Across the pond, the pensive and surefooted Bulgarian creative Yavor Zografski has spent the last several years tightening the reigns around both his own musical project SMYAH, and the wider Sound in Picture label under his purview. A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to premiere the track “Labyrinths” ahead of the full release of SMYAH’s Narratives LP. Exploring a marriage between stoic rhythms and airy composition, “Labyrinths” was just a taste of the wider Narratives arc, scratching the surface of a much deeper project that fuses compositions and photography into a multi-disciplinary artform.
Narratives covers a variety of styles and genres, with notable influences from IDM, jazz, downtempo, trip-hop, and ambient film audio. It’s a meticulous blend of intricate audio design and pastel colorways of sound that bend, morph, and break apart to create a collaged, emotive LP. Be it “Spirits”, featuring the washed, reverberant vocals of Desy atop a ghostly, slow-rolling instrumental, or the gradual swell of sporadic, fractured artifacts in “Time Dispersion”, there’s a clear musical command that reaches through a number of unique territories and influences. Accompanying each track is a poignant photograph, provided in this case by the photographer 8MIN. Pairing each respective song and visual backdrop brings a clarity to the moving themes in Narratives, but also connects the album back to Yavor’s other focus; the Sound in Picture label.
Founded in 2018, Sound in Picture features dozens of individual releases, all paired together with accompanying photographic art. Under that same umbrella, it hosts purchasable prints, a podcast, and expansive profiles on some of the in-house talent responsible for this duality in vision. It’s a testament to the timeless marriage of visual and aural design, and places the label in a squarely multimedia space, allowing it to function somewhere in between a traditional musical outlet and a zine, making sure to put the focus on both ends of its fused artistic approach.
Given the expansive scope of both Yavor’s personal musical output, and the approach to his particularly curated label, The Rust felt an immediate necessity to sit down with this affluent artist and discuss the genesis and direction of his dovetailing projects.
The Rust: You've got your plate full as both the owner/operator of your label Sound in Picture, as well as through your own creative project. Where did that dual road start? What's your musical background like?
Yavor Zografsky: It all started with music first - more out of curiosity; I got my first MIDI keyboard and FL Studio about 15 years ago. I am self taught from the time before all this knowledge and these tutorials flooded the internet, so I was just practicing and figuring stuff out on my own and as I went. I didn’t study music, I graduated in the Netherlands with [a degree in] Media and Entertainment, but more on the video production side. None of my friends did music back then, so I was on my own in that endeavor during my first 10 years, but this didn’t discourage me at all. It started getting serious about 5 years ago, and Sound in Picture was coincidentally born then too, back in 2018. Back then, I was going through some photo magazines and listening to music and I said to myself, why shouldn’t I make a platform where you could do both at the same time, where the images and sounds are telling the story together, and the musician gets not one, but a whole series of artworks. After thorough research, I discovered that nobody has done that yet so it didn’t take me much to act on it. I’ve always wanted my own label, so this was the perfect opportunity.
Back then, I was working as a video editor and also did some directing and shooting, so the synergy between both worlds has never been foreign to me and it’s all coming together naturally.
The Rust: How would you categorize your musical influences? Your recent "Narratives" LP showcases a number of styles and disciplines.
Yavor: My musical influences come from a variety of fields, mainly the sound system culture, film soundtracks and the UK electronic scene. Artists like Massive Attack and Calibre are definitely some of the names I admire. When I get to create, I don’t really think about genres (unless it’s a commercial project, but that’s different) and I just go with the flow. That’s when it works out the best and that’s why I make music in the first place - to feel total freedom without any boundaries.
I feel that when you make an album, it’s good to have a balance between action, tension and moments to breathe, so that’s why you can hear some ambient tracks next to beats, autonomic and half time music. Some of my favorite music to listen to in my free time is drum and bass and dubstep, and I also have tunes in these styles, but I will put out separate EPs with them as they didn’t really fit here. For this album, it was important to tell a story that transcends genres. I feel what propels the story is the sound design and the overall atmosphere, which is similar despite the stylistic variety. I’d characterize some of the tracks as ‘cinematic beats’.
Of course, we have to give credit to Merian Nikolova, 8MIN, who shot a whole series of photos dedicated to the album and they definitely make the whole project more impactful.
The Rust: Where's home plate for you, stylistically? What are the rhythms that drew you to production and composition in the first place?
Yavor: If we have to start from the very beginning, my first musical discoveries as a child were in hip-hop and r’n’b - both from Bulgaria and from all around the world. I was making some mixtapes recording tracks from the radio. Then, during my first couple of years in secondary school, I was listening to mostly death and thrash metal and that’s when I first started making music. I was just playing some melodies and even then, I was watching a ton of films and got inspired by their soundtracks. I learned the piano part from The Matrix theme and some other songs from bands like Cradle of Filth and Children of Bodom. Shortly after I got into producing, I discovered drum and bass and later on dubstep and grime, and that’s when I felt music which really connected with me, way deeper than the other genres. So I guess if we have to sum it up, those rhythms, mixed in with some world and indigenous motifs (also super important for my music) are the main drawing force. I feel the indigenous and tribal sound really close to me and I feel really drawn to the jungle - I can’t explain why since I’ve grown up in Sofia, which is a totally different type of jungle. Maybe it has to do with a past life.
