By Lauren Rosier
“Sometimes you have to lose your mind to find your soul” — Close your eyes and get lost in the sounds of Zenxienz. Over the years, music has become more and more reliant on technology as a means to create it. Electronic dance music (EDM) has never been so relevant and if you turn on the radio, chances are you’ll hear a song that has incorporated parts of EDM into the core of the song.
One such independent artist is pushing boundaries and carving out his own unique corner of the EDM scene. Hong Kong-born Zenxienz (pronounced ZEN-SCIENCE), aka Cameron Williamson, is a musician, producer, and songwriter, that grew up on the island of Kaua‘i, Hawaii. The now LA-based artist experienced the dark depths of depression, while also struggling with writer’s block. It was a creative spark that drove him to write a song each day and that’s where Cosmosis began.
With Cosmosis, Zenxienz invites you to become one with the music and travel through multiple dimensions with each track. The 10-song collection opens with “Flutter”, a futuristic, electronic song, which opens with the pitter-patter of brassy synths, then expands into a melting pot of various sounds to create a complex, boundary-bending track.
It takes a real music enthusiast to appreciate instrumental music, and though it isn’t for everyone, the complexity and depth of this record is visionary. Take, for example, the song “Fusion Dissolution”. It opens with echoing electronica, then slowly transitions into light, rhythmic drumming, layered over a female vocalist chanting and singing “watch me/come to life/feel me/taking over…”
One of the album’s preview tracks, “Elysium”, will sail you to tropical jazz-dubstep. A bit of psychedelia, dance, and even the electric guitar around the 1:40 mark blends in rock and roll elements that add a multifaceted, detailed, and elaborate approach.
Zenxienz travels towards a different direction on the track “Dao”, infusing his arrangements with an international flair filled with dance-influenced beats and rhythmic drumming. The final track on the album follows the same idea and creates a different listening experience on “Chain Reaction.” Williamson hypnotizes you with its stabby synths, then slowly adds in layer after layer of whistling electronics, scratchy synths, and strings. He takes you one an 8-minute, 28-second journey of layers of unique sounds, atmospheric moods, and psychedelia, to create a true, one-of-a-kind track.
Between songs from “Flutter” to “Fusion Dissolution” and “Chain Reaction”, Zenxienz has mastered the art of creating electronic music that forces you to travel to other dimensions you didn’t know existed. The layered complexity of Cosmosis draws you in and forces you to listen closely.
Rating: My Grip Weakens
