Emerging Composer Cephas Azariah shares peaceful new single ‘Contours’ via Anjunadeep’s downtempo imprint Reflections
Emerging composer Cephas Azariah shares new single ‘Contours’
Debut album Joy Paradox is due out October 21st via Anjunadeep’s downtempo imprint Reflections
FFO: Ólafur Arnalds, Max Richter, Nils Frahm
India-born, UK-based composer Cephas Azariah shares the second single to be shared from his forthcoming debut album Joy Paradox set for release October 21st via Anjunadeep’s downtempo imprint Reflections.
Cephas Azariah is an emerging force in composition, he has scored for the likes of Channel 4, Puma’s Tierry Henry campaign, Soho House and dozens of films. His recent single ‘Kintsugi’, the first single to be shared from his debut album, was supported by Clash, The Most Radicalist and KEXP. Cephas now returns with ‘Contours’, a piece written for ballet, “dance is the ultimate companion to music where body language converses with what it hears. Susanne Langer says dance is the notable movement between two markers which perfectly describes the song itself, placing value on the journey and the process rather than the start or end” says Cephas.
Every track on Cephas Azariah’s forthcoming album has a story. He resolves personal conflicts through music, with each piece acting as a gentle unravelling of inner unrest. “This project is a summary of thirty years of life, and a realisation that you can't have good things without sacrifice,” Cephas says. “Achieving success takes a certain level of suffering, and that’s the paradox of joy.”
Throughout his life, Cephas has experienced a joy paradox first-hand. His parents moved to the UK from India when he was ten, and he grew up witnessing the challenges that came with leaving their culture behind and having to adapt to a new one. “Sometimes you have to put something down in order to pick something up,” Cephas says. “And you have to trust that you’re making the right decision.”
When listening to Joy Paradox, Cephas hopes people will be able to sit with and feel comfortable with conflicting emotions. “I want people to commit to their own journey in life, and not feel like they have to arrive already, or be at the start or the end,” he says. “I want people to recognise the things they’ve had to put down in order to enjoy the things they now have.”
Cephas’ artistry and philosophy blend into one another, and instead of accolades, money and material possessions, he’d prefer to be at peace. “That was always a goal beyond working with a big label or writing amazing music or owning a home,” he says. “I can say now I’m totally at peace with myself,” he continues. “This project is all about these cultural intersections that repeatedly come up in life. I often find myself at a crossroads, unsure of who I am, and being at peace is difficult when you just don’t know where you fit. I’m brown, I live in the UK, I write a predominantly white genre of music. Then there’s family background, heritage, language - it all comes into it. Now I understand that I will constantly live at an intersection, and that’s okay.”