The Rust: How, if at all, does your personal musicianship inform your decisions as a label head?
Yavor: I will sign anything I like. I have a soft spot for dub and dubstep, so this is a prevalent but not exclusive stylistic choice. We’ve done beats, halftime, ambient and IDM, sometimes even jazzy stuff. The most important thing is the vibe and the quality of the sound. The cinematic sound is also a big “yes”. I usually invite musicians I admire and follow as a fan, as well.
The Rust: What's the genesis point for Sound in Picture? Did you always envision a relationship between aural and visual art?
Narratives LP Release Party, photographed by Gully Wabbit
Yavor: SiP’s core action is releasing music dressed in a series of photos, and the idea came shortly before realising it. Before that, I have always paid attention to soundtracks in films and other types of art but the idea of Sound in Picture wasn’t planned, and it's the product of a sudden, blissful moment of realization. But even back then, I knew that the scope could allow many other types of activities and that potential really motivated me to invest my time into growing it. By other types, I mean events, creating physical items, a podcast, licensing material and other offshoot activities.
The Rust: The chosen visual pieces that accompany each of the label's releases are often very syncretic with the themes and tones in the accompanying music. What's the process for those pairings? Do you source art for music you intend to release, or do the artists source that themselves?
Yavor: It all happens organically; we usually start off with the music and based on its atmosphere, I am reaching out to photographers who I feel can best illustrate it based on their overall visual perspectives. I am very particular about the visual styles and their consistency when I am searching, but the photographers have the full creative freedom to interpret the story their way. We pay equal attention to both sides of the collaboration and it’s important for them to have fun too and express their side. I feel that this way, the photographers manage to put out the best of themselves, and I can compare it similarly to the process of music production.
I believe that if you know what you’re looking for as a curator, it’s really not that hard to match the right people who will produce something organically, and there’s art to this process too.
The Rust: Do you envision Sound in Picture as a strictly digital media label? Do you have any stake or interest in physical media regarding the label?
Yavor: Of course. It’s important for SiP to exist in the physical dimension - the main goal for the platform is not to depend on social media for reaching out to people. Our home base is the website, but we’ve produced some physical items as well - we have a photo book where you can find some of the best photography we’ve published, plus some thought provoking quotes from our artists, and we have a second edition on the way this year.
Apart from that, we adapted some artworks as t-shirt designs, and on the musical side, we put out a tape of the album release we did with Valance Drakes & Ivan Shopov, featuring photography by Zlatina Tochkova.
My aim for the near future is also some vinyl releases and we’ll see how it goes.
Another physical aspect of SiP is the events we do on a monthly basis here in Sofia, Bulgaria, where I live. The nature of the platform allows for a wide scope of events and we do music parties, exhibitions, bazaars, and lectures with artists from different fields who share their experience in an open talk. That’s a great way to form a community and I hope we do an event somewhere abroad soon!
The Rust: What's the future like for Sound in Picture? What do you see over the horizon line as you continue to run the label?
Yavor: Something I am working on is getting into the sync licensing business, which wouldn’t be an easy step but it’s definitely something worth pursuing, especially with such a catalogue that is literally sound for pictures. Apart from that, I will keep the podcast going, we have 2 episodes out and you can hear/watch them here: https://biglink.to/SiPcast
And of course, more quality releases on a regular basis.
The Rust: What's the future look like for your own project? Have you considered your next move after Narratives?
Yavor: I am currently composing music for an American feature film. Being a film composer is my dream job, so I am working hard towards it and that’s where I intend to put my focus more. In terms of releasing SMYAH music, I plan to put out a dubstep and a drum & bass EPs later down the year.
It’s clear that both Yavor’s vision and execution of his artistic gait develop in tandem, and benefit immensely from his salt-of-the-earth approach and perspective to multimedia art. Be it his own SMYAH project, Sound in Picture, or any of the other creatives hosted and put in the spotlight through his platform, every tendril crawls back to the well of influence that he both pulls and dispenses from, creating a vibrant ecosystem of opportunity and curation in musical and visual art. Be sure to stay up to date with Sound in Picture’s latest exploits, and keep your eyes and ears peeled for more developments from the distinct imagination of Yavor Zagrofsky.
FOLLOW SMYAH: SoundCloud / Bandcamp / Spotify / Facebook
FOLLOW Sound in Picture: SoundCloud / Instagram / Youtube / Official
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