Search:in the forest

These recordings of Gongs Orchestras were made during Funeral Ceremonies in two Kung villages and one Jaraï village in Ratanakiri province, Cambodia by Laurent Jeanneau (Kink Gong) in 2003 and 2004, at a times when jungle had not been replaced by rubber plantations. Focusing on funeral's ceremonies, those hypnotics pieces are intense and haunting harmonics sonic experiments.

"Adventure brought me to south-east Asia, not academic research. I was based on and off in Banlung, capital of Ratanakiri province between 2003 and 2006. Finding gongs orchestras became my obsession, I've witnessed different contexts in which gongs were being performed, but the most brainwashing ceremonies were the funerals, because they would never end, I remember leaving the 3 days funeral ceremony of a prominent Jaraï dead man in Tang ji village at the border with Vietnam and still hearing the gongs the entire next day going back home through the jungle". - Laurent Jeanneau (Kink Gong)

"Many of the ethnic minority groups, the Jarai, Kac_, Tampuan, Kavet, Kreung, Brao, Bunong, Mnong, Edé, and others, are hill-rice farmers who live in the uplands of the Annamite mountain chain. Collectively these groups have been known by many names, including a number of disparaging terms in local dialects, such as moï, kha, phnong, and others. The term Montagnard was applied to them by the French during the colonial period, and was used by the US military and in popular discourse in English during the United States-Vietnam War. In scholarly and popular literature during the mid-twentieth century these upland farmers were also called hill tribes. I have opted for the word highlanders as a relatively neutral term that avoids the semantic burdens associated with these other namings." - Jonathan Padwe, The book Disturbed forests fragmented memories.

German melodic extreme metal act FAR BEYOND mark their return with their third studio album, The End of My Road, on February 16 via their new label home Prosthetic Records. FAR BEYONDüs latest full-length is an ambitious and fastidiously curated amalgam of melodeath, symphonic and power metal, covering themes of courage and heart in the face of depression and hardship. Formed in the early 2000s, FAR BEYOND is the solo project of Eugen Dodenhoeft. Based in the Franconian Switzerland region of Germany, FAR BEYONDüs history to this point has been one of slow and steady artistic progression with 2005's An Angel's Requiem and 2016's A Frozen Flame Of Ice albums showcasing Dodenhoeftüs penchant for seamlessly alternating dynamics of gothic and death metal symphonia. Lusciously complex by design, FAR BEYOND's latest album shines in its songwriting structure. Across the eight tracks, Eugen compiled up to 30 layers of vocals, synthesisers and orchestral textures. Whilst a solo endeavour at its core, The End of My Road sees collaborative guitar solos from Nathram's Lukas Grasslin as well as additional synthesiser embellishments from Ari Ahrendt on Tempus Fugit and the title track. The End of My Road was then placed in the hands of Patrick Staudle of Glaswald Studios in The Black Forest, Germany. Furthering their quest to understand the complexities of the unknown and transcend beyond the unknown, The End of My Roadüs contemplative atmospherics and concentrated sonic extremities merge seamlessly with a deft poetic touch. With Eugen adding: üThe End of My Road is my invitation to get lost in the sonic realms of FAR BEYOND and find a moment of peace and inspiration. I look forward to sharing this album with the world and hope that it touches the hearts of listeners, providing them with an unforgettable soundtrack for their own journey.

Egil Kalman has levelled up on this one; we were stunned by his last solo opus, and on ‘Forest of Tines’, the bassist/synthesist has traded the EMS Synthi 100 for the Buchla Series 200, recording at Stockholm’s illustrious Elektronmusikstudion (EMS). Here, he builds on themes he explored on his debut with a generous 20 track double album that marks firmer lines between Scandinavian folk music and contemporary electro- acoustic minimalism.

Using woody, synthesised tones that gradually open into sawing wails, Kalman suggests harmonies that lie between the 17th century polska and earlier, pre-Renaissance sounds, mimicking the tonal and textural fluctuations of strings with advanced tuning and sequencing techniques. There are plenty of artists delving into the past to unravel their identity, but Kalman’s approach is refreshingly unadulterated. He recorded the entire set on the fly, using just spring reverb to add extra texture, without overdubs or modern DAW-style layering, the Buchla 200 played almost like an acoustic instrument.

