Rhian Sheehan - Paradigm Shift

A finalist in the Best Electronica category of the 2002 New Zealand Music Awards, Rhian Sheehan's debut album Paradigm Shift has been re-released by LOOP Recordings Aot(ear)oa with two new additional tracks , "An Afternoon On The Moon" and "Connected". In addition, Rhian's Phat Beats Down remix of Sheelahroc's debut single If I Gave U The Mic, included as a bonus track on initial pressings of the album, has now been removed from the Paradigm Shift CD.

Welcome to the world of Rhian Sheehan, where acoustic melancholy meets synthesised soundscapes in an electronic mind meld, taking the listener on a rich and rewarding musical journey. Organic instruments are married to a computer-based bed of lush layered sounds. Intangible emotion is summoned from synthesised sounds. Sampled soundbites and snippets of dialogue are contextually redefined. No more than an assembly of simple sonic elements, no less than an ultimately unique and personal musical vision , this is the Paradigm Shift.

A talented, traditionally trained acoustic guitar player, Rhian Sheehan was introduced to the limitless possibilities of computer-based music making whilst studying composition at Canterbury University. At his Christchurch home, Rhian began recording towards this debut album , Paradigm Shift. Initial tracks focussed on acoustic guitar playing, both solo (on "My Absolution") and alongside Jolyon Mulholland (on "Humoured"), with whom Rhian had performed regularly as the Alchemy Duo, touring internationally and playing with the likes of Paul Ubana Jones and Tommy Emmanuel. Soon, however, the added expressiveness and emotional impact of the acoustic instrument when coupled with electronically generated beats and soundscapes became the basis for a new sound, first evidenced on "She Walks Into Mine" and the album's title track. Relocating to Wellington in 2000 opened new opportunities for Rhian , a receptive public were introduced to his music through the inclusion of two songs ("She Walks Into Mine" and "Garden Children") on LOOP Magazine's cover CD. The relationship with LOOP was solidified with the offer of an album deal from LOOP Recordings Aot(ear)oa and Paradigm Shift became the first release for the newly formed independent record label in June 2001.

Paradigm Shift offers an all-encompassing overview of Rhian's broad musical vision. The opening sheen of the album's intro is overlayed with radio coverage of the fall to Earth of the Russian Mir space station over the Pacific Ocean in March 2001, before the album kicks into life with a gasp and the crisp beats of synth-driven second track "She Walks Into Mine". The following track is Rhian's most collaborative effort yet , highlighted by the sublime vocals of Lotus Hartley (the vocalist on Christchurch dub artist The Nomad's single "Where Are You?", who also topped New Zealand's Alternative Radio Chart early in 2001 with her own "Slumber), "Waiting" also features Wellington musicians Tehi (Fat Freddy's Drop) and Darren Mathiassen (TrinityRoots) and benefits from the studio wizardry of producers George Nepia III and Jeremy "50Hz" Geor. Elsewhere on the album, further friends and family are enlisted for assistance , Devon Abrams of Shapeshifter plays saxophone on "Garden Children" and Rhian's two month old daughter Niva has her say on "Childsmind". "Air On A Bass String" and new track "An Afternoon On The Moon" are built upon wandering recycled jazz loops, while gentler moments such as "My Absolution" and "Journey To Wakatuhuri" strip the sonics back to lay bare Rhian's acoustic roots. "Waiting" is reprised with the gentle drum & bass Sea Of Tranquility remix and field recordings gathered in New Zealand's scenic Abel Tasman National Park permeate "Connected", the second new track added to the repress of Paradigm Shift, which now closes the journey more definitively.

"We need to appreciate that we are intimately connected to the universe. That we are made of the same materials, just assembled in a different way. Everything around us, including yourself and the vast universe, appears to have been born together as one some 15 billion years ago in a colossal explosion caused by a fluctuation in nothingness. The paradigm shift in human comprehension is the new found knowledge that we are all one in the same, but all individually unique." , Rhian Sheehan

RELEASE DATE: 29 June 2001
Catalogue Number: LP001
Available through Border Distribution

Reviews of Paradigm Shift:

"Rhian Sheehan, with his seemlessly constructed Paradigm Shift, easily made Kiwi album of the year." - Evening Post

"Rhian Sheehan's fusion of organic, evolved musical styles has resulted in a truly rich, sweet album full of movement and depth. Paradigm Shift is a very special album, one that reflects the spirit of Aotearoa and our unique connection to this beautiful land." - The Press

"Sheehan's philosophy of technological production inspired by nature and the organism, could not - in my humble opinion - have been accomplished with more class or clarity." - Real Groove

"Each track is filled with the complex detail of chopped up samples, lush digital effects, mega delays, and sounds spreading across the stereoscape. There's a level of richness in the composition - the afterthought of "Air On A Bass String" and the cascading, flowing textures of "Synthetic City" help the listener engage in this immersive journey. From start to finish, an excellent album." - The Package

"Not reliant on the shimmery and bombastic elements of dance music, nor ham-fisted happy with sampling or loops, Sheehan stands alone with his flair for understatement and simplistic evocation with this offering, Paradigm Shift." - Craccum

"A deft user, some might say master, of the sample... Sheehan is a musical master crafter." - nzoom.com