Wixel - Somewhere between The Sun And The Moon

I can't do it. Write a "press text" about this record in order to convince people to buy this record. It's a necessity these days, but I simply can't write it because it feels so silly praising my own music. I'd rather describe what I think it sounds like, and what I tried to achieve. I feel it's more useful but probably not as efficient in a world where you have to scream and jump for the slightest bit of attention.

Here goes; To me, "Somewhere Between The Sun & The Moon" sounds exactly like the title. One moment the music sounds like it suffers the most intense fire ever, overwhelmed with warmth, brightness and hiss, the next moment it sounds like the chords are quietly floating, cut off from the world, cold and always distant. Just like the moon. I tried to make the songs sounds like a coherent whole balancing gracefully on the thin line between cinematic soundscapes and the subtle beauty of a melody that's left innocent and naked. I really like dense layers of sound where lots of details are tickling your ears, some begging for attention, but the most beautiful ones are all hidden in a wild stream of melodies and sounds. Think of Sonic Youth or Mogwai. To counter that, I can't deny my love for a simple single melody. In my world, it's the core of music. So sometimes you just leave a melody alone, which in itself can be incredibly beautiful. The record sounds more acoustic than electronic because the instrument I focus on is a cheap but faithfull acoustic nylon-guitar, i like the warmth and sincerity of it. It feels more honest to strum a chord, rather than to program it. Obviously I used some of my favourite instruments like a piano, my hohner organa and software electronics to colour the compositions. Some of them were recorded with my bedroom windows open wide.

I am pretty sure quite a few people will say this music could be compared to Fennesz, Helios and Sigur Ròs. And even though I see that as a compliment - because I bought about all their records and love them - they're of no direct influence on my music. I take much more inspiration from classical composers like John Cage and Morton Feldman, and from singer songerwriters like Phil Elverum and Adrian Orange. From Feldman I learned how to respect sound and silence. From Mount Eerie and Thanksgiving I appreciate their acoustic and honest approach to music. Less thought and humble means to create something true. Even though I claim it's really impossible to do something completely original, I do want to state that this record - much more than any other up until now - feels like a record that is me. A personal language/introspective painting that's completely free. I'm sure there will be people who claim it's totally boring, and that's fine with me. But if, for some reason, you like getting into this sort of music, I'm also relatively sure you'll find Somewhere Between the Sun and the Moon a warm home to spend some listening time.

I'm not that much in the mood to discuss the emotional side of things. But if you need some references, this music is melancholic, about parting ways, splitting, leaving (without the ability to say goodbye), being cut off, numbed out. There was not much happiness nor hope in the back of my mind when I recorded most of the songs. It's probably what people call a "winter" record or music to listen to when you are on your own. I don't mind the lack of happiness in the music, if you do, there are a lot of other good happy records out there. Maybe I'll make one of those in the future too.

humble greetings,

wim

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