A long time friend of producer and recording artist Kamal Joory (aka Geiom), Andrew Fearn first appeared as a remixer on Geiom’s Cut and Pressed EP and contributed a track to Neo Ouija’s first Cottage Industries compilation. Growing Up is a deceptively complex combination of crisp beats, lush melodies, interesting vocal usage and carefully produced electronics.
While Growing Up might not be immediately attention grabbing, it improves with repeated listens and you can find something new in it every time. Far from being disposable or forgettable, Growing Up is a lush mix of beats and electronics with hidden depth. The opener “Asiate” is a swirling maelstrom of almost tribal rhythms, hypnotic chimes and percussive electronics. “BSHM” uses looped vocal samples as hooks, adding a buzzsaw bassline and chilled rhythmic beats before introducing a nonchalant yet captivating almost spoken vocal. For “Ran” Fearn adopts a more cinematic approach, taking a very slow grinding tone and overlaying it with miniscule clicks and pops before introducing low-key beats and slow doleful melodies that steadily become more optimistic. Sitting somewhere between the uptempo drum ‘n’ bassy tracks and the gentler more cinematic tracks is “Unknown”. Taking laid back drum ‘n’ bass beats and sweeping harp-like tones, Infant sits in the middle ground between uplifting beat centred electronic music and sweeping atmospheric moodiness.
Whilst switching moods and tempo quite often from track to track, Growing Up provides a high level of consistency between its tracks. The feeling and mood being communicated subtly shifts but each track maintains a certain recognisable style that can be identified throughout the album. This quality is somewhat of an unknown but is there nonetheless and adds to the overall listening experience of the album as a whole.
Carefully balancing atmospherics with precise beats and intricate clicks and pops, Infant creates an intriguing style that slowly unfolds across multiple listens. Neo Ouija again introduces a promising new artist to the listening electronic masses. Infant is another one to watch for the future.
