First solo album ‘Balm’, digital release on Alien Jams (March 2024) and vinyl reissue (May 2024) by Rekem Records.
Full album on bandcamp and across digital platforms.
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'Balm' is an album by Greek/ UK based artist Viki Steiri, a powerful debut, anchored by ritualistic, monolithic cello layers. Steiri combines eerie soundscapes with electronic dance rhythms, synth-tinged folk songs from Istanbul, and reworked cello and santur improvisations.
The album encapsulates a hauntingly poignant journey through melancholic soundscapes [...] Steiri’s compositions for this album navigate themes of rootlessness, loss, and identity changes, reflecting the tumultuous nature of existence. However, amidst all, there is a profound exploration of humanness, delving into the realms of imagination and introspection.
(CLOT magazine, Vol.73)
Balm has been featured on BBC3's Late Junction (05.04.24), CLOT magazine (29.03.24) and in Philip Sherburne's Futurism Restated #56 newsletter.
Written and recorded between Athens and London between 2017- 2023, 'Balm' is a distinctly personal documentation. Moving from the suffering caused by rootlessness, loss and changes of identity to immersion in imagination and a search for beauty and intensity, as ‘balm to the soul.’
From the outset, 'Balm' makes a commanding and powerful presence, with thunderous cello seamlessly melting into more gentle, serene soundscapes. Eerily delicate and patient, Steiri maneuvers through tranquil and slightly unhinged juxtapositions, reaching a pinnacle in the captivating and otherworldly triptych that closes the album's first half. Lucid cello and synth are meticulously woven, often with a feeling of effortlessness. Balm soon picks up a throbbing and propulsive pace, all the while holding onto a sense of looseness and experimentation. The album culminates in a mesmerizing union of cello and santur, a compelling last trip into the unknown, before dissipating into the ether.