Metanoia
2022 sees the release of BOHN’s debut album, Metanoia. Over four years in the making, the twelve tracks chronicle a period of profound change, both in BOHN’s personal life and the world around him.
Initially, BOHN wrote all of the orchestral music over an exhaustive three months in 2018, “I had that impulsive drive to get it out there.” BOHN removed himself from thinking of music as an “equation” and tapped into a more instinct-led approach.
Thinking that the project would be wrapped up shortly after recording, Bohn could not let the project go. He returned to it intermittently over three years, re-writing and re-recording to match his changing emotional state, fitting for a self-described “perfectionist”. However, he realised it would never be complete if he was always chasing the ideal connection to the present, “It’s something you have to bring to an end, rather than trying to find a way for it to represent who you are now. It became more of a journey in itself, rather than about one specific moment.”
Throughout the album process, BOHN significantly changed many of the tracks, “A lot of the orchestral pieces were dissected, removing string parts from full arrangements and replacing them with synths, or stripping a piece back to just brass and building the sound design around it.” This leads to a familiar essence present throughout the album, even when the instruments or sentiments are distinctly different.
Produced by Ben Ziapour and mixed by Grammy winner Alex Evans, BOHN also called upon vocalists Eckoes, Matty Barclay and Alyusha, who further deepen the textures and personal resonance of the album. With the orchestral parts recorded at the legendary RAK Studios, and the guitars, pianos and synths added at BOHN’s London studio, Metanoia became much more complex than originally imagined.
The twelve-track album opens with ‘Sometimes’, a spoken-word piece of reflective nostalgia performed by Rosie Sheehy. The following track, aptly named ‘In Emotion’, continues the sentimental theme by integrating audio from old family VHS tapes. From here, the album embarks on an emotional voyage of heartache, sorrow and finally, comfort.
‘Forever A Child’ was recorded only twice, and BOHN chose the first take for the album. He recalls “visible emotions” by the recording musicians, and describes the pieces as “embodying emotion of the whole process”, as it portrays a visceral reaction to love and loss.
A turning point is track ten, ‘Repair’. This is a transitional moment with the culmination of a multitude of emotions, leading to a personal rebirth. The tone is immediately more optimistic than previously.