There’s a glimmer of vintage acid on the lithe ‘Dub One’, a complex, rhythmic experiment that lashes its pulses together with willowy portamento slides. And on ‘Klystron’, he absorbs warehouse techno’s architectural oomph, splaying psychedelic, reverberating ascending sequences over jagged kicks; listen carefully, and there’s something else going on in the background too, as Kalman meets his stabs with flute-like echoes. It’s a peculiar cocktail of ideas and provocations: ‘Mbira’ finds the composer shaping his synth into dusty, fluttering hits that resemble the titular Zimbabwean finger harp, and on ‘Drums’, he pipes pre-recorded percussion through the system, triggering its oscillators and helping shape its rhythmic patterns. He’s most comfortable when he’s mines a hazier past, ‘Autumn Leaves’ is a mystickal, just intoned droner that harmonises with Mattias Petersson’s awesome ‘Triangular Progressions’, and ‘Subtines’ sounds as if Kalman has deployed his instrument in a subterranean crevice, resonating his rumbles around synthetic water droplets.

If it’s uncanny court music you’re particularly interested in, there’s plenty of that too. ‘Polska’ is another sublimely hauntological Swedish folk interpolation, while closing track ‘Ocquet’ appears to blur Kalman’s ideas more thoroughly, melting folk phrasing and peaceful, uneasy drones to draw us to a neat conclusion. Soft-hearted but animated, it’s modern electronic music that isn’t afraid of employing vintage techniques to suggest new directions.

Up the mountains, deep in the forest, I found these plants that live on sound and water. They don’t need light and therefore are unlike any other plants on this planet. Their peek of activity is during the night, when they are covered with a thin, black layer of nocturnal light. Night lies on these plants like a thin membrane. Their roots absorb drops, waves of sound and its vibrational intonation. When humans eat this plant they fall asleep and start dreaming instantly.

In this dream they become these plants, who are unnamed, and are able to feel the pulsation of their — now own — roots. Many years ago, when language was more sounds than codes, these plants were everywhere to be found in the planetary landscape. Nobody knows yet why these plants are only to be found in the high mountain in its deep forest. It is said that once you enter this forest it will not be easy to find your way out. Like in a dream, you need to be guided by a strong wave of consciousness to find your way out and back to the ground.

Boomstraat 1818's newest release 'Durgan's Odyssey' is a warm and melodic Detroit techno ep, inspirited by summer visits to the Cornish coast at Glendurgan.

Kuba Sojka delivers the A1: 'Root Loop', a dj friendly peaktimer, tested on multiple crowds with an ascertained result. We are blessed to release this track on our label.

'Remain' is the A2 of the ep, in The Parallel's typical deep Detroit style: combining warm pads with classic Roland percussion.

Aztronouth is a longtime friend of the label and founder of the legendary Amsterdam based Mechanism parties. He takes care of the A3 with his track 'Tears From Detroit', a clever analog 'one take' electro recording paying his respects to the Motor City.

Acclaimed French techno veteran Taho is on B1. Well known for his classics such as Mutant Fight the Creature and Forest of Wonders. His track 'Dub Jazz' says it all: it sounds like Brendon Moeller and Saint Germain had a love baby.

On the B2 Boomstraat 1818 label owner Stroef combines his analog 808 drums with strings and pads to deliver a warm and captivating melodic Detroit track called 'Main Gate'.

