Razen, Hellvete and Lieven Martens Moana at ausland / Saturday, 02.07.2016

KRAAK is a Belgian label and concert organisation that promotes off-stream music and sounds. Its ground-breaking output covers anything from noise to deep-listening drones and from electronics to post-rock in all its forms, in bold disrespect of the confines of conventional genre-labelling. Ever since its founding in 1997 KRAAK has been a trailblazing force in the Belgian underground and beyond.
Making its way to Berlin on the 2nd of July, the label will present three of its finest bands in the venue of ausland, Prenzlauer Berg.

Razen, essentially Brussels-based duo Brecht Ameel and Kim Delcour − often accompanied by guest musicians playing hurdy-gurdy, Ondes Martenot or double bass − brings improvised, minimalistic melodies at the crossroads of old folk music, classical contemporary and electronics.

Using obscure, forgotten instruments such as the medieval shawm or the Swedish hummel in combination with vintage electronics, they create a raw yet subtle deep-listening experience that stirs the heritage of artists of the likes of Pauline Oliveros.

The bands latest tour de force, Endrhymes, was released on KRAAK early 2016. In the four pieces that constitute the record, thriving on improvisation but with a compelling focus, Razen moves away from the characteristic drones on their last record to explore a new territory of melodic and psychedelic minimalism. For their concert in ausland, Razen will be accompanied by bass-player Pieter Lenaerts.

https://soundcloud.com/de-gek/hellvete-outside-the-dreamharmonium-de-neus-edition

Hellvete produces hypnotic ballads on harmonium and electronics, flowing freely in the spheres of minimalism, drones and folk music. Hellvete is the solo project of Glen Steenkiste, a member of psych outfit Sylvester Anfang II and Bow Aether Group. His first solo album, De Gek, was released on KRAAK in 2009, followed by albums on labels like Funeral Folk (of which Steenkiste is one of the founding members), Crooked Tapes, Blackest Rainbow, Deep Distance etc.

‘Steenkiste’s music is like taking an endless shower of sunbeams − warm, comforting and mind-altering. Music that makes time stand still and focuses on shifting details and textures, but massive in sound and presence.’ (Blackest Rainbow Records).

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Lieven Martens Moana, also known as Dolphins into the Future, combines field recordings and synthesized sounds to create intimate and meditative compositions in what the artist himself describes to be ‘a search for a thorough aestheticism of the impression’. A playful and unusual blend of organic and synthetic elements is anchored in a sophisticated composition scheme and infused with a modest dose of new age. The result is an extraordinary picture, painted in a most contemporary language.

Martens has released many albums under many monikers, including Music from the Guard House (2013) and Ke Ale Ke Kua (2010) on KRAAK.