Going In’s second release, “Bote Nan Fenwa (Beauty in the Darkness),” is from Blacklauren, the NY-based artist also known for his work as Lesly Remy and The Long Count Cycle. Although Remy has created ambient works for DJ sets, this is his first ambient/experimental release, and it’s a deeply personal work, characterized by dark harmonics, cinematic vision, field recordings and vocal samples. In Remy’s own words, “Overall, it's a reflection on my upbringing and the various Black Liberation ideologies I have been exposed to; from Rasta, Vodou to the Five Percent Nation.” This hour-long piece is a dynamic journey, requiring, in Remy’s words, “a committed engagement from the audience.”
The piece opens with a vocal sample before plunging into arpeggiated, dense synth work. Remy’s work in general considers the harmonics of composition and is often arranged by key. The same is true here; tones thoughtfully build tension then naturally diffuse. Field recordings, compelling quotes, and drum samples punctuate the harmonic atmosphere. These divergences ring powerfully through the sonic space, offering moments of pause and conscious reflection. For example, an early segment shifts into an African drum sample, before a vocal related to Vodou possession is introduced. “Possession is the psychic phenomenon when the divinity becomes manifest,” a voice evenly explains. There are softenings, too, tonal and harmonic. At one point, we hear shoes clacking on concrete, as if these footsteps are leading the ear, literally, towards a rising intensity. Ambient textures morph into hypnotic rhythms. There’s a beautiful play happening between light and dark, density and spaciousness, which is realized on many levels throughout this piece, giving even more meaning to the name “Bote Nan Fenwa (Beauty in the Darkness).”
credits
released June 15, 2020
Written, produced and performed by Lesly Remy
Mastered by Keith Fullerton Whitman
Art Direction by Loveland Studio of Design (L.S.D.)
Liner notes by Taylor Bratches
supported by 38 fans who also own “Bote Nan Fenwa (Beauty In The Darkness) [Going In 002]”
A wonderful, long-form listening experience that melds the pure synthetic with the raw edges of organic sounds, bringing in surprising elements like the accordion and recorded sounds with the breath and pulse and EEG traces of an organism emerging from the signal. It can hover in the periphery as a color to the room you're in, or bear the scrutiny of deep listening without shying away from the complex texture of both sweet and sour. joebelknapwall
Shadowy, brooding dubstep that conjures the sound of empty alleyways late at night, brimming with tension and mystery. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 16, 2020