As the BBE Music J Jazz Masterclass Series hits its 19th title, the milestone is suitably matched by a collaboration between two giants of jazz brought together to deliver an exceptional album, working with a band of the very best Japanese jazz musicians. ‘Reminicent Suite’ by American pianist Mal Waldron and Japanese trumpeter Terumasa Hino was originally released in 1973 on the famed Victor label and was one of several Japan-only albums recorded and released by Waldron over a thirty-year period, most of which have never been available outside Japan. ‘Reminicent Suite’ comprises two extended tracks, both taking up a side each. The title track on Side A is composed by Waldron, and is a dark, brooding heavy groove typical of his early 70s sound. ‘Black Forest’ on side B is written by Hino and is a vivid and energetic piece, layered and textured with dense percussion and Hino’s signature trumpet tone. Mal Waldron started out in the early 1950s working extensively on the Prestige label with notable figures such as Gene Ammons, Jackie McLean and Charles Mingus. Most famously, he worked with Billie Holiday before leaving the States in the mid-60s and relocating to Europe where he established himself as a major figure working across many countries including France, Italy, and Germany, where he made his home in Munich. In 1969, Waldron recorded the first releases for two major European jazz labels, ECM and Enja, before visiting Japan on tour for the first time in 1970. Waldron instantly fell in love with Japan and, over the next three decades, extensively toured and recorded there for numerous labels. Terumasa Hino is one of the towering figures of post-war modern jazz in Japan. Coming to prominence via the Hideto Shiraki and Sadao Watanabe bands in the mid-60s, Hino soon emerged as one of the prime movers in new jazz generation that changed the direction of jazz in Japan. He explored a more open, freer, and improvised sound, mixing psychedelic and rock elements with freeform and post-bop jazz. Hino recorded for many of the leading jazz labels of the era including Columbia, Three Blind Mice, and East Wind and would go on to relocate to the US in the mid-70s, immersing himself with the leading fusion players of the New York scene including Larry Corryell, Mtume, Al Foster, Dave Liebman and many more. In the early 80s, Hino’s jazz funk tracks were dancefloor smashes on the UK jazz dance scene. Joining Waldron and Hino on ‘Reminicient Suite’ is a band made up of the very best Japanese jazzman of their day: Takeo Uematsu on sax, Terumasa’s brother, Motohiko Hino, on drums, and the legendary bass master, Isao Suzuki. Together, they deliver one of the very best albums of the era, a richly articulated and dynamic session that exemplifies the very best that the Japanese jazz scene was doing in the early 1970s. ‘Reminicent Suite’ is pressed on 200g vinyl presented in a gatefold sleeve plus obi strip, with new photos by Tadayuki Naito; translated original sleeve notes; and a 7500-word essay including interview with Terumasa Hino from Tony Higgins, co-curator of the J Jazz Masterclass Series. This is the first time this album has been available outside of Japan

Fakear needed to reinvent himself. To return to the essence of his project, with spontaneity and above all, honesty. Ten years after his first steps in the industry, Fakear now returns to his roots, without looking to the past with nostalgia or contempt; but rather by contemplating his past self with kindness.And this new wave got expressed in one word : Talisman, his last album that came out in February 2023. Alongside a sold out French and European tour, a show at Le Trianon in Paris also sold out, and soon one in salle Pleyel (in February 2024).But such a comeback doesn’t just completely stop after only one album – even though it was particularly noteworthy to the media and the audience. And neither does the inspiration for Fakear.This is how Hypertalisman was born. Like the following of this rebirth and this new inspiration for Théo. Like an extension of Talisman: a new dimension, a parallel universe.“Talisman was me returning to my roots. Hypertalisman is a window to the future.”

The release is the first studio collaboration from longtime friends Sam Cumming (Italiks) and Ben Dudding (Deep Fried Dub), with the former providing the rhythm and vocals, and the latter on mixing and melodica duties.

With introspective lyrics born in the depths of a Fiordland forest, Crown considers the challenge of facing your inner demons and dealing with insecurity, ably assisted by the healing power of music. The result is a heavy roots cut that will soothe your soul while rattling your ribcage.

Super Funky Forest Green and Blue Splatter Vinyl.

