{"id":70827,"date":"2019-07-25T20:13:52","date_gmt":"2019-07-26T01:13:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/?p=70827"},"modified":"2019-07-25T20:14:02","modified_gmt":"2019-07-26T01:14:02","slug":"beshken-aisle-of-palm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/2019\/07\/25\/beshken-aisle-of-palm\/","title":{"rendered":"Beshken: Aisle of Palm"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"In a recent interview with HIGHSNOBIETY about his new music, LA-made (but NYC-based) artist Ben Shirken, known as \u201cBeshken,”\u00a0 stated, \u201cFeelings are fleeting, love is changing, and passion passes. There are days when I want to save the world and others when I work towards its expiration, unknowingly. Sometimes these are the same days, where making an impact can feel rather Sisyphean.\u201d This dichotomy of struggling through life while simultaneously having hope is the ever-present theme throughout his debut album, Aisle of Palm<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The ethereal \u201cIntro,\u201d ending with the phrase \u201cin limbo I live,” leads into the track \u201cPassion,” a poetic song with a mixture of nature-like sounds and strong percussion that can be heard throughout the rest of the album. Musically, the album is overtly electronic, but with notes of folk guitar, soft piano, and throwback beats, which are very refreshing among the heavier tones. His use of synth on some tracks like \u201cGrey Ghost\u201d are often coupled with impressive vocal layering and sampling, creating a unique sound. Apart from the intro, spoken word is used on two other tracks. The previously mentioned \u201cGrey Ghost\u201d is equipped with a soundbyte in which a female voice describes light, while the track \u201cKnow Your Name\u201d starts with a similar voice, stating, \u201cI feel like I\u2019m crazy.” This sort of push and pull between positive and negative thoughts is a common theme among many of the tracks. Songs like \u201cCursed,” \u201cGrey Ghost,” \u201cRelaxx,” and \u201cWhite Gemini\u201d evoke a sense of negativity within their lyrics, while tracks like \u201cFocus On,” \u201cPassion,” and \u201cGolden Sun\u201d do just the opposite with their hopeful messages.<\/p>\n

\u201cOutro\u201d is an almost exact replica of \u201cIntro,” but with the more abysmal ending of \u201cIn limbo I die.” However, all hope is not lost with the final track, \u201cLight of Love.” This track repeats the lines \u201cfight it off, in a rut…light of love is missing us.” These words reflect the overall message of the whole album \u2014 also reflected in Shirken\u2019s statement from the interview \u2014 that although some days feel worthless and relentless, hope and light should be the striving point.
\n
\nRecommended If You Like: Animal Collective, Cabu, Jerry Folk, Washed Out
\nRecommended Tracks: 4 (Cursed), 7 (White Gemini), 9 (Golden Sun), 5 (Focus On)
\nDo Not Play: 8 (Relaxx)
\nWritten by Anna Stafford on 07\/25\/2019 <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Beshken\u2019s debut album is an electronic and percussive record that will have you contemplating the ups and downs of life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21834,"featured_media":70828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[182],"tags":[8385,8381,8384,2503],"class_list":["post-70827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hip-hopelectronic-rotation","tag-aisle-of-palm","tag-anna-stafford","tag-beshken","tag-electronic"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Aisle_Of_Palm_Art_opt.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21834"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}