AMANE - AMANE – LOST WEEKEND

Amane is a formidable young artist. Part of a bubbling south east London collective along with King Krule and Jacob Read, he uses his concrete surroundings to build deep, melancholic music. His debut EP for Rinse, Lost Weekend, unfolds in a similar way across its five tracks, featuring contributions from Jamie Isaacs, Shivum Sharma and Tiffani.

“I guess I would say that it’s introverted, slowly unfolding and filled with space to get lost in” he explains. The theme of isolation is one that is prevalent in tracks like ‘Falling’ as well as the title track, a feeling that is heightened by the EP’s bleak artwork. Simply a black and white photo of a pier, it is a reflection of “solitary weekends that were lost in our thoughts”, perhaps a result of moving to London at age 16, something that he has admitted is “quite lonely living here, particularly on your own”.

A multi-instrumentalist who learned to play the piano and guitar from an early age, Amane’s passion for production began when he recorded a band that he was a part of. This, tied with his strong interest in Bjork and mid 60s jazz have come together on Lost Weekend to form a cohesive whole that has “been a lot of fun but also quite difficult” as an experience.

Lost Weekend opens with ‘For Even My Mother Won’t Find Me There’, a sensitive ballad with minimalist production from Amane that beautifully compliments Jamie Isaacs’ downbeat lyrical content. ‘Plane Boy’ features more soft, skittery production that deftly accompanies Tiffani’s tender vocal line, something that is again prevalent on the title track, only this time with more hazy production work. The stand out six-minute ‘The Swan With Two Necks’ featuring Shivum Sharma, closes out the EP with a rich melodic and instrumental tapestry that is reminiscent of Ed Droste’s arrangements as part of Grizzly Bear.

The determination displayed by Amane in moving to London at a young age and battling through the writing processes on Lost Weekend suggests that he carries the necessary will power and emotional maturity to develop into an artist of genuine excellence.