In October last year, Sacred Phrases experienced a fire at their label HQ. While some stock was affected, it now seems that the imprint is back up-and-running, which is truly a relief. Their first release after the fire — and of 2018 — is a trans-Atlantic collaborative tape by Belgian musician Christophe Bailleau and Portland resident Daryl Groetsch (a.k.a. Pulse Emitter) titled, Gaz Giant.
The cold, ominous “Meringue” opens the proceedings. As soon as the dense bass synth tones boomed through my monitors, a cold, empty landscape came to mind. Shortly after, I started reading the label’s promo text for this release and “Meringue” was described as “glacial”. In all honesty, there is no better word to describe it: this is music that could easily soundtrack a dark thriller set near the North Pole. It’s coldly detached and drifts forward, unabated.
And what makes this whole collection even more special is that the pair live & create 5,000 miles apart. Cassettes available via Sacred Phrases, digital via Bandcamp.
More about: Christophe Bailleau, Pulse Emitter
