Shapes in Twilights of Infinity

ESINAM is a Belgian-Ghanaian multi-instrumentalist who creates cosmic soundscapes by fusing intricate rhythms, silvery flute, ethereal vocals, African percussion, spoken word and luscious layers of electronica. Her debut album, Shapes in Twilights of Infinity weaves together cultural and musical influences collected from travels, tours and encounters. The album sees the former ‘one-woman-band’ collaborating with a talented cast of musicians.

Shapes… is book-ended by ESINAM’s spoken voice repeating ‘nothing is lost, nothing is created, all is transformed,’ which feels like a mission statement. Providing a link between ancestry and modernity, acoustic and digital, the compositions transform genres like jazz, funk, hip-hop and psychedelic rock. Highlights come in the form of ‘Let It Be’, which has silky vocal melodies, deliciously spacious guitar, smooth bass grooves and sensual flute. The wandering jazz soul of ‘Lost Dimensions’ is hugely uplifting. The finale, ‘Epilogue’, builds to a wonderful crescendo with spoken word echoing over distorted guitars before dropping to jazz bass bliss and gentle flute. Some tracks could be shorter and the balance could swing more towards acoustic than digital at times. More of ESINAM’s vocals would also be welcomed. That’s preference, though. This is a brave, bold and beautiful album that demands attention.