Album reviewsThe Other Side Reviews

Nick Lesta – Au (re)commencement (2022)

While thinking about the concept of life and the cycle it flows through, Nick Lesta started to pen the tracks that have become his EP Au (re)commencement. Across the three tracks, he brings the beginning, middle and end of the cycle to life through a spacy mix of dance, deep house and synth-pop. The downtempo style highlights the ambient touches that fill the spaces between the electronic tones.

This release marks the first self-released EP by Julien Widemann, the man behind the alias of Nick Lesta. A music producer, he draws on his skills to create the thoughtful movements of the EP, while his moniker pays tribute to Nikola Tesla. Originally composed in 2016, the tracks offer some unique vibes that explore the world and life in general.



The title track ‘Au (re)commencement’ opens the EP with a bubbling brook of electronic tones and high chirps that bring bird song to the track. There is a gentle awakening in the opening of the track while a zipping electronic sound hovers over everything. The music has a steady drawing movement that leads you down a path of light. You can feel the start of something in the music as it awakens new parts of your senses, while shining the gentle light of dawn on you. As the track progresses, a warbling tone vibrates in the higher levels as more life is injected into the melody. At this point, you feel the building of life within the music as the gentle start grows into something much greater. Through all of this, there is a soothing flow to the music that keeps drawing you down the brook of sound.

‘Terreur Diurne, Décadence Nocturne’ carries some of the warbling tones of the opening into the main line of its melody. The connection between the tracks forms the first parts of the cycle of life that the EP explores. The beats that fill the soundscape have your head bopping to their rhythm while an almost industrial clang sounds in the background. Against this, the synths continue their awakening sense as they build toward something bigger. The electronica edges come through later in the track as they seem to talk to you and grab your attention. There is a lot going on in the melody as you dip into the middle of the cycle of life. The build-up through the first parts of the track bursts halfway through in a downtempo explosion of sound. Through all this, the melody carries a delicate touch like a sense of wonder at what is happening.

The EP comes to an end with the aptly titled ‘Game Over’ which has a more grounded feel, compared to the rest of the EP. The deep beats vibrate in your chest while the higher synths twinkle like the stars in the night sky. There is a feeling that things are slowing down in the music even as the beats push you forward and down the melody. As with the other tracks, there is a building of sound with layers of electronic tones overlapping each other. The further down the track you move, the more the dance vibes start to infiltrate your bones, making you want to move to the sound as it climbs to new heights. There are wonderful bursts of sounds in the latter parts of the song that brings the EP to an end with a sense of grandeur.

Nick Lesta considers the concept of life and the cycle it moves through in the layered electronic tones of Au (re)commencement. The tracks represent different parts of the cycle, from the gentle awakening of life, to the burst of energy in the end. The electronic tones have been masterfully used to bring the concepts of the EP to sonic glory.

Find out more about Nick Lesta on his Instagram and Spotify.

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