‘Soseol’ – the new single from Faten Kanaan, is Korean for ‘Little Snow’, and marks the season towards the end of November when temperatures drop and snow is first expected.
The album’s understated heart-on-sleeve romanticism follows the rhythm of nature: it bends in the breeze, drifts through the air, and settles on the ground.
“I wrote the album while looking out at the garden. I imagined the spirits in plants and in objects watching us at their own pace…even the spirits in rocks and candles and souvenirs in a room. I wonder if they resent or pity us, or if they just can’t be bothered”.
‘Diary of a Candle’ is a consoling, melodic suite – with tender woodwinds and richly-layered strings touched by the hazy atmospheres of 1970s/1980s films. Its understated heart-on sleeve romanticism follows the rhythm of nature: it bends in the breeze, drifts through the air, and settles on the ground. The ambiance is not an escapism, but the re-focusing of a lens through which humans are no longer the protagonists. Instead, a landscape’s intimate details become the central figures.
“After 20 years of living in New York I relocated (indefinitely) to Amman, Jordan with my cat. Adapting to a new yet familiar topography has changed my relationship with nature. I notice more of its subtleties while living alongside ancient stones, walking on the steep streets, and having a garden to tend. It’s a daily privilege being able to find calm here, especially when surrounded by the regional suffering so close by.” – Faten Kanaan
All music written performed and mixed by Faten Kanaan
Mastered by Heba Kadry
Photo by Olena Shkoda
