When I heard Sebastian Schnitzenbaumer — a.k.a. BELP — was going to release a crocodile, I immediately worried. Sounded really dangerous, to be honest: Germany is a crowded place, after all, and those reptiles can be vicious.
With some relief, I learned the Munich-based producer was actually releasing an album named Crocodile, out on SVS Records and his own Jahmoni Music on February 8.
Feeling better now, if a little silly over the whole crocodile misunderstanding, I watched the video for the album’s closing track “Catch,” premiering here today. The adorable padding husky pup had me immediately at ease, but BELP flipped it once again. Guard down, the track jumps into a deranged existence as grainy footage pans with unsettling detachment.
There is the ritualistic donning of a motorcycle helmet. There are oozing blots of infected green coloration. There is a man skinned alive brandishing a severed head. (Well, he’s in a body suit and it’s a plaster head, a vibe more Slim Goodbody than Hellraiser, but still.) Visceral footage; with visceral sound to match. The production on “Catch” revels in polyrhythmic mania and kinetic destabilization, equally possessed with elation and alarm.
If all this talk of reptiles and flaying hasn’t scared you off (and I hope it hasn’t, because BELP’s new LP is a thing of bizarre enchantment) listen to several more tracks from the album down below and head over to SVS and pre-order a Crocodile of your own.
01. Lurk
02. Hang On
03. Bending
04. Endless Preparations For A Ceremony
05. One And A Half Years Later
06. Hyperreal Love
07. Crocodile
08. Tehnoto
09. Strand
10. Catch
More about: BELP
