nineishuman mumbles through a deep, unstable panic on “nyn, as a human”
“nyn as a human” opens with “org4ns”, growing slowly in a gospel swell. Strings sink gradually, pushed underwater by the lossy pressure of sampling. nineishuman, or nyn, is gravelly and morose. “Don’t need my organs, my heart, you can take it” gives the project an atmosphere of surrender from the very beginning, handing control to the larger forces at play. Pitch and time seem to operate in lockstep, slowing, winding up, releasing at speed. With the end of the song playing at double time it’s hard not to feel in demand, what was previously a steady outpouring now a broken levy.
The scene is set. In the five remaining tracks nyn uses their dissolving mind as a sand table, with tense hands they build in the pockets where clarity remains. Three tracks don’t even touch a minute. Closers “im paranoid and manic :3” and “r0sequ4rts” form hills in the sand; the former wears drum and bass influences as nyn mutters inaudibly over light distortion, the latter is a collage of fluttery autotune melodies. Depending on interpretation, the closing track is a positive or negative sign. nyn has either lost coherence or is reclaiming and diminishing the struggles of the past. The tone and airy structure of the song suggests redemption.
In the middle of the album are more substantial tracks that slope down into a lake of madness. “Sl33pwalk + br41nDed” ends with rounded noises and overloud bass, as if to suggest an unwanted or invasive focus. Production here is anything but clean, clips and cracks add to a sense of intrusion. It’s present by way of mental war, the constant bleeps and pressurised bass pressing up against the ceiling of a listener’s mental capacity. “ppp” is the most straightforward display of nyn’s vocals, barely more than a whisper but enough so to impart a rough grain. At first this low hum can be off putting, but on repeat listens it’s clear just how much energy is going into keeping each bar whole. There’s anger here, and glee, and sadness, and the rarity of such feelings being shown both doubles their impact and certifies their presence. Nevertheless the words themselves are hard to discern, rumbling, cracking, falling away.
Listen to “nyn, as a human” here.
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– Jamie (Staff @108MICS)
108MICS 