isa farah, a cellist and composer performing under the alias deana delam, develops a practice where the cello becomes a space of vulnerability, tension, and deep listening. Through sonic gestures that move between restraint and release, she creates emotional landscapes marked by sensitivity and poetic intensity.
In this video, you’ll first hear an interview with the artist, where she discusses her creative process, influences, and the origins of her piece “it’s okay, go on without me.” The conversation is followed by the full performance, recorded during her PHI North residency, revealing the depth and fragile tension that shape her work.
The phrase “go on without me” was inspired by group improvisations with Kamra Hakim and Emree Wilson that took place prior to the residency.
TRACK
“it’s okay, go on without me”
Composed by isa farah
Performed by deana delam by isa farah
Stage setup with support from Nima Yajam
isa farah (they/she) is a heart-forward cellist, composer, and improviser blending microtonality and free improvisation, grounded in deep listening. Rooted in trans embodiment and ancestral fire, their work weaves ambient tenderness, rhythmic provocation, and feral string screams. Drawing from the Iranian Radif and extended techniques, isa explores in-betweenness as both a musical and political space—channeling grief, groove, and rupture into spaces of softness, devotion, and becoming.
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PHI North offers musicians the opportunity to produce, explore, experiment, and refine their artistic project.
Selected participants are granted a two-week creative retreat at a riverside lodge in the Laurentian mountains featuring exclusive access to a recording studio with in-house engineer and technical assistance.
Specifically oriented for Quebec-based artists, this residency provides a much needed escape from the everyday in order for participants to completely immerse themselves in their artistry.
AN INITIATIVE MADE POSSIBLE THANKS TO THE SUPPORT OF
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