VAST is as much an exploration of sound as it is a faithful reproduction of a specific performance. From the scrapes and rattles that precede the booming sub bass of album opener Eruption until forlorn closing track Hljóð grinds itself to a halt, the album bristles with the lesser-heard sounds of stringed instruments: Screeches of flesh on steel and the otherwise-muted buzzings of wooden bridges permeate – and at times overwhelm – the more conventionally captured sounds that carry the bulk of VAST’s emotional weight.

Prior to the album’s recording, Viktor and Yair had not met in person, though both contributed to the late Jóhann Jóhannsson's 2017 remix of Solari for Ryuichi Sakamoto. It was at the encouragement of the former that they decided to finally meet and play together.

Setting up at two ends of Viktor’s Kreuzberg studio, and separated only by an array of carefully positioned microphones, the two artists set out with no fixed aim beyond feeding off of each other’s creative energies and recording the results. By monitoring their effected performances through headphones in real time, the pair were able to isolate and respond to both the subtle nuances of each other’s playing and specific details of each instrument’s sound. It’s this process of reactive improvisation that led to the unorthodox arrangements and unique timbres of VAST.

The resulting audio was cut into five tracks and mixed predominantly by Yair and Viktor in Berlin. Additional mixing, along with the album’s mastering, was completed by Valgeir Sigurðsson at Greenhouse Recording Studios, Iceland.

All pictures by Maximilian König.