Back in 2016-2017, I had managed to spill quite a bit of virtual ink covering the acclaimed Bay Area-based indie electro pop sextet The Seshen. Led by founding members Lalin St. Juste (vocals) and Akiyoshi Ehara (bass, production), the Bay Area-based outfit have released three albums of material that draw from a broad and eclectic array of influences including Erykah Badu, Jai Paul, James Blake, Radiohead, Broadcast, hip-hop, indie rock and electronica, among others.
Earlier this month, the acclaimed Bay Area outfit made two announcements:
- Their return in the wake of the recent separation and divorce of its founding members
- Their long-awaited fourth album Nowhere, which is slated for an October 6, 2023 release
Nowhere reportedly not only showcases the sextet’s remarkable musical prowess, but also offers a window into the changing nature of love, the fragility of human connections, and the different ways to embrace impermanence. It also marks the closing of one important chapter and the beginning of a new one for the band, capturing their evolution as individuals and their resilience as a band. And the album’s material is shaped and rooted in the experiences of its members, including the impact of St. Juste’s and Ehara’s marriage and divorce.
While St. Juste’s beautiful vocals anchor much of the album’s material, the band’s intricate production work helps to create a sonic landscape that’s simultaneously ethereal and grounded, capturing and evoking the essence of emotional turbulence and self-discovery, while complimenting lyrics based on St. Juste’s journey through the complexities of love and loss.
“Hold Me,” Nowhere‘s woozy, latest single pairs St. Juste’s ethereal and yearning vocal with sleek and hyper modern production featuring dub-like, glistening and wobbling synth oscillations, a sinuous bass line, skittering beats with the band’s unerring knack for catchy hooks within trippy and expansive song structure. At the core of the song is a desperate clinging to hope, for that relationship to not end, for that dear one to not leave. But nothing you can do can change the inevitable.
“‘Hold Me’ is about that moment before loss – the hope, the longing, the desire for love to stay,” The Seshen’s St. Juste told AFROPUNK. “During the separation between Aki and I, we held onto each other to navigate the darkness …a darkness that was dizzying, disorienting, and unfamiliar. We held on to each other and found our way out. This song is about connection even in the face of change.”
Directed by Paul Bates, the accompanying video for “Hold Me” is an intimately shot and woozy tour video diary that captures life on the road and elements of the creative and promotional processes with an uncanny specificity.
