Only five months after releasing his long awaited debut album Zodiac, California-born producer Xan Griffin has released the final EP of the artist project, Self Discovery.
It’s an odd move, but not one that’s been taken lightly – nothing like this ever is. In a statement provided to Your EDM, Griffin says:
“I just wanna say thanks to everyone who has supported my music over the years it’s been an amazing time. I’m not gonna stop making music but just move on to another project where I’m making the songs I’m truly passionate about. Maybe every once in a while you’ll see some random track getting uploaded to my Xan Griffin accounts every once in a while, but it’s not my primary focus anymore. Thank you all, and much love.”
Self Discovery is, in my opinion, one of the finest EPs of the year, perhaps even better than Xan’s own album released earlier this year. These five tracks alone convey so much emotion and intensity that it makes us even more heartbroken that it’s the last we’ll hear from this project.
The opening track, “Insanity,” is nearly a nearly six-minute long atmospheric and electronic journey that truly embodies the insanity of the mind in its many twists and turns, never holding onto one rhythm or sequence for two long. “Free Mind” is like a massive exhale, finally letting go of all the tension you’d been holding in your back, your shoulders, loosening up and shaking it all off.
The rest of the EP is similarly evocative of emotional catharsis and reawakening, discovering personal self-worth, making changes, and moving forward. Of course, all of this is my own interpretation of the music and yours could be wildly different, but isn’t that the beauty of music in the first place?
I encourage you to take the time to listen to this work and connect with it in your own way, and say goodbye to Xan Griffin. He’ll be coming back, though we know not how…
Discover the EP here.