Kintsugi

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British composer and Reflections’ very own rising star Cephas Azariah reveals his newest composition ‘Kintsugi’ alongside the announcement of his debut album ‘Joy Paradox’, due 21 October.

Since joining Reflections in 2021, Cephas quickly became a standout artist on the label with his remarkable ability to capture the emotional essence of personal tales through composition and arrangement. With millions of streams to date, high-profile collaborations and widespread recognition across the label, his highly anticipated album takes us on a deeper journey into his story and artistry to date.

”This project is a summary of thirty years of life, and a realisation that you can't have good things without sacrifice,” Cephas says. “Achieving success takes a certain level of suffering, and that’s the paradox of joy.”

Throughout his life, Cephas has experienced this paradox first-hand. His parents moved to the UK from India when he was ten, and he grew up witnessing the challenges that came with leaving their culture behind and having to adapt to a new one. “Sometimes you have to put something down in order to pick something up,” Cephas says. “And you have to trust that you’re making the right decision.”

‘Kintsugi’ draws on exactly that theme. The name comes from a Japanese art-form that translates to golden joinery; the art of repairing broken pottery with gold. As a philosophy, the damage doesn’t ruin the pottery, but creates a different kind of beauty, one rooted in the transformative power of life’s lessons and the celebration of imperfection. “My parents grew up in India, and they carry their culture with them, whereas culturally I’m English,” says Cephas. “So there was a lot of brokenness in our relationship as I grew up, but we worked together as a family to repair and recover, and I put that experience into this piece of music.”

‘Kintsugi’ sounds a lot like peace. With light piano, atmospheric strings and hopeful melodies, the composition itself reflects the art of Kintsugi. “There’s a lot of sounds that are broken in the song,” Cephas says. “I used a production technique where I stagger elements, and I used the very subtle sound of a broken ceramic bowl, and stretched it out to help tell the story.”

Cephas Azariah ‘Kintsugi’ is out now on Reflections. His debut album ‘Joy Paradox’ is available to pre-order now via the Anjunastore.

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