Kan Wakan to Release 3-LP Movement 'Phantasmagoria' 10/13

Hear / Share "Phantasmagoria Pt. 1"
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Phantasmagroria is a surreal sonic noir advancing Linev's masterful compositional expanse well past the structural confines of his debut, a delicately constructed dance between the warmth of reality and the cool transience of dreams.

"As it grew, Phantasmagoria was the hallway, the doors that glued each room to the other," says Linev. "The word embodies the subconscious path that flows through each piece of music, and their unique physics. And in these songs, each guest becomes a curator - a storyteller giving the room math to explain that ebb - that change of state and the metamorphosis of grief into hope."

Phantasmagoria is a communal affair for Kan Wakan, bringing on several of Linev's friends to tell stories across each of the three LP's definitive moods. He developed this emphasis on the value of community in Bulgaria at a young age - his parents divorced when he was one, and growing up in poverty meant his family might only eat that day if they got to the bread line early enough. It was during these challenging times that Linev was rescued by a strong bootleg tape community in his hometown of Sofia, nourishing him with an array of new musical input.

Elle Olsun's mysteriously moody croon haunts Phantasmagoria's first LP faster than you can say 'ethereal', while Rachel Fannan's soulful delivery bookends the second LP's adventurous, varied sonic exploration. For the final act, Linev's old touring friend SAÍGO's upbeat energy dominates the third LP, completing a journey more intimate than any loose consortium of auto-tuned EDM vocalists could ever possibly facilitate.

Watch / Share "Molasses" Video featuring guest vocals from Elle Olsun
https://youtu.be/ReNw76zpgSM

Watch / Share "Still Feather" Video featuring guest vocals from SAÍGO
https://youtu.be/Eo8F4JXl20s

The lush orchestral arrangements on LP2 simultaneously recall the strings on his full-length debut while evoking Linev's first musical memory - watching his uncle, prominent Bulgarian conductor Stefan Linev, lead an orchestra through the Verdi's Aida when he was eight.

"I remember being absolutely terrified of the costumes and the loud drama," he says. "But I loved the orchestra!"

Linev convinced his hometown heroes, The Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, to record the string arrangements forPhantasmagoria in the small moments between working with them on another commission. In addition, Linev has scored several films, produced tracks for he likes of Thundercat and Moses Sumney, and fed all other creative input back into his work. The first feature film he ever scored, Dead Draw, was recently picked up as a Showtime original film and will premiere this fall.

Linev attributes Phantasmagoria's hauntingly lucid flow to his double life of staying active as a composer and producer while working on the album in his downtime. Just like the metallic orbs that some black and white checkered figure holds in Leszek Bujnowski's cover art, a surreal landscape is both presented and reflected back on itself.

Just as "Kan Wakan" translates to both an arbitrary Lakota phrase for "Sun Dance" and the Tagalong word for "Interstellar" Linev's Phantasmagoria celebrates musical multiculturalism through dilated lenses deeply personal and astronomically vast.