SHIDA SHAHABI
In 2018, composer Shida Shahabi released her debut album Homes, which was warmly received by critics. Mojo Magazine described it as "half-submerged music that rewards the attentive ear". Since then she has released two EPs – Shifts and The Sea at the end – as well as doing her own reworking of Beethoven's 'Piano Sonata No. 26' for Deezer's 'Beethoven Recomposed' project. This year saw the release of her second album Living Circle – a carefully calibrated blend of classical and electronic elements. The album has an emotional resonance that fleetingly flows through deeply atmospheric compositions imbued with rich texture and low-key warmth.
Shahabi has also made leitmotifs for e.g. the award-winning film Falcon Lake (2022). In addition, she has been part of curated live performances at prestigious events such as Max Richter and Yulia Mahr's Reflektor Festival at Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie and Film Four's season opening Summer Screen at Somerset House in London.
Shida Shahabi grew up in a home filled with Persian 70s pop and classical music, but believes that "it was the environment - my parents who found joy in listening and singing - that shaped my long-term relationship with music". At the age of eleven, she began experimenting with her own compositions and when she entered the Royal Academy of Arts in Stockholm in 2009, she began to integrate her creative urges with her passion for art. It wasn't long before she was a freelance musician playing with various local bands and artists, and after the end of her education she began composing for dance, film, theater and art projects.
LYMLAND
Lymland's instrumental music sweeps between band echo, synths and guitars. For Sonja Perander and Jerker Kaj, Lymland has been a musical refuge for over a decade. Their fifth album Drömfängar (2022) is recorded with a large band and with many instruments. Since the album was released, Perander and Kaj have recorded a more minimalistic album, partly on cassette decks and partly in Tambourine Studio in Malmö. On Mejeriet's stage, Lymland mixes acoustic instruments with the electrically amplified and builds a room to step into and discover.