Majd Khalil – “Nectar” – an epic cinematic blending of the Tango and the Waltz

Syrian composer and producer, Majd Khalil has had a passion for music since he was a kid. He love for music of all genres finds him making beats, orchestral and cinematic music, as well as passionate piano pieces, among many other musical stylings. Khalil crafts an incredibly deep well of sound throughout his catalog. There’s a constant feel of sweeping motion, as he designs melodic soundscapes that are highly emotive, richly layered, and yet distinctly delicate. His art, is truly a dedication to a type of expansive and explorative music that can remain firmly inside, or well outside, the mainstream realm. For listeners who come across Majd Khalil, there can be few substitutes with his sensibility and creative versatility.

Many of Majd Khalil’s compositions move and flow like giant canvasses of dynamic color, which shift at varying paces across an immense starlit sky. Such is the case with “Nectar” – an almost seven minute epic, which wraps the listener in quivering waves of sound that take on different hues and shades. It delves into the sonic space for which Khalil is probably be best known for: deep wells of immersive sound and pure atmospheric drift that sweep you into unknown worlds.

“Nectar” is at once cinematic in its intent, as it conjures up vivid imagery with luscious orchestrations and ear-warming melodies that sweep across the mindset and thoroughly embrace the soul. This could easily be the soundtrack to a blockbuster Hollywood movie. As the piece moves forward in time, the instruments within morph, expand and reform themselves. Except for the tempo and percussive change, the listener may well not even notice the dramatic tonal changes in progress.

The musical evolution from one minute to the next is beautifully subtle and fluid, and before long, you’ll find yourself in the midst of military-like percussion, and a more urgent and dramatically kinetic musical atmosphere, which signals Majd Khalil’s perfect manipulation of emotion and mood via music. “Nectar” then switches back to its original, welcoming and mellifluous tones, which are a pure wealth of majestic sonic bliss.

Thematically, “Nectar” may be a statement, it may be a question, or it may even be an answer brought forward by Majd Khalil. Musically though, the composition is an intriguing hybrid of opposites, blending the waltz and tango stylings. Consider that the waltz initially evolved during the 16th-century in Europe, while the tango originated in the 1880s in Argentina, South America. In dancing, the waltz is a smoothly flowing dance, while the tango’s Latin influences fill it with dynamic flare and overt energy.

All of which explains the tonal, tempo and percussive changes found in “Nectar”, as Majd Khalil fuses this interesting musical amalgam. “It’s not common to see a mix of waltz and tango together, so I wanted to bring such a mix to the light, to show how beautiful they could sound together in one piece,” explained Majd Khalil. He has certainly succeeded in his endeavor, for “Nectar”, unfolds all of the most captivating facets of both the waltz and the tango, and still offers so much more to explore musically.