After the fall of the Deep City label, Rocketeers bandleader Frank Williams set up shop under the name of his twin daughters Saadia and Giwada and got to work reinventing the Miami Sound. Tracked between 1968-1970, this LP gathers 15 of Saadia's funkiest and deeply soulful moments, featuring Pearl Dowell, Joey Gilmore, Little Beaver, Frank Williams' Rocketeers, Robert Moore, Brother Williams, and Sam Baker. Your next sample, first dance, workout jam or closing credits is buried in here somewhere.

I see lucid blue flames moving before my eyes.
I hear voices melting. Voices somewhere from within.
Speaking words I do not know but feel connected to, almost as if I have known the meaning once..
Noises that obscures the multiple pictures hidden in these digital compositions.
Iku Sakan have created a set of five tracks that takes the listener on a
trip deep into the human psyché. Emotional flickering movements that twists and turns. The albums have a darker, much more intense feel than some of Ikus earlier magical and often hypnotic music. A myriad of different voices creates pulsing patterns and constantly morphing pictures for my inner eye. It's an album that might work as a hack to our lingual structures, pushing limits, pushing possibilities of meaning.

A pool of over-saturated information boils and out of the vapor new contours take form.
The magical and hypnotic is not gone, I still recognise the softer aspects of Ikus highly detailed hybrid sound design. But I no longer see where it takes me. It excites me. It feels like the world is expanding again, breathing. The sounds on the album asks us questions and points in several directions at once. In the shadows, weeds of lucid dreams grow deeper roots, reaching for my inner ear.

The faint sounds on the track Nature Morte reminds me of expeditions to the local witch house ruins as a child. Something almost not there, something felt. History, Memories and the connection between the two seems to have played a part in these compositions. Emotional reactions that plant reactions in other people, all around creating soft movements on the face of our planet.

Whether our collective psyché is an open field or an impenetrable dark forest, is of less concern with a key like Omnitopoeia, that works like an enhanced mirror, reflecting the dreams of the words we speak everyday, reflecting the emotional charges of significant places. Unrecognisable but still remembered.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a 2000 wuxia film directed by Ang Lee. Taking place in 18th-century Qing dynasty China, the story revolves around a warrior who gives his sword, Green Destiny, to his lover to deliver to safe keeping, but it is stolen, and the chase is on to retrieve it. The film was praised for its story, direction, and cinematography, and for its martial arts sequences. It won the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The score was composed by Tan Dun, containing many solo passages for cello by Yo-Yo Ma. The track “A Love Before Time” features Coco Lee. This album is released as a limited edition of 750 copies on translucent red vinyl.

2023 Repress

It's the quiet ones we should watch, they always say. Which is particularly astute advice right now, when loud, constant self-declaration and saturated 'brand' visibility have become the norm. But above the babble and brightness, some voices will always speak quiet volumes ­- with calm eloquence and the kind of certitude that comes from valuing the playing out, not just the prize.

Sweden's José González is just such a voice. He first charmed his way into the UK's earshot via the murmurous and elegant, classically finger-picked folk pop of his 2005 album, Veneer, which has since sold over a staggering 430, 000 copies in UK alone. Two years later came In Our Nature, a further exploration of José's influences (Argentinian Folklore, the '60s US folk tradition and the British pastoral folk-pop style of the same era), on which he resisted the temptation to beef up his alluringly introvert aesthetic. The albums made the UK Top 10 and Top 20 respectively.

Conceived as the natural third part in an acoustic trilogy, Vestiges & Claws is a(nother) hushed and delicate solo set that forefronts the artist and guitarist's compellingly intimate vocal style and intricate playing technique, but it's often strikingly rhythmic in nature and cohere's perfectly, with hand claps and taps on the body of his instrument underlining the songs' mantric rise-and-fall pattern, while elsewhere, over-dubbed guitar parts and multi-tracked vocal harmonies entwine to sweetly immersive effect.

The title refers to both cultural practices and biological features that survive despite having lost their original function, and to currently useful tools, ie the 'claws' of modern life.

