The place where Flying Saucer Attack meets Gas, where My Bloody Valentine's textures of distorted guitars are used in a Stars of The Lid kind of way, where Eno's ambient records are mixed with the disintegration trials of William Basinski and the love of atmospheric drones of Rafael Toral's early discography? Belong is a duo from New Orleans and I came to their record through several recommendations made by Dan Burton (Early Day Miners).
Belong is the project of Michael Jones and Turk Dietrich. This is their first album and I'm left with a similar awe I recently experienced with records like “Pup” by Fenton, Mountain's self-titled album or “Falls” by RF.
Their compositions are ghostlike, with sometimes melodies arising from their sonic smog, like ethereal skies, waterfalls of laptop manipulated guitar & synth sounds. It's not too hard to understand what fascinate Dan Burton in their music because it is sometimes close to the way he used layers of manipulated synth-sounds on “Placer Found” or on “Deep Harbor / City State”.
What I don't know so far are the best conditions for listening to “October Language”. There is a deep introspective quality and an invitation for the contemplation of landscapes with a large view. I imagine looking at an autumnal forest from the top of a hill, with a river meandering somewhere below, and being completely submerged by the melancholic atmosphere of the place in perfect resonance with personal emotions. It's a perfect soundtrack for being desperate, for crying or just having we eyes, i would like too, if it were possible, experience the record while swimming. There is something definitely aqueous in their music and the slow erosions of Louisiana coastlines is another perfect symbol for “October Language”.
It's a prodigious album. I cannot map it directly, I still need many exploration of their achievement, I still have too many things to decode, too many emotions to feel before being sure about how much “October Language” means for me. Their use of voice-like synth tones on “Red Velvet or Nothing”, as example, is already breathtaking for me. It leaves me wordless. I'm a fan and so you should be too.
Their compositions are ghostlike, with sometimes melodies arising from their sonic smog, like ethereal skies, waterfalls of laptop manipulated guitar & synth sounds. It's not too hard to understand what fascinate Dan Burton in their music because it is sometimes close to the way he used layers of manipulated synth-sounds on “Placer Found” or on “Deep Harbor / City State”.
What I don't know so far are the best conditions for listening to “October Language”. There is a deep introspective quality and an invitation for the contemplation of landscapes with a large view. I imagine looking at an autumnal forest from the top of a hill, with a river meandering somewhere below, and being completely submerged by the melancholic atmosphere of the place in perfect resonance with personal emotions. It's a perfect soundtrack for being desperate, for crying or just having we eyes, i would like too, if it were possible, experience the record while swimming. There is something definitely aqueous in their music and the slow erosions of Louisiana coastlines is another perfect symbol for “October Language”.
It's a prodigious album. I cannot map it directly, I still need many exploration of their achievement, I still have too many things to decode, too many emotions to feel before being sure about how much “October Language” means for me. Their use of voice-like synth tones on “Red Velvet or Nothing”, as example, is already breathtaking for me. It leaves me wordless. I'm a fan and so you should be too.
Hey Didier, I myself am a huge Belong fan, and I've discovered the perfect setting for listening to this album. Get yourself a record turntable (if you don't already own one) and build yourself one of these...
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamachine
Look into making one of these, and I promise you won't be disappointed by the combination of October Language while seeing the visual effects caused by the Dream Machine. It's literally breathtaking and it's the perfect compliment to Belong's textural sounds.