Niran Dasika - Life Forms
Niran Dasika Unveils Life Forms: Minimally Composed Soundscapes feat. Andrea Keller and Helen Svoboda
Released March 7th, 2025 on Earshift Music
Niran Dasika trumpet
Andrea Keller piano
Helen Svoboda bass
Multi award-winning Melbourne trumpeter Niran Dasika introduces Life Forms, a minimalist album blending contemplative soundscapes with inspired, improvisational textures. Featuring Melbourne pianist Andrea Keller and double bassist Helen Svoboda,
Life Forms unveils a sonic journey that embodies Dasika’s fascination with imaginative soundscapes and meticulously honed technique.
Reflecting on his approach, Dasika says, “I go through phases of being hyper-fixated on certain pastimes and activities. I’m currently really into reading science fiction, learning yo-yo tricks, and strength training. This tendency towards hyper-fixation applies to my trumpet playing too, and you can hear this throughout Life Forms." He describes how his work on the album was rooted in a fascination with trumpet techniques, especially double tonguing, half-valve trills, and alternate valve timbral trills. "Some tracks, particularly the first one, demonstrate my obsession with playing all the timbral variations I can think of on a single note," he adds, creating what he calls a “sonic world” that oscillates between fragility and boldness.
Credit: Celeste De Clario
Dasika’s inspiration extends beyond music; literature and video games have a deep influence on his compositions. "I draw on the fantastical imagery from my favorite fantasy and science fiction. My last two albums, Suzaku and Mizuchi, were named after fantastical beasts from Japanese and Chinese mythology," he explains. In Life Forms, Dasika invites listeners to envision each piece as its own "monster," a fantastical creature with a unique personality. "The title reflects this fixation with fantastical creatures," he says. "I like to see each composition as a life form with its own distinctive traits."
Formed in 2021, the trio marks Dasika’s return to Melbourne after five years in Japan and Perth. “I wanted to put together my dream band, so I contacted Andrea and Helen and started writing some new music,” Dasika recounts. With Keller, a longtime influence, and Svoboda, whom he met at the Banff International Workshop for Jazz and Creative Music, Dasika found the perfect synergy. "Helen and I quickly realized that we shared a deep interest in textural extended technique and a similar aesthetic sensibility," he notes, adding that Keller’s piano style had been a guiding force since his teenage years.
The recording process was as intimate as the music itself. Captured in the Brian Brown Studio at the University of Melbourne, the trio recorded close together in a single room, with a binaural microphone on the opposite side to evoke an in-room listening experience. "There is so much space and softness in the music that every minute detail of the performance is highlighted and amplified. Most of the tracks were done in one take and never more than two," Dasika shares, describing the thrill of creating within such a “vulnerable setting.”
“brimming with melody and stripped-back themes”
Life Forms is an album that explores the delicate dynamics of trumpet, piano, and bass, while celebrating the intricate timbres that arise from deeply personal influences and innovative techniques.
Niran Dasika has established himself as a prominent figure in the jazz and improvisational music scenes in Australia and Japan. His accolades include the 2019 APRA AMCOS Professional Development Award and the 2019 Young Australian Jazz Artist of the Year, with a notable 2nd place at the 2017 National Jazz Awards. His recent works, including "Kiri" with Sumire Kuribayashi and solo ventures into electronic music like "Endless Spring, Infinite Summer" and "Assorted Drone Music Vol. 1-3," showcase his evolving artistic journey. With "Life Forms," Dasika invites listeners to delve into a world where music embodies the vibrancy and diversity of imagined life forms, each track painting its own fantastical audio landscape.
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1. Life Forms
Life Forms is a simple exploration of sound, a lullaby-like meander through a subtly shifting harmonic landscape. The band ebbs and flows throughout, exploring the different timbres we can make as an ensemble. The simple piano part repeats through the whole track while the trumpet and bass build a sonic world around it.
2. Noodle
‘Noodle’ is a playful romp that breaks up the otherwise sombre album. The piano plays a cheerful ostinato figure underneath a whimsical, playful trumpet melody. There is a sense of humour to the music as the band each push their instruments to make silly, unusual sounds.
3. Osmanthus Green
‘Osmanthus Green’ is named after a variety of green tea blended with osmanthus flowers that I find relaxing. An unhurried melancholic piano ostinato moves in cycles underneath a simple plaintive trumpet melody. All the while the double bass sings out in wailing laments. This piano ostinato sat in my notebook for months before I was able to write a trumpet part to accompany it.
4. River Song
In 2018 I moved to Perth, Australia, for two years. I had lots of free time and no real ties to the city at first so I spent many long afternoons walking along the Swan River. A relaxed, unhurried bass ostinato is intermittently interrupted by fragments of a lyrical, flowing melody at a slightly faster tempo. We always return to the bass line, representing the river, which continues to flow onward, unimpeded.
5. Lanaryu
Some simple cascading piano chords underscores a floating melody played by the trumpet and double bass, their sounds melding almost into a single voice. The bass then takes on a rhythmic role, grounding the music so that the trumpet and piano can take off and explore new heights. Lanaryu is about the refreshing thrill of the
6. All Good Things
In 2016-2017 I lived and worked in Tokyo, Japan. The first time I experienced the April cherry blossom season, I was deeply moved by the sudden transformation of the entire city into a beautiful dreamscape as the air was filled with cherry blossom petals carried in the gentle spring breeze and the sweet scent along with it. I was unprepared for how short-lived it would be however and fell into a slump after the two week season came to an end. ‘All Good Things’ is about the simple (but challenging) act of enjoying the beauty of the impermanent.
7. Sunless City
I play a lot of video games. ‘Sunless City’ is named for a place in the game ‘The Outer Wilds’, a melancholy story of loss and wistful longing. Even stars will die someday and sand will fill the cities we built. The piano part keeps returning to a low, ominous drone note to underscore the dark, haunting melody while the trumpet and double bass fade in and out of the foreground like otherworldly spirits