2LP in gatefold sleeve. Solely carried away by sound, ESINAM succeeds in blending her soulful voice with traditional African percussion, adding electronic influences combined with dazzling melodies and mesmeric flute improvisations.
Belgian-Ghanaian multi-instrumentalist Esinam Dogbatse, a.k.a ESINAM, is set to release her highly anticipated debut album 'Shapes in Twilights of Infinity' on the 3rd September via W.E.R.F. Records.
Solely carried away by sound, ESINAM succeeds in blending her soulful voice with traditional African percussion, adding electronic influences combined with dazzling melodies and mesmeric flute improvisations. Her compositions carry traces from numerous geographical, cultural and musical influences, collected from her personal history and through various travels, encounters, tours and collaborations. After starting her solo career as a "one-woman band" sampling and looping all instruments herself to build her tracks, she released her critically acclaimed self-titled debut EP on Sdban Ultra back in 2018 and has performed on numerous stages across Europe including Brussels Jazz Festival, Les Nuits, Copenhagen Jazz Festival and Eurosonic/Noorderslag.
Built on futurist flute sounds, elaborate rhythms and sensitive melodies, 'Shapes in Twilights of Infinity' unfolds like a dreamlike path into an unparalleled musical universe. ESINAM invites us on a cosmic journey, a trip towards horizons coloured with sounds and influences that reach as far as the eye can see.
'Shapes in Twilights of Infinity' finds a balance between the acoustic and electronic, between the future and ancestral. The songs are deeply rooted in grooves and global sounds, at the same time composed and spontaneously evolving, always filled with a strong musical feeling. From 'New Dawn' with its pulsating beats, vivid flutes and poetical spoken word featuring of the Londoner Nadeem Din-Gabisi, over the soulful jazz vibe of 'Lost Dimensions', to the etheric melodies and mesmerizing singing of South-African guest vocalist Sibusile Xaba on 'Flowing River': ESINAM delivers nothing less than a profound patchwork full of musical connections, where traces of house, trip hop and hip hop intertwine with tones from traditionals, blues and psychedelica.
Based on loops, samples, impressions and field recordings, each song follows the other like a cycle that opens, evolves, transforms and returns to the starting point. 'Shapes in Twilights of Infinity' touches the soul with emotion, grasps you, questions you, does you good. The music is rooted in culture and tradition while flying far away, towards tomorrow, as a surprising and engaging infinity.
Similar to the wide range of musical angles, her process of recording and producing is also as eclectic. ESINAM produced many of the tracks herself in her home studio, while others were recorded with her full band, forming of three musicians - Axel Gilain on bass, Pablo Casella on guitars and Martin Méreau on drums and vibraphone - who she picked precisely for their musical identities. The combination of their acoustic and electronic instruments brings a soulful and vibrant interpretation to ESINAM's compositions, uplifting their groovy vibe.
Fascinated by music at a very young age, particularly percussion instruments including the tama, the piano became ESINAM's first instrument but for practical reasons, she found herself drawn to the flute. As a flutist and percussionist, she has played in, amongst others, Marock'in Brass, Kel Assouf, Témé Tan and Sysmo and collaborated with Baloji, Ibaaku and Jaguar Jaguar. She has supported Mélanie de Biasio, Alsarah & The Nubatones, Selah Sue, Moses Sumney and Mayra Andrade on global tours.
Either performing solo or with a band set-up, ESINAM unveils herself by orchestrating authentic music full of poetry, rhythms and melodies that make her a unique voice in today's jazz-and-beyond scene.