Vestiges & Claws was recorded almost entirely by José and self-produced, mostly in his Gothenburg home, using computer plug-ins to achieve a warm, analogue sound. He prefers working alone, mainly for artistic reasons. 'There were a couple of things that enabled me to complete this record: one was curiosity, to be able to play percussion and do a lot of harmonies and also to produce and mix the album; the other was aesthetics. I love to listen to Arthur Russell and Shuggie Otis, to music that has been done mostly by one person in their solitary state.'

As José sees it, the record is his personal, 'zoomed-out eye on humanity on a small, pale blue dot in a cold, sparse and unfriendly space. The amazing fact that we are all here, an attempt at encouraging us to understand ourselves and to make the best of the one life we know we have - after birth and before death.

Drei Jahre nach ihrem hochgelobten Debüt "Infusion" veröffentlicht die Bremer Artrock-Band Rubber Tea nun ihr zweites Studioalbum. "From A Fading World" erzählt die bewegende Geschichte der Protagonistin Emily, die von einem bösartigen Sandsturm heimgesucht wird. Um ihre Mitmenschen vor der nahenden Gefahr zu warnen, begibt sie sich mit ihrem kleinen Flugzeug auf eine heldenhafte Mission. Das Album besteht aus insgesamt 11 Kompositionen, die eine breite Palette von explosiven Jazz-Rock-Rhythmen über filigrane psychedelische Klangsphären bis hin zu epischen Saxophon- und Gitarrensoli bieten. Rubber Tea vertont Emilys abenteuerliche Reise mit beeindruckender musikalischer Vielfalt, begleitet von ausdrucksstarkem und oft mehrstimmigem Gesang. Der LP liegt ein signiertes 24-seitiges Booklet bei, das die Geschichte des Albums mit detailreichen Illustrationen zum Leben erweckt.

One-off masterpiece release of German Minimal Synth-Pop from Gütersloh, Germany in 1984. Recorded in a DIY recording studio in a former prison for the mentally ill located on the outskirts of a forest near the artists’ homes aptly named Prison Studio.

Back in 1984, the release was privately pressed on 7″ by the band itself, distributed in limited quantities at the time and it has only exchanged hands a few times on public marketplaces since its original release, for very high prices. The record has always been as rare as it is good, to quote Basso. We are delighted to make this outstanding release available again to record collectors and DJs around the world as the first release on Average Records.

Included in this 12″ repress are 2 stunning brand new remixes by virtuoso producers and friends Alexander Arpeggio from Berlin and Aradea Barandana aka Dea who currently resides between Jakarta and Bali, each bringing their own flavour to the table.

Riotvan is thrilled to announce the latest installment of the "Familiar Faces” series, with label bosses Panthera Krause and Peter Invasion once again opening their arms and welcoming an exceptional group of friends. Some familiar faces return, while others make a glorious Riotvan
debut. Originally conceived as a four-track release, in line with previous installments, the project took on a life of its own as the incredible music continued to flow in. Today, we are delighted to present "Familiar Faces IV," an eight-track selection that showcases the freshest and most diverse sounds from a group of our incredibly talented friends.

We are delighted to unveil TrueMendous' sophomore album ‘Great. On
Purpose’. Sporting 15-tracks of evolutionary music, ‘Great. On Purpose’ is without question True's most ambitious body of work to date.

Since sharing the unrelenting lead single 'Talkk' Feat. Mysdiggi,
and after a double serving on follow up 'Really Wanna Love' x
'Still Don't Wanna', the album is a rollercoaster ride. Just listen
to standout single 'Yourself or The World?' featuring the almighty
Skinnyman if you're in need of anymore proof.

Featuring a heavyweight lineup of guest appearances from the
aforementioned Skinnyman and Mysdiggi, but also including Janel
Antoneshia, Vaddy, Princess, Ashley Allen, and DJ Sammy B-Side,
complemented by Illinformed, GhostTown, Pitch 92, Forest DLG,
Muckaniks, Mark Fear and Bear on production duties - ‘Great. On Purpose’ is STACKED from top-to-tail.

a 01 - Womp Uhuh













[So Good]

[a] 01 - Womp [Uhuh]













[So Good]

We are delighted to unveil TrueMendous' sophomore album ‘Great. On
Purpose’. Sporting 15-tracks of evolutionary music, ‘Great. On Purpose’ is without question True's most ambitious body of work to date.

