Nº 23 Commune – Kin Leonn

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.

Kin Leonn releases Commune on 21 December 2018  via KITCHEN. LABEL worldwide. Available on 180g transparent vinyl LP, CD and digital formats, with artwork by Jonathan Yong-Ern Lim and design by KITCHEN. LABEL founder Ricks Ang. This record is mastered and cut by Francesco Donadello at Calyx Mastering in Berlin, Germany