The ECM New Series debut of Evgueni Galperin is one of the most strikingly original and evocative albums of the year.

A composer of Russian and Ukrainian heritage, currently based in France, Galperin is working with sound, texture and dynamics in new and powerfully expressive ways. As he explains, the sound world of Theory of Becoming represents an "augmented reality of acoustic instruments, created from recordings made with real and virtual instruments. The numerous transformations the instruments undergo allow me to capture their acoustic nature while also adding techniques and colours impossible to produce in reality..."

Galperin's compositions address wide ranging subjects: from the resilience of hope in the face of destruction to meditations on the journey of the soul, as well as travels through space and through the magical forests of Max Ernst's paintings.

Theory of Becoming was recorded and mixed 2020-21 in Paris, at Studio EPG and Studios de la Seine and was produced by Manfred Eicher.

Evgueni Galperine: composition

Maria Vasyukova: voice

Sergei Nakariakov: trumpet

Sebastien Hurtaud: cello