Losing faith can be a traumatic experience.
Brought up in a Christian environment, Lin – real name Samuel Hoeksma – long harboured doubts that he kept silence even from himself.
Music became the key to unlocking his feelings. Leaving his faith behind, the songwriter poured his thoughts into a series of tracks which would form the basis of Lin.
The Brooklyn based artist explains: "I guess the place to start with this and the project in general was that a lot of the lyrics and subject matter for these songs came up in going back and listening to a lot of the music I was listening to in high school and just coming out of it. That of Brand New, Thrice, Underoath, etc… A lot of these post hardcore groups that were writing about Christianity and spirituality, but from a place that felt more relatable to me than the worship music I would hear on Sunday mornings."
"Writers like Jesse Lacey, David Bazan, that would confront the doubt and struggle of faith, the feelings of shame and guilt of not being good enough or what you were supposed to be. I think that stepping away from religion is interesting in that its a silent rebellion for one, and when I trace the line back to when my crisis of faith began, these were the people that I felt were there for me to help me through it."
He continues: "Lin stemmed from surrender, and this first group of songs has been an exploration of the act of giving in and moving forward in the aftermath of deep loss. 'Oh', directly relates to my experience of losing God, and the conflict of emotional responses that came with that experience: hate, anger, fear, defiance, and loneliness."
New cut 'Oh' is a blissfully simple introduction to Lin's charms. Reminiscent of Youth Lagoon or Purity Ring, there's a hushed quality to the songwriting which gently overwhelms you.
Clash is able to premiere the SLCR mix – check it out below.
