Nashaat Salman - Universal Melodies Vol. 1 EP

Film and television composer Nashaat Salman has concocted a sensuous blend of world music and electronica on his latest EP Universal Melodies Vol. 1. With study of orchestration and film scoring at Boston’s eminent Berklee College of Music under his belt, the Swiss artist has been composing music for radio, television and other multimedia for over two decades.

Universal Melodies sees Salman indulge in an exotic soundscape. Having composed, produced, orchestrated, arranged and played all instruments himself, this record is Salman’s own playground for experimentation. However, he hasn’t let these tunes stray into the avant garde, a tempting idea for many composers with full control of their music. Instead, this short and sweet three-track EP serves as a soothing easy-listener, resulting from Salman writing in the vein of accessibility.

Opening track, ‘Summer Night Joy’ enlists a Spanish guitar alongside lively horns and a string section to create a Latin-influenced number, one that bops along at an infectious, upbeat tempo. The track’s latter half introduces a sexily smooth saxophone to the mix before ending with plinking keys. Salman’s musical palette is full of variety and demonstrates his borderline virtuosic ability to not only work with a plethora of different instruments, but also to blend them together with cohesive finesse. ‘Dancing Star’ leans more on the electronica side, adorned with strings and sitars to create an Eastern vibe, before segueing into final track, ‘Chasing’, a synthesizer and keyboard-heavy number which offers up Salman’s most Western sound on the record. 

Universal Melodies is the kind of record that deserves a few listens before you take a final opinion about it. Not to be dismissed as bland instrumental music, there are some beautiful melodies interwoven in these tracks and Universal Melodies is one entrancing compilation.

Universal Melodies Vol. 1 is available from iTunes.