracey Thorn’s autobiography, skateboard through deserted streets, and then return home to design sounds until he had a track that felt ready to be released. While this easygoing lifestyle was peaceful in many ways, Solpara found more complex inspiration in the emotions that stemmed from his participation in Black Lives Matter protests and the 2020 Beirut Port explosion, which profoundly affected all of his extended family members in Lebanon.
Melancholy Sabotage explores the theme of sabotaging melancholy. Echoing sounds from post-punk, trip-hop, and ambient genres, it is about sabotaging the cycle of melancholy and examining this process without ignoring the sources that set it in motion. It can be compared to a rattling breaking free from retention, reaching states of dreamy euphoria while simultaneously acknowledging the sources of restraint, viewed from a distance. These sources can be personal, political, or socio-economic. They are to be apprehended post-melancholy, after the initial cycle has been sabotaged. In other words, the album is about transcending melancholy and understanding where it came from with some distance. While it may be beautiful and healthy to feel for a while, how can one break this cycle when it becomes paralyzing? Ultimately, this album is about feeling melancholy but also resisting it and naming the sources that initiated it.
- 1 - Time to Hold Better 3:23
- 2 - This Time Last Year 2:42
- 3 - We Keep Us Safe 3:08
- 4 - Melancholy Sabotage 7:44
- 5 - Measures 5:38
- 6 - We Don't Owe 4:06
- 7 - Breaking Points 2:52
- 8 - Eviction 4:58
€32,00
in stock
- 1 - Time to Hold Better 3:23
- 2 - This Time Last Year 2:42
- 3 - We Keep Us Safe 3:08
- 4 - Melancholy Sabotage 7:44
- 5 - Measures 5:38
- 6 - We Don't Owe 4:06
- 7 - Breaking Points 2:52
- 8 - Eviction 4:58
about the record
Melancholy Sabotage marks Lebanese-American musician Solpara's full-length debut and return to Nicolas Jaar’s Other People label. Although it was recorded during the COVID-19 lockdowns, Jaar had been talking about wanting to back a Solpara full-length since he put out Swing. The album came to life while Solpara was living alone in a Brooklyn loft, collecting unemployment checks, and viewing the ample free time as the artist residency he had always dreamed of. Previously, he had been forced to make music in brief windows between numerous jobs and the relentless pace of city life. Free from obligations, he would wake up early to take Arabic lessons online, read Tracey Thorn’s autobiography, skateboard through deserted streets, and then return home to design sounds until he had a track that felt ready to be released. While this easygoing lifestyle was peaceful in many ways, Solpara found more complex inspiration in the emotions that stemmed from his participation in Black Lives Matter protests and the 2020 Beirut Port explosion, which profoundly affected all of his extended family members in Lebanon.
Melancholy Sabotage explores the theme of sabotaging melancholy. Echoing sounds from post-punk, trip-hop, and ambient genres, it is about sabotaging the cycle of melancholy and examining this process without ignoring the sources that set it in motion. It can be compared to a rattling breaking free from retention, reaching states of dreamy euphoria while simultaneously acknowledging the sources of restraint, viewed from a distance. These sources can be personal, political, or socio-economic. They are to be apprehended post-melancholy, after the initial cycle has been sabotaged. In other words, the album is about transcending melancholy and understanding where it came from with some distance. While it may be beautiful and healthy to feel for a while, how can one break this cycle when it becomes paralyzing? Ultimately, this album is about feeling melancholy but also resisting it and naming the sources that initiated it.
