Commune by Kin Leonn

“In endless patience, the days abide. They write themselves: blue flourish and tender instinct. They are haunts and reveries and all manner of dwelling. They are seconds; they are years. They are forevermore.”

'Commune' is the debut full-length album by Singapore born, producer, composer, electronic artist and pianist, Kin Leonn. Affectionately known by peers as the 'ambient boy from Singapore,' Kin Leonnʼs arresting dream-music in 'Commune' is sourced from a well of preconscious phrases, an evocative meditation of sorts – perhaps one that transmutes the city dross into a peaceful self-discovery in search of spiritual unity.

'Commune' is an atmospheric work mostly recorded using upright piano, reverb-soaked guitar, and synthesisers, with altered virtual instruments and other digital elements added later to create a tension between the organic and the synthetic. The moods are contemplative and the melancholy, almost all-pervasive. However, within this framework, Kin Leonn explores as much ground as he can, from sweeping ambient bliss to understated piano etudes.

Illustrative song titles like 'Shinrin-yoku' and 'Somewhere' evoke inviting landscapes of reflection and resonance. The more electronic, rhythm-oriented cuts - particularly twin centerpieces 'Visionary' and 'There were days' - find common cause with the producerʼs approach of balancing programmed and improvised music, before dissolving into a liberating resolution of harmonics and noise. Quieter moments in 'Desire #9' and 'Detached' also stun with their hypnotic beauty and spaciousness, revealing the artistʼs cinematically-attuned approach.

This very sense of fluidity and non-structure gives the record its shape-shifting identity, but across 10 songs and 43 minutes, 'Commune' still functions as a single, cohesive piece of music. Itʼs easy to get lost in the album and it's a pleasantly disorienting sensation. In the closing piano track, “Nightlight” serves as the coda for the whole album, showing that Kin Leonnʼs strength as a musician isnʼt all about production complexity, but in the emotional nuance he is able to coax from his instruments with sure instinct and enormous sensitivity.

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