“It gives you an idea of the depth and excellence of this album which is a little gem where the Belgian School genre updates its tools of seduction”
1 Just Before the Impact (The Roswell Incident) 19:36
2 Kontackt (Sebastopol) 10:36
3 Entropic Glitch (41 GLÆTCH³R²Hz aka...) 00:44
4 Entropic Simon (41 GLÆTCH³R²Hz aka...) 9:36
5 Wie Zorgt Voor Den Hemelval (Onsturicheit) 13:30
6 Long Memo (Vinyl mix) (BySenses) 6:19
(CD/DDL 60:35) (V.F.)
(Belgian School)
Here's a very good album that should sharpen your flair in order to discover the many facets of contemporary Belgian School. Sailing on the waves of psybient, bordering on abstract music, and of solid Berlin School, without forgetting an EM more in Electronica mode, SONIC EMISSIONS invites us to discover 5 artists who took part in the very first Sonic Emissions festival which was held in Gent on November 9, 2019. A very beautiful album where audacity rhymes with musicality.
Winds roaring some wooshh and wiishh die out at the same time as the sequencer ejects a line of rhythm composed of spasmodic leaps. In a long title very inspired by Tangerine Dream from the 70's, The Roswell Incident dazzles us with Just Before the Impact. Spectral shadows hum in this rhythmic fury where the wooshh and the wiishh continue to collect sound particles on smooth walls. The minimalist rhythm is the basis for a synth that launches sumptuous solos that too few musicians dare in this era of EM pushed by a sequencer, as rhythmic as harmonic. Here, the rhythm keeps the same convulsive envelope with the addition of another line of moire keys which reflect like arpeggios in a whirlwind where strong percussive rollings are grafted. Little by little, the synth multiplies the solos and releases layers of voices which add a chthonian touch to the decor of this very good Berlin School. It decreases its ardor as lyricists of the underground with cosmic effects which will reach a peak around the 15 minutes, when the sequencer sculpts a line which makes his jumping balls dribble in a ferocity which flirts with Tangerine Dream's title-track of Poland. And it's towards the finale that a refrain of arpeggios will screw us a splendid earworm. Just Before the Impact is a big bait from SONIC EMISSIONS for Berlin School aficionados. A great track! I discovered Sebastopol with the very beautiful Moondust And Black Stars published at the very beginning of 2019. Creativity is always on Marc Debroey's menu who presents us in Kontackt a hypnotic title with a beautiful electronic lullaby whose lustrous arpeggios rise and fall like a allegorical horse carousel for children. Another series of arpeggios follows this astral ascent with chords sounding like the needles of a Chinese stringed instrument. Sebastopol unrolls his keyboard with these syllabic notes winding and unwinding in a magnetizing pattern which is confronted with the different sound effects of a synth and its oriental vision in a noisy background.
It's the first time that my ears are confronted with the universe of 41 GLÆTCH³R²Hz aka ....Taken from the album Thru5th, Entropic Simon is a more daring title with an ambient movement which evolves with the good curves of a soft beat well chewed by a set of tribal percussions. These percussions give a particular spirit, especially in the second part, to this title which is chewed on all sides and sides by questionable harmonies of a didgeridoo and a passage, always in the last 5 minutes, very inflamed by a plethora of percussions and percussive effects, as well as a large samplings of voices. Even if the artist is from Ghent, the atmospheres are from a wild Australia with a very psybient vision. Entropic Glitch? It's 45 seconds of glitches… . I heard the music of Onsturicheit on the mega-compilation Ambient Nation 5 with its title Het Irrationele Denken. Like The Roswell Incident and Sebastopol, Peter Moorkens offers us a new track. Simply brilliant, Wie Zorgt Voor Den Hemelval is designed with the creativity and audacity of a modular synth. And it's 13 minutes of pure happiness with an opening that breathes a little that of the Moody Blues' In Search of the Lost Chord, in particular the title Departure and its dialogue which borders on a sickly anxiety. A rhythmic framework knotted around nervously galloping keys and tingles of various bells cover this insane litany. Quietly, synth lines with nasal tones which undulate in a hypnotic ballet, sequences, percussions and a delicious bass line get add. And finally, well hammered arpeggios complete the melodious portion where good solos with scents of the vintage years are slipping in it. It's heavy and lively. It's good electronic progressive rock that adds a layer of sounds, rhythms, moods and harmonies to each new keyboard tour. This great album ends with the vinyl mix of Long Memo, a very Electronica title that we find in the wonderful People album by BySenses. This mix offers a distorted female voice that warns us of the dangers of drugs, alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. It's always very delicious to hear Didier Dewachtere's music. And it's not the best title on SONIC EMISSIONS! It gives you an idea of the depth and excellence of this album which is a little gem where the Belgian School genre updates its tools of seduction.
Sylvain Lupari (18/02/20) ****½*
Available at Belgian NewMusik Bandcamp