To be honest, once you are captured by the Bvdub spell, you’ll soon become addicted to it. Bvdub’s music is like a powerful drug or potion, only without the harmful side effects. There are side effects, but they are all therapeutic.
[Release page] As someone once said: “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture“. After the music stopped, I kept lying under the warm blanket, watching the ceiling, trying to digest what I have just experienced. It was something spiritual, something celestial—it was Bvdub‘s new album—All Is Forgiven. Most of the responses I’ve read or heard regarding Bvdub’s music, were full of affection. In recent years the fan base of Brock Van Wey (Bvdub) has grown considerably thanks to his productivity and devotion to making deeply emotional and atmospheric music—consistently releasing albums that simply move, without playing games, giving in to current trends, or trying to be ground-breaking. To be honest, once you are captured by the Bvdub spell, you’ll soon become addicted to it. Bvdub’s music is like a powerful drug or potion, only without the harmful side effects. There are side effects, but they are all therapeutic. I guess that’s why Bvdub aficionados speak so passionately about his music.
After releasing solo albums on wonderful labels such as Darla and Home Normal, and a collaborative album with Mr. Ian Hawgood on Nomadic Kids Republic, Brock Van Wey joined forces with Oakland based record label, n5MD—one of the most prolific, diverse and influential labels in the colorful far-stretched territories of contemporary music. Led by Mr. Cadoo (Bitcrush, Dryft, and half of the no longer active duo, Gridlock), the n5MD label offers a wide selection of beautiful post-rock electronica fusions, shoegaze, IDM, ambient and more.
This holy union was meant to be I guess, written in the stars above. After all, n5MD’s slogan is “emotional experiments in music,” a signature that definitely captures the spirit of the label. If one must categorize the music of Bvdub, ambient would be a suitable label, but you can also feel deep house, techno and more within his music—not the (typical) deep house and techno of nowadays—but rather the beautiful deep house and techno of the 80s, 90s and early 2000s. All of this is still present on All Is Forgiven, but there’s also a presence of n5MD’s IDM-ish electronica aesthetics, done à la Bvdub. This combination makes All Is Forgiven a bit more accessible than Bvdub’s previous releases. So if this is the first time you hear about this guy, starting to explore his music with All Is Forgiven will be a good choice; and I can tell you right now you’ll probably end up owning most of his albums.
All Is Forgiven is a huge swell of sound that will warm your soul. It can be perfect to unwind with on the weekend, before a nice night out with close friends, or on a lovely, lonely Saturday morning; sunny or rainy, it doesn’t really matter, as it will fit both. The album can also be very effective if listened to after a hard day of work—coming back home after many hours in the harsh reality outside, diving into the sounds, stained by mundane problems and society’s twisted and corrupted nature, and then coming out on the other side refreshed and hopeful again. There are only three tracks on this album, but together they provide a 77 minutes long meditative journey. Why did this review begin with “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture?”—well, I believe words can’t really describe the beauty of good music. You can’t really explain what good music does to you, the only thing you can do is experience it and recommend it to others, so love and inspiration will be spread further.
So yes, I do write about music occasionally, but Mr. Brock Van Wey, if you are reading this, know that I do not think these words do real justice to your music, but as with all of my reviews / recommendations, I just hope that a couple of people will read them, buy the music, enjoy it; and get inspired. To sum things up; all I can say is that this world definitely needs this music. These three tracks will keep haunting you long after the record has finished playing.
All Is Forgiven is available on n5MD. [Release page]
