In his rather extensive overview of Lieven Martens Moana’s Dolphins Into The Future project, my colleague and aspiring masseuse M Rubz initially, and aptly, brought up the kosmische character of the now-disbanded Emeralds. Though the “Emeralds” name might seem satisfactorily fitting given the electronic allure of their output, it’s hard to think of a moniker more surprisingly appropriate, once you’ve had the chance to listen to his music, than its sea-mammal counterpart. First it inspires thoughts about super-intelligent dolphins building their own time machine, but listen through the suboceanic drift of the synthesizer, and you’ll realize those dolphins are much more concerned with technological advancements in human sedation. Enslavement may or may not follow.
In what’s arguably a move designed to avoid giving sea creatures any ideas, Moana’s next release will come under his own name; Music From the Guardhouse will be released on June 3 via the Belgian label KRAAK.
The switch in name coincides with a relatively harsh change in style, whereby the “sedation” previously referenced is replaced with sparsely-positioned notes of electronic blurbage. Literary references and themes of nature persist, helped along by the familiar utilization of field recordings and various MIDI devices, but it’s all for a different, more challenging purpose. For their part, KRAAK describes the album as a “blue print for the future of compositions,” which, ignoring any exaggeration, should be more than enough to inspire curiosity. Prepare your brain, and stuff.
• Lieven Martens Moana: http://www.cetaceannationcommunications.blogspot.com
• KRAAK: http://www.kraak.net/en