Since sharing the unrelenting lead single 'Talkk' Feat. Mysdiggi,
and after a double serving on follow up 'Really Wanna Love' x
'Still Don't Wanna', the album is a rollercoaster ride. Just listen
to standout single 'Yourself or The World?' featuring the almighty
Skinnyman if you're in need of anymore proof.

Featuring a heavyweight lineup of guest appearances from the
aforementioned Skinnyman and Mysdiggi, but also including Janel
Antoneshia, Vaddy, Princess, Ashley Allen, and DJ Sammy B-Side,
complemented by Illinformed, GhostTown, Pitch 92, Forest DLG,
Muckaniks, Mark Fear and Bear on production duties - ‘Great. On Purpose’ is STACKED from top-to-tail.

a 01 - Womp [Uhuh]













[o] 15 - I Feel Good [So Good]

[a] 01 - Womp [Uhuh]













[o] 15 - I Feel Good [So Good]

EIVIND LØNNING, ESPEN REINERTSEN, ROMKE KLEEFSTRA & JAN KLEEFSTRA

For IT DEEL II the Kleefstra Bros have collaborated with the Norwegian duo Espen Reinersen and Einvind Lønning (who also collaborate as duo Streifenjunko). Ten years ago the Kleefstra Bros saw Streifenjunko perform at WORM, Rotterdam (NL), and this always stuck in memory. This is why now for IT DEEL II they got together.
The music by Reinersen and Lønning, with the use of wind instruments and electronics, is experimental, but open. It finds a way between improv, jazz and soundart. And like Jacaszek (IT DEEL I) they work with field-recordings in their electro-acoustic music. Like the Kleefstra Bros, Reinersen and Lønning are intrigued by forests, and for IT DEEL II they brought field-recordings made in the forests surrounding Oslo (NO). During the recording sessions as a quartet, they created a dialogue between the forest sounds from Oslo and the Frysian forests, and their instrumental improvisations.
.

The result you find on this new LP IT DEEL II is one of contemplation about how we treat our environment, our nature, and more specific our (local) forests.

Following on from the psychoacoustic concrète of Outside Ludlow / Desert Disco LP (BT075), Sam Dunscombe returns to Black Truffle with Two Forests / Oceanic. Dunscombe has been active in recent years on multiple fronts, including as a key member of the Berlin community of Just Intonation researchers and practitioners; working with composers like Taku Sugimoto, Mary Jane Leach, and Anthony Pateras; and the release of Horatiu Radulescu - Plasmatic Music vol. 1 (the result of many years performance research into the thought and music of this seminal Romanian spectralist). In parallel with these activities, Dunscombe has been deeply involved in research on the role of music in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, prompting these two side long pieces, composed using field recordings and digital synthesis. As Dunscombe explains in the accompanying liner notes, music plays a key role in psychedelic-assisted therapy, yet it is often restricted to stock forms of New Age, ambient and electronica. Taking seriously the potential for spatio-environmental sonic experiences to add to the therapeutic process, these two pieces are intended to suggest how ‘a music-as-environment approach may help to add options to the therapist’s toolbox’. ‘Two Forests’ begins in a central Californian sequoia grove. Bird songs and buzzing insect life are treated with a variety of time-based processing methods (slicing and recombination, primitive granular synthesis, delay, and so on), which strip the field recordings of their linear, documentary character, reframing them in an enchanted web of traces and echoes. Analysing the pitches found in the original recordings, Dunscombe used them to generate a large Just Intonation pitch set. These tones are woven slowly into the field recordings, gradually building in density and complexity until the forest has been transformed into an unreal space of infinite proportions. Emerging from this cosmic expanse in the final minutes of the piece, we find ourselves in the Amazon rainforest outside Manaus, Brazil. As Dunscombe writes, the piece creates ‘a sense of place-gone-strange, of space and time simultaneously expanding and contracting across octaves, miles, and minutes’. On ‘Oceanic’, several recordings of different beaches fade in and out to create a texture both homogenous and constantly shifting in both the rhythm of the waves and each recording's sense of depth and distance. Tones relating in simple ratios to the average rhythm of each beach float over each other, colouring the white noise texture of the field recordings with shifting hues. In both pieces, Dunscombe forgoes the easy consonance that bogs down much contemporary ambient music for a richer harmonic array informed by extended tuning practices and spectralism. The end results suggest a hitherto undreamt-of meeting of Radulescu’s undulating sonic masses and the discreetly processed location recordings of Irv Teibel’s ‘psychologically ultimate’ Environments. Looking beyond the insularity that can afflict experimental music culture, Dunscombe’s work is a moving argument for the healing power of expanded approaches to sound and music. Even outside of a psychedelics-assisted therapy, frequent immersion in Two Forests / Oceanic is almost guaranteed to produce beneficial psychological results.

