The oldest known notated music, dating to roughly 1400 BC, the Hurrian Hymns were discovered in Ugarit (modern day Syria) in the 1950s. The clay tablets, written in cuneiform, contain 36 songs, only one of which is complete – the Hymn to Nikkal.
For this challenge, we asked contributing musicians to take inspiration from the Hymns – whether that was directly using a melody or instrumentation from the era, or simply taking inspiration from the story of this ancient artifact. The results are eclectic – from organic improvisation to immersive soundscapes to post-rock and electronic wizardry.
Out September 28, 2025 – Bandcamp
Find out more about Passed Recordings artists:
- David Aimone
- Asha Patera
- passengers
- I felt it in my sleep
- Exit Chamber
- G!GA LURGH
- Cavern Cult
- On Idyl
And a huge thanks to our friends who took part:
- Antevie
- Sertulariae
- Mathew Gracie
- Legacy Systems
- imagens
- Ghola V
- EPIMYTH
- housefire
- Aaron J. Noth
- Laura Burton
- Droids On Acid
- Pollyanna
- Ærebus
- Sylvia Virgo
- Jollroy
- Will Dee
- The Music Liberation Front Sweden
- oeltahn bahn
Cover design by On Idyl.
Other art by PASSAGE, oeltahn bahn, Ava / Road Archie, Ed Herbers, and Droids on Acid.
Ugarit palace entrance photo Disdero; Ugarit ruins photo by Ziegler175; both used courtesy of Creative Commons license BY-SA 3.0. Gobekli Tepe photo by Sami Aksu; cuneiform photo by Ersan Yilmaz; both used courtesy of Pexels.
Mastered by Exit Chamber
