{"id":51999,"date":"2021-09-10T18:03:29","date_gmt":"2021-09-10T22:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/?post_type=records&p=51999"},"modified":"2021-09-10T18:03:33","modified_gmt":"2021-09-10T22:03:33","slug":"esinam-shapes-in-twilights-of-infinity","status":"publish","type":"records","link":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/en\/records\/esinam-shapes-in-twilights-of-infinity\/","title":{"rendered":"ESINAM – Shapes in Twilights of Infinity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Looping flute licks and Afrocentric beats is the foundation of what Esinam Dogbatse does, and that approach remains present in the best tracks on her new album. With a dozen or so groups on her curriculum vitae, aside from her solo work, collaboration should be familiar territory for the Belgian-Ghanaian flutist, singer and producer. On this new album, however, expansion to more conventional band sound proves unsatisfying, as revealed by the light, excessively mercurial jazz-funk of \u201cLost Dimensions\u201d, or the rock stylings that emerge from amid the initial cascading vibraphone of \u201cBirds Fly\u201d. \u201cFlowing River\u201d, contrasting Esinam\u2019s flute loops with the Zulu folk of South African guest Sibusile Xaba, doesn\u2019t quite click, for all its prettiness. \u201cLet It Be\u201d, on the other hand, works well, seemingly extracted from the mists of the mid-\u201970s. The lush, spacious \u201cDeep in my Soul\u201d, a tune that never seems to quite set foot on solid ground, spotlights Esinam\u2019s singing voice. The strongest cards are played early on, where her flute playing is straightforward, sturdy and highly expressive, and the same can be said of the rhythms she builds. The excellent first single \u201cNew Dawn\u201d exemplifies the simple but effective approach, shifting gears in in its final moments to make room for the lilting sprechgesang of British-Sierra Leonean polyvalent Nadeem Din-Gabisi. The firm but gentle \u201cMorning Memories\u201d is a keeper as well, as are the record\u2019s bookends, the playfully punchy \u201cPrologue\u201d and its sibling \u201cEpilogue\u201d, which wraps the matter up with uncharacteristic but cathartic crashing and banging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n