Nyxyss, ‘Faxafloi (A Waltz, Assange and the Dark Sea)’

Nyxyss is a talented and highly unique instrumental duo comprising violinist/composer Hannah Thiem and producer Haj Ji. So infrequently do we find musicians producing music solely for the purpose of creation. Nyxyss' efforts are very obviously genuine, as the pair play a carefully executed style of classically inspired electronic music with extreme attention to production detail. Cerebral and without gimmick, the music seems to only faintly acknowledge popular music at all.

"The central statements of this piece were inspired by my love of Nordic melodies," Hannah says of the lengthy single that's today's free MP3. "It is a dream of mine to return to Iceland and Norway and study their beautiful folk music."

While Nyxyss prefer a lyric-less approach, their politics are still a focal point of their art. Touching on the Julian Assange reference in the title, DJ Haj explains, "We stand with Mr. Assange on a human level for the personal risks he has taken in exposing criminal collusion on the largest scale. Iceland has shown great vision and emerged as a strong independent voice for journalists facing politically motivated censorship and repression. It is a model we hope other countries would follow."

The New York-based duo will release their debut EP, 'Memories of Dystopia,' on Jan. 23.