Browsing Tag

Momento

Classical strings meet IDM in Momento’s transcendental orchestration, Sindalah

Posted on 14 May 2023

After their intense classical upbringing, the award-winning Canadian musicians, Jonathan Chan and Jan Bislin, combined their virtuosic forces to forge the genre-fluid outfit, Momento, to unleash a brand-new wave of IDM onto the airwaves.

The electric violins against the entrancingly rhythmic loops and synthesisers in their latest single, Sindalah, will indoctrinate you into a brand-new world of aural pleasure which you will want to visit time and time again for the fantasia created between the upbeat percussive flair and the Eastern strings which carve their way through the transcendent atmosphere.

In addition to touring the globe as a violin duo supporting the likes of John Legend, James Blunt, and Tim Minchin, Momento has also shone in the ever-prevalent digital arena; so far in this phase of their career, they have amassed almost one million streams on YouTube, and counting.

Sindalah is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Momento has celestially revived Sigur Ros and Devotcha’s ‘Through The Horizon’

Posted on 23 December 2020

Self-described as ‘Genre-Fluid Performers’, childhood friends Jonathan Chan and Jan Bislin – better known as Momento – are multi-instrumentalists, performers, and composers, specialising in a mixture of original and reworked pop and classical compositions. Here presenting their new single ‘Through The Horizon’, a mixture of Sigur Ros’ ‘Hoppipolla’ and ‘How It Ends’ by Devotchka, the classically trained duo mix electric and acoustic violin performances with sequenced electronic drums and synthesiser parts to create a beautiful, entrancing soundscape that is at once familiar and wholly new.

Already well-established as support for acts as diverse as Tim Minchin, James Blunt, and Gary Barlow, and with over half-a-million YouTube views under their belts – as well as regular headline shows on the streaming platform Sofar Sounds – Jonathan and Jan have here created a beguiling instrumental piece which allows both performers to shine, never overly flashy yet clearly demonstrating their supreme musicianship and arrangement expertise. Based on ‘Through The Horizon’, 2021 should be pretty memorable for Memento.

Check out ‘Through The Horizon’ on YouTube, and follow Memento on Instagram and Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes