Born in London to Indian and Czech parents, Taz Modi is a composer and musician best known for being part of both Submotion Orchestra, of which he is a founding member, and Portico Quartet as well as playing piano for jazz musician & producer Matthew Halsell whose Gondwana Records label features the latter on its roster. In 2019, Modi debuted as a solo artist with Reclaimed Goods which featured in Guardian writer John Lewis’ list of the top ten albums of that year. For 2025, Modi returns with his long-awaited second solo record offering up a deeply personal collection of compositions that seeks to explore the experience of nostalgia on a variety of levels.
Involuntary Memories is inspired by significant events in Modi’s life that have become ensconced in his memory – the birth of his child, his relocation to the Sussex countryside after a life spent in cities, the ageing of his parents, and the pandemic lockdown. Each track on the album alludes to some aspect of these memorable experiences in very personal way while musing on the overarching general theme of spontaneous recollection and how emotions are triggered. Through the language of music, Modi explores his own changing perspective on memories over the years as well as “the parallels between individual and shared nostalgia”.
As I reached my forties, I started wondering why these involuntary memories were increasing in frequency, and events around me seemed to trigger more and more recollections of my past,” Modi explains. “I was writing this album around the same time and all of the tracks are inspired by these spontaneous recollections and the range of emotions they seemed to provoke in me.
Taz Modi
Recorded across the country in various locations on a number of different pianos along with strings, samples, and discrete bits of electronica, Involuntary Memories is Modi’s own expressive take on post-classical piano music with frequent nods to the music of his youth and the artists who have influenced him. The album is tinged with melancholy in accord with its central theme, but it also shimmers with tender beauty and even moments of exuberance. While it may be referential of Modi’s life in uniquely personal ways, ultimately the album resonates on a level all of us can relate to.
Ahead of its release tomorrow is a premiere of the second part of the gorgeous title track which Modi considers as a piece shaped by the tension between happiness and sadness thus laying down the thematic foundation of the album.
When I came across the pattern that starts this tune off, there was something in the way these two major chords next to each other created a sadness and melancholy that seemed to encapsulate something in how nostalgia works – happiness and sadness coexisting side by side, something that should be joyous actually being sad, and vice versa.
Involuntary Memories will be released by Kartel Music Group May 16, 2025, on limited edition black vinyl LP as well as digital download and streaming. The album was mastered by Peter Beckmann and features cover photography by Liv Mann-Tremblay.
Links: Bandcamp (LP/digital) | Taz Modi
