Composer and producer Epokhé – aka Kyle Feehan – is a maestro of the ethereal and the atmospheric. The Montreal native has been working in the sound industry for a while, with various experiences working on Hollywood productions, philosophy, audiovisual art and technology. This vast and eclectic array of experience have helped aid in the construction of Epokhé’s artistry, which now finds him a stalwart of translucent and enveloping electronic music that continues to push boundaries and challenge listeners.
Appearing on DSP’s back in ’17 with trippy cut “Komorebi”, the producer has since juggled his cross-industry work, it feels like everything has built up to the release of this debut EP, with Epokhé commenting “Before beginning work on this album, I had been taking a break from the Epokhé project for a few years while working in film. Returning to the project with a lot of new ideas, this album is the culmination of my experiences in film scoring during those years”.
Returning now with a more nuanced vision of what he wants the project to portray to listeners, we find him in thought-provoking and striking form on Among All Things. There is great variety of mood and tone across the tape; from the driven purpose of “Hidden” to the encompassing beauty of “Eternal Return”, we are taken on a journey of sonic and artistic enlightenment, with Epokhé proving himself to be a nuanced and explorative musical narrator.
Speaking about the release, he says: “An important inspiration behind the album, and, given its name, the Epokhé project as a whole, is, I think, something that Keats called ‘negative capability.’ That is, the ability to accept, and even enjoy entertaining, the uncertainties, mysteries, contradictions, and doubts that we are inevitably surrounded by, and to do so without ‘any irritable reaching after fact and reason’ – to experience them without needing to explain or come up with any rational solution for them. I tried to translate this idea, as well as the awareness that our perceptions are so often misleading, by taking sounds from the world and presenting them in ‘impossible’ ways. From a technical standpoint, this often involved taking orchestral instrumentation and processing it to the point of making it sound synthetically produced. The album artwork was then created to augment this idea of an abstract, multi-faceted, and inscrutable world.”
A dreamy concoction of atmosphere, poise and reflection, Among All Things highlights Epokhé’s vital talent and refreshing outlook.
Listen to the EP below