Another 90-minute tape by Kringloop Kassettes, with this time ‘just’ two long tracks of 40+ minutes covering a whole side of the tape. And this is how I like my drones and ambience … Holy Motherloving Gawd … But, that’s for later.
Julius Ménard is no stranger to VW. As a label owner, he runs the amazing Grisaille tape label out of his home in Münster, which, by the way, seems to be an epicentre of experimentalism with Auf Abwegen and all the activities there. Julius has been making music under his own name since 2019, according to Discogs, but next to these ambient excursions, he was/is also active in numerous ‘normal’ projects. Actually way before his solo ambient activities as the first 7″ by Idle Hands in which he plays is from 2008. For me, this becomes interesting because a ‘normal’ musician becomes a solo artist in a completely different genre; that’s what happened to me, too. In a group setting, you learn everything about harmonics and working together with others, how to react and interact with different influences, but transferring that knowledge onto a solo project basically enables you to (forgive me, my choice of words) play better with yourself. And I honestly think I can hear that back in this release. But, that’s for later.
The promo text on Bandcamp states, ‘These two tracks were initially recorded for a film with the same title. The other party contacted me with the idea of a longish film with layers of eerie film material from old VHS cassettes representing the decay and change of times. […] Unfortunately, the film was never realised. After the request, I recorded these two tracks with layered guitar, voice and synths, directly to tape.’
And now going back to the previous remarks. Julius managed to record those layers and, while listening, interacted with his already recorded layers. This whole release is filled with beautiful harmonic structures, a question-and-answer game, and sound design pur sang. This is beautiful in all its aspects, depth and sometimes painful moments. But those painful moments – in my mind – relate to the concept behind this release. Because if a ‘Zeitgeist’ has ever been relevant, it’s now. While we should be careful for history NOT to repeat itself, I’ll gently take the cassette out and play it again … And after that: Again …
Comments
Post a Comment