The Seshen is a San Francisco Bay Area-based seven-piece led by singer/lyricist Lalin St. Juste and bassist/producer Akiyoshi Ehara. Their forward-thinking sound combines synthesizers, drum machines, live percussion, and entrancing harmonies to create an unmistakable fusion of R&B, synth-pop, and electronic music. This chemistry is complemented by St. Juste’s stirring vocals and soul-baring lyrics – the meditations of a self-emancipated spectator who explores worlds, both real and imagined. The band is looking forward to releasing Flames & Figures, their full-length debut with Tru Thoughts, on October 14th, 2016. The album has been two years in the making and marks an evolution in The Seshen’s distinctive sound. Narrated by St. Juste’s lyrical stream of consciousness, Flames & Figures explores themes of femininity, power, illusion, and loss, as she draws on both her personal experiences and the world of her imagination. The result is an irresistible quest of self-discovery: a raw and earnest journey to overcome the distance between people, a rejection of artifice, and a relentless search for the true self. The music faces some of the most difficult questions – vulnerability, visibility (and invisibility), loss of innocence, and loneliness – yet does so with an undeniable undercurrent of hope. The question of weakness inspires strength; numbness engenders passion; a sense of distance gives way to intimacy and openness. St. Juste says that the narrative in many of the tracks is about the “illusory spaces that are created for us and how we wrestle with the identities and experiences that grow out of those creations.” Her lyrics are a triumph of duality, and are met with music that offers equally satisfying complexity. It is at once hypnotic and energizing. Echoed by an austere piano and light supporting pulse, the title track’s gentle vocals intone, “Winter comes, but it doesn’t stay.” As the band joins, the light opening strains blossom into an enormous, lilting wave of sound. The intro to “Colors Collide” begins with hazy mellotron flutes, which call to mind the psychedelia of an early Os Mutantes song, and then opens into The Seshen’s signature full, driven, layered rhythms. A balance of hope and longing come together in lead single, “Distant Heart.” The lyrics explore a sense of loss felt when someone fades from your life, while its infectious bassline and wash of synths beg the listener to dance.