"Visions of Summerland (Live at Arminius Church Rotterdam)" ist weit mehr als nur ein weiteres Live-Album. DOOL nahmen diese Stücke in der dunkelsten aller Nächte während der Wintersonnenwende am 23. Dezember 2022 auf. Es war nicht nur physisch die finsterste Zeit des Jahres, sondern auch spirituell eine dunkle Stunde für die niederländischen Dark Rock Shootingstars. Aufgrund der weltweiten Pandemie konnten sie kaum mit ihrem aktuellen, zweiten Album "Summerland" auf Tour gehen. Außerdem war es das letzte gemeinsame Konzert mit ihrem Freund und Schlagzeuger Micha Haring, der zuvor unter vier Augen und aus persönlichen Gründen seinen Abschied von DOOL angekündigt hatte. Die Zeichen in der Arminiuskerk ("Arminiuskirche") in Rotterdam deuteten auf einen höchst melancholischen Auftritt hin. Umgeben von sakraler Architektur und religiösen Bildnissen, vor Familie, Freunden sowie ihren treuesten Fans opferten DOOL all ihr Herzblut, ihren Schweiß und ihre Tränen für die Songs. Pure Bühnenmagie lag in der Luft. Verzweiflung und Schmerz verwandelten sich in musikalische Schönheit und Hoffnung. Frontperson Raven sprach hinterher sogar vom wohl besten DOOL-Auftritt aller Zeiten! Seitdem sie im Jahr 2015 in der alten niederländischen Hafenstadt Rotterdam aus der Asche von THE DEVIL'S BLOOD und ELLE BANDITA auferstanden sind, haben DOOL der europäischen Dark Rock Szene ihren einzigartigen Stempel aufgedrückt. Das Debütalbum "Here Now, There Then" erschien im Jahr 2017 und gewann sofort Auszeichnungen wie "Album des Monats" in den renommierten deutschen Magazinen Rock Hard und Metal Hammer, wo DOOL auch den Titel "Bestes Debütalbum 2017" holten - neben viel Lob aus aller Welt, unter anderem von VICE (US), Aardschok (NL) und De Volkskrant (NL). Mit ihrem zweiten Album "Summerland", das im April 2020 das Licht der Welt erblickte, bestätigten die Shootingstars um Raven van Dorst (Gesang, Gitarre) ihren Blitzstart und ernteten weiteren Jubel in den Medien. "Summerland" erhielt vielfache "Album des Monats"-Auszeichnungen unter anderem in den deutschen Magazinen Rock Hard (10/10) und Sonic Seducer sowie einen zweiten Platz im Soundcheck von Metal Hammer (DE), Metal.de und eine weitere Erstplatzierung im polnischen Metal Hammer. Bevor DOOL im Frühjahr 2024 ihr drittes Album enthüllen, schenken die niederländischen Dark Rocker ihrer treuen Fangemeinde dieses beeindruckende Live-Dokument: "Visions of Summerland (Live at Arminius Church Rotterdam)" wirft ein strahlendes musikalisches Licht in eine Welt voller Dunkelheit.