DMNW Review: Audien pours his heart into debut album, ‘Escapism’

November 18, 2019

The Paradiso veteran and Pacific Northwest favorite Audien released his first album last Friday. Audien’s Escapism was announced on November 5, and it was released three days later.

Audien’s visit to the Pacific NW will begin at the Showbox at the Market on November 23 in Seattle. Audien will then return to the Northwest for a Saturday, December 14 show at the Roseland Theater in downtown Portland.

Escapism is the byproduct of years of work from the very talented Audien. He was able to incorporate his all genre flavor combined with an emotional approach towards dance music. Audien’s magnificent piano work is the first point we want to touch on.

Escapism is a cohesive work of art by incorporating an album long piano performance. The first piano note begins during See You On The Other Side, and then carries over until the very last track. Here’s a look at the sounds we found notable.

Heaven:

A song built behind the emotion of a lover being sent to Heaven. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Audien has experienced this tragedy, but he has been able to clearly paint the picture. “All I want is to hear your voice again,” “I wish Heaven had a phone, I’d call you every day, every day.” This one hits hard.

Favorite Sound:

We really loved this first single. Favorite Sound has reached a higher level than the other album originals. Despite its release in March it still carries the same power. If our favorite sound is music, then this song is a tribute to how music has always been there for us.

Sleep Paralysis:

At first glance this song is very calm and relaxing. But don’t be fooled, Audien is messing with you. The calm Piano solo quickly morphs into a full on trap beat. Audien opted to end his debut album with piano trap!

Audien proves his love for all genres with Sleep Paralysis. Even dating back to his 2014 Paradiso performance he has played trap, but now he has created a trap single for himself. This isn’t the usual production that Audien creates, but he was still able to make the song uniquely his own. Sleep Paralysis is on repeat more than any other song because of how rare it is.

You are doing yourself a favor if you take a peek at Audien’s debut album. High energy drops, well written lyrics, and a thoughtful plan have created the perfect album.