A call to pay attention, wrote The Guardian about Lamin Fofana’s music. This is how the newspaper The Guardian has described Lamin Fofana’s music. In his ambient soundscapes, one encounters original compositions, archival material, and field recordings. This eclectic mix makes the New York-based artist and musician, born in Sierra Leone, one of the most compelling electronic artists of the moment.

In his music, Lamin Fofana explores themes such as migration, alienation, and belonging. He weaves together original compositions, archival material, and authentic field recordings into ambient and techno-tinged soundscapes that, while abstract, carry significant political weight. Through sound, Fofana delves into the movements of Black people across the globe, and the social, cultural, and economic implications those movements continue to have today. All of this positions Lamin Fofana as one of the most interesting voices in electronic music right now.

Lamin Fofana is as much of an artist as he is a musician, and has played at venues such as Tate Liverpool, Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin, and Haus der Kunst in Munich. He has also performed at the 57th Venice Biennale and at Documenta 14 in Kassel. Fofana has an extensive catalogue of musical releases, including the trilogy ‘Black Metamorphosis’, ‘Darkwater’, and ‘Blues’, inspired by pioneers of Black studies such as Sylvia Wynter and W.E.B. Du Bois. His most recent album, ‘Lamin Fofana And The Doudou Ndiaye Rose Family’, brings together mbalax drums and field recordings in a cosmic soundscape that invites both attentive listening and rhythmic movement. Lamin Fofana’s sound is haunted by ancestral ghosts as well as it invites its listener to a distant galaxy. It’s an invitation to reimage the world as we know it.

Said about Lamin Fofana:

“In 1978, Brian Eno proposed that ambient music create atmospheres to accompany people in standardised spaces such as airports. Fofana warps this mood music, making his work exist on the cusp of ambience and noise. It is uncomfortable at points – lulling the listener through repetition and then shocking with the interjection of something as simple as a melody or static. This is not airport nor lift music; Fofana’s ambience is not an atmospheric background, but a call to pay attention.” –Ammar Kalia in The Guardian