STM 306 - Yogev Freilichman

Yogev Freilichman is a composer, sound artist, and a lecturer for sound design and composition at the Musrara art school in Jerusalem. His Soundcloud oasis reveals an artist who tries to convey emotional turmoils inseparable from the dynamic between the self and the social and political terms of its creation. Yogev combines computer improvisation, modern ritual aspect, and digital aesthetics to explore the side of music as messy and playful as life itself. Freilichman’s debut EP that came out on Manchester/Berlin label Failed Units on July 31st offers three deeply personal tracks ranging from spoken word industrial to glitchy techno and abstract IDM, but the genre pointers don't do justice to its richness and complexity. This is evident right from the opening track Always Stop At The Shell, who's meditative tectonic stabs and piercing violin morph into quirky club vignette in the remix from Leeds' producer Stolen Velour as the final track of the release. Similar to his productions, Yogev's mix for Secret Thirteen journal represents a unique musical piece that finds its magic through the cracks in the system.

STM 306 aims for a somatic and sensory experience, channeling the states where words often fail us, from gloomy euphoria to palpable distraught and all the confusing shades in-between. There's a pleasant shock right from the start, as the gentle indistinct incantation of Arigto's IOVE, She Won By Giving Up melts through the sound waves, its lush abrasiveness enveloping the space almost like hands pulling you in a warm hug. This private sense of communion persists through the first part of the mix. The tracks fall together like excerpts from an ongoing dialogue between rough, jangling textures and soothing melancholic pulses. The crumbling noise propulsions of Somatoform by Forces haunts Laurel Halo's crystalline claustrophobia and fluffy impelling loops of Vladislav Delay. Yogev's selection mainly focuses on artists whose incredible work explores the personal and sonic negotiations of identity, eschewing the escapist aspirations of underground club music for a critical reflection that embraces uncertainty as confrontational and healing sound practice. Besides the aforementioned Forces and Arigto, the mysterious producer Arikon makes an appearance, as well as Turin-based media art collective SPIME.IM. Each track can be perceived as a unique piece of the puzzle that is a chaotic existence in the polarizing absurdity of the modern world.

In the second part of the mix, conflicting ambiance gradually grows in redefined experimentation and humorous club show-downs. A futuristic synth-pop collab between Jerusalem artist Ishai Adar and the late Maurice Sarfati provides a compelling insight into the Jerusalem scene, while AYA’s disruptive That Hyde Trakk distills into pure force of Prodigy and Meshuggah. Yogev’s track Sunverim brings a surge of confrontational glitches and spoken word that establish a new circuit of contained tension. The rest of the mix meanders between irregular beats and deep bass before settling into a soothing acoustic track by Tel Aviv’s LO that closes the mix. With STM 306, Yogev Freilichman gave us an intimate look into the obscure lineage of abstract music with the power to move and change the perception of how we experience music as the reflection of our world.

This mix is an effort to fuse core elements that are driving my creative force. I was trying to find this sublime balance between poetic and raw music that somehow bends my perception of time and sparks my sonic curiosity. As a producer and a sound designer, I always tend to blend absurd elements with musical ones, and while I'm seeking it, I'm trying not to take myself too seriously.