shn shn, the recording project of Toronto-based producer, singer-songwriter and creator Shanika Lewis-Waddell, has caught our attention on numerous occasions in recent times. First with 2020’s structura, a release “oblique and dreamy” where “cinematic soundscapes and sparse, sleek vocals” conjured an intangible atmosphere somewhere between inviting and haunting.
Then came EP e.strange.d in 2021, where single ‘maladaptive daydreams’ signified Lewis-Waddell’s constant efforts to adapt and experiment. “A newfound warmth emerges from the dawning ambient tones,” as we put it, “and the pattering background details infuse the song with energy too. The result is an evocative blend of movement and stillness, like contemplating something as it shifts before you, holding tight as it changes in your arms.”
shn shn has now returned with Form(s), a three-song EP which again pushes the boundaries and expectations of what the project might sound like. A reimagining of a piece commissioned for the augmented reality app ‘A More Beautiful Journey’, the EP offers a space for self-awareness and self-fulfillment via lush soundscapes. Though from the early swells of ‘first light’ and the slow build which follows, it becomes clear the project aims to do more than merely convince the listener to examine themselves. Rather, it allows them to drift off to new frontiers. That is, to dream.
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‘one after another’ is minimal electronic track which furthers this experience, layering harmonies and synths and ensuring an easy current with restrained beats. The vocals come to represent something of a mantra, pulling the listener in and sinking them into whatever world they might have been taken to. Working in the knowledge that the audience it fully immersed, the hushed tone of ‘IAWIA’ belies the detail at its heart, with what feels like an entire ecosystem of flittering, glimmering elements revealing themselves alongside Lewis-Waddell’s spoken word delivery.
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Form(s) is out now and available from the shn shn Bandcamp page.
Album Art by Sentient Design