As a producer, Lamin Fofana makes ambient music that makes you think. His painterly compositions may be beatless, but they're full of movement, expanding and contracting from modulations and shifting frequencies to create a sense of infinite vastness. This immensity of sound creates a cerebral mood, allowing the Sierra Leone-born talent to explore sociocultural issues close to his heart, like the geographies of the African diaspora and what he calls Western rationality in music.
He translates this heavy subject matter into textural sound using narrative structure, field recordings and archival material. The final product could be an album or an audio-based installation. Rooted in themes of identity and belonging, his exhibitions seek to disorient the senses and have been shown around Europe, including the Biennial in Venice and Liverpool.
On his RA Podcast, the New York-based artist presents an all-original mix of loopy techno that mirrors the dynamism of his ambient productions. Laced with acid and pulsing synths, these cuts are faster paced and geared for dance floors, but they share the atmospheric touch of his earlier work. Based on the interview below, it seems like we'll be seeing more of this side of him in the year ahead.
@laminfofana
Read more at https://ra.co/podcast/892