Upon seeing the barn this song was recorded in, you would not expect newcomer O-SHiN to sound anything like it does. You would not be surprised to see Neil Young or Justin Vernon (or Ragnar Lothbrok if he was into music) emerge from this makeshift studio, set in open country a few miles from Stockholm.
Yet your host O-SHiN is a gorgeous young woman accompanied by a few musicians – and co-producers – playing, singing and recording an unusual blend of r&b, jazz and electro.
After two years of experimentations, the Berlin-based, Amsterdam-native artist O-SHiN offers us a first sneak-peek into her universe with her debut track “A Revelation”. Away from the numerous distractions that a city can provide, she was able to carefully weave a first testimony of the world of her mind.
It is always astonishing how thinkers, philosophers and artists can feel free by this kind of exile, and how a low-key lifestyle can actually allow a great profusion of ideas. If you don’t believe me, just try to get your hands on Thoreau’s masterpiece “Walden”.
With her debut single “A Revelation”, O-SHiN carefully weaves a first testimony of the world of her mind.
Musically, the result of this meditation is a far greater attention given to textures than what is to be found in most productions nowadays. In that way, it comes close to the folk singer-songwriter tradition, where the economy of harmonic means is offset by a richer, truer sound.
Yet, O-SHiN’s music is everything but simple and achieves to navigate seamlessly through genres without straying off course. The jazzy upright-sounding bass, oriental percussions and noisy acoustic guitar give a very natural feel to “A Revelation”. Light touches of electro here and there add contrast to the whole, and grant the song with a colder feel, foreshadowing darker pieces (word is out that a first EP might be coming soon).
Here, obscurity is not opposed to light but rather to warmth, as testifies O-SHiN’s cry for help: « Cover me with your warm hands / Draw my fear ». Carried by her juvenile voice, the song is meant to be in itself reassuring, like a warm blanket covering fever and nightmares. No wonder, then, it was recorded in a cosy cabin hugging the edge of a northern forest. Watch some video footages from the recording session below, and you will understand a bit better.
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