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METLASR

2026

METLASR is an upcoming album for microtonal idiophones and modular synthesizer by composer/producer Tyler Friedman for Radicant_Editions.

Drawing on the legacies of downtown minimalism, METLASR connects avant-garde composition, aspects of global traditional musics and advanced synthesizer technique into an ambitious and singular hybrid. Animated by generative modular sequencing and grounded by undulating bass, the album focuses on an endless cascade of pirouetting geometric melodics, which are spread across a spectrally fused ensemble of crystalline FM and sampled pitched percussion – specifically gamelan orchestra, marimba, mbira, vibraphone and tingklik. The assemblage of voices interlace in fractal mirrors, aggregating into pointillist harmonizations heightened by multiple layers of dub processing. The use of alternative tunings — primarily 24-note per octave just intonation — infuses the poly-modal progressions with lush radiance, staging tension between the strange and the beautiful through neon inflections of subtle dissonance.

Entirely improvised, a fact belied by the contrapuntal complexity of it all, METLASR’s seven tracks were each recorded in a single pass and subject to minimal edits. Although the sound palette and performance mechanisms remain consistent, each take is rendered in an individual mood and style. The album’s seventy minutes open euphorically with a dense blast of ascending gamelan tessellation [Štoniljid] and carries this uplift into an acrobatic dance of fourth world club [Iljal]. A segment foregrounding the virtual ensemble’s jazz instrumentation [Eleaphor and Okhupuloi] is followed by a 25-minute epic of cosmic psychedelia [Narlotok] and a surprise bout of woodwind acid [Jlaljar], before concluding on a glowing mbiral sunrise [Rapinthliel]. On the vinyl edition, Narlotok is substituted with the sidelong Ghazelon, an analogue exclusive following meditative bass pulsations into a mirror chamber of shimmering melancholy.

The album cover features the painting Self Portrait (1972) by the legendary artist Samia Halaby.  Part of a series focused on helixes and cycloids, Self Portrait is a study of light refractions on aluminium: the abstract reflection of the artist warped into metallic angularity. Halaby is the recipient of the 2025 Munch award.  

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CREDITS 

Composition and Production TYLER FRIEDMAN 
Recorded and Mixed at SAKHA STUDIOS BERLIN 
Mastering MIKE GRINSER at MANMADE 
Cover Art SELF PORTRAIT (1972), SAMIA HALABY, Oil on canvas
Layout TYLER FRIEDMAN
Thanks to ARON, KHYAM, BRIAN, RABIH, NATASCHA, TANJA, MARYLOU,
ULF, KODWO, ANJALI, DAVIDE and ANTONIA

Double Vinyl LP 
Radicant_Editions 2026

Bandcamp
METLASR-Cover-Art
251001_TF_Metlasr_v15_backCover