‘To Shock the Sky and Shake the Earth’ is a process of searching. It sees the Berlin-based artist navigating spaces between conventions, cultures, pressures and sounds. This informs their decision to release the EP through Resonate and a handful of independent platforms.
On this decision, xin says:
“I don’t believe that there should be one way to do anything, or in convention for convention’s sake. I’ve been thinking a lot about the ethics of making and releasing music, and trying to find less harmful ways of being in the world.”
This statement points towards growing dissatisfaction around independent music’s reliance on corporate monoliths, from Facebook to Spotify. xin’s decision is made as one gesture in a much broader, quickly-evolving discourse.
xin’s particular approach is also evident in their production, which lacks consistent genre signifiers for listeners to grab ahold of. Tracks such as ‘Black Light Blind Fire’ and ‘Sucker’ lean on dance music’s lexicon, while ‘Aedes Splatter’ is comprised of shudders, sputters and hums. ‘To Shock the Sky and Shake the Earth’ is an unusual synthesis of varied sounds.