空蝉(Cicada Shell) is self-releasing single ‘A gleam of light in the distance’ on April 10 with title track premiering on AQNB today. This work follows the 19-year old Japanese producer’s 2019 debut on Absurd Trax, where the artist’s hybridizations of traditional instrumentations and post-club rhythms were first established.
This track signifies a distinct transition from the artist’s prior releases. MIDI-Koto melodies strum both pensively and abruptly over waves of glistening ambience reminiscent of bod [包家巷]’s 2018 record Limpid Fear. The artist reflects on the Japanese state of emergency declared in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Subtle granular samples buzz throughout the track, revealing a certain appreciation for unnoticeable and banal intricacies discovered during times of intimate self-quarantine.
“It’s [a] really hard time [right now]. But I want to look for beauty and fragility in the dark by making something and [showing] it to someone. I hope there is a gleam of light”.
空蝉(Cicada Shell) ‘A gleam of light in the distance’ is self-released April 10.
