In Nazar’s song Airstrike, synthesis and sampling techniques are used to create a feeling of a warzone. The Enclave EP, which houses Airstrike, was made as a reflection upon the 27-year Angolan Civil War according to the EP’s bandcamp description. According to Factmag, Nazar comments on how Airstrike in particular is “recounting the stories of numerous airstrikes endured by his mother, aunties and older sisters.” To match this apocalyptic feeling, Factmag describes the EP as having “aggressive, militaristic sound design” and mixing that with traditional Angola kurudo music (which Nazar has dubbed “rough kurudo.”
Airstrike is very heavy handed when it comes to sampling, however there are no entries on WhoSampled for Nazar, meaning there are many samples of which we don’t know the origin of, such as the one at the beginning of the song (however we could infer this could be a family member of Nazar since, on the closing track Ceasefire, there is an audio of Nazar’s father reading his war journal); the publication Self-Titled makes a link between Nazar and the “weaponization of sound” so many sampled sounds are taken from war. The most noticeable sample being the gun clocking sound effect that makes up most of the percussion and is very important in creating the groove for the song. This was made by chopping up the sound effect and rearranging the chops to create a rhythm. There are also many samples placed around to create the atmosphere of a war, with airstrike sounds being heard and sirens blaring for the majority of the second half. Nazar’s name alongside other ghostly vocal samples are also plastered all over this song and is incorporated into the groove to create a very eerie vibe that Beggar’s Music describe as “raw, thrilling and unsettling.”
The sound design also stays within the theming of an apocalyptic warzone, with the main bass synth that plays for the majority of the song sounding like the feedback you get from a faulty connection – essentially electrical static. This sound evolves throughout the song using automated distortion to strengthen and weaken the effect to create different sections. In the second half noisy supersaw alarms start swarming and taking up the mix. Alongside the gun clocking and vocals samples there are some simple electric drums in the song, however these drums can be very difficult to follow at times, adding the very unsettling nature of the song since you don’t know what is going to happen next.
Every sound used in the song sounds faulty or broken and creates the very uninviting atmosphere all these publications have been talking about.
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