Masal

Masal is a London-based duo formed by Alastair Johnson and Özlem Şimşek, threading together harp, theremin, and modular electronics into something that sits comfortably in no single genre. Şimşek, a Turkish multi-instrumentalist, brings a classical training shaped equally by Middle Eastern tradition and Western conservatory study; Johnson records separately as Alien, where his psychedelic electronic work earned early releases on Shiny Beast before the two began collaborating. Together they have worked with Andy Bell and Mark Gardener of Ride, contributed to the Sonic Cathedral label's orbit, and drawn radio play from BBC 6 Music's Mark Riley and Stuart Maconie. Their 2024 album The Galloping Cat — mastered by Gardener at OX4 Sound — was described by reviewers as six tracks of psychedelic grooves and motorik electronic weirdness, evidence of a project that started as a one-off and grew into something harder to categorize and easier to return to.