Ambient Savant Kin Leonn Offers A Glimpse Of His Live Intricacies With ‘echo in the gleam’
Kin Leonn opens another dream door with this reinvention of past works (Credit: Manju Koki)
“My friends don’t even hide their disgust anymore when I start staring off into the distance like I’m in a movie or something,” Kin Leonn told Life in Arpeggio in a 2020 interview. Nature’s sensations permeate through the Singapore-born producer’s music. Live recordings of his travels form the bedrock of his music while he supplements the serenity with electronic flourishes.
It is these subtle additions that breathe a narrative into the mundane tranquility of Mother Nature – and has allowed Kin Leonn to guide his listeners on a journey of his making.
Kin Leonn channels his live mastery into these productions given a new lease of life (Credit: Christopher Sim)
Kin’s latest EP “echo in the gleam” is a much different journey than what his fans might be used to. Serving as a companion piece to his 2023 album ‘mirror in the gleam’, he describes this new release as “a reflection of live energy, transience, and luminous ether”. Born out of the live arrangements from his touring, there is much more structure to the songs here. Rather than the freeform loops and synths that we’re used to, each transition and element on the EP feels much more intentional.
The project opens with “changing form” – bright synths fill the air before distant drums and chimes enter while a woman quietly chants in the background. It instantly draws listeners into an enclosed space as the music echoes like it would in a live venue. The following tracks such as “ghost figure”, “cascade”, and “passageway II” employ similar motifs – yet they are much more dynamic and energetic, and do not have field recordings as a foundation. The entire project feels like a piece of Kin Leonn’s intricate live performances condensed into a brisk 21 minutes – giving listeners a glimpse of what they can expect when experiencing his delicate cocoon of sounds in the flesh.
(Credit: Manju Koki)
Listen to “echo in the gleam” by Kin Leonn on Spotify. Follow Kin Leonn on socials for more information, or read our interview feature with him.
This contributor feature was written by Jensen Ooi.
Jensen’s love for music journalism is only rivalled by his adoration for Rina Sawayama’s music. He hopes for music to be the connecting tissue between everyone everywhere. You can find him at @jenericjensen on IG.
