Marc Brinkerink, the Haarlem-based sonic architect behind the Vaag moniker, dissects glitch into finer, more intricate fragments—hyper-glitch, laced with shadowy undertones.
An unconventional serenity etched in sleek noise
Who better to embrace ambiguity than Vaag, unveiling Vague through the ever-experimental Detroit Underground? Marc Brinkerink, the Haarlem-based sonic architect behind the moniker, dissects glitch into finer, more intricate fragments—hyper-glitch, laced with shadowy undertones. Flickers of sound skip through empty corridors, bouncing off imagined walls in a digital labyrinth. The introduction, “Properties of Time,” weaves elusive melodies through a haze of warped echoes—each note suspended with intention and poise.
Rhythms stumble and unravel throughout Vague. Tracks such as “DU-fm”—perhaps the highlight of the album—and “i’m hearing voices,” expand and contract while plunging into modular dreamscapes where industrial roots twist into scorched, abstract forms. “520ST” and “Like A –,” touched with the roughened edges of Autechre, splinter into countless micro-elements—corrupt data brushed with static.
As this deconstructed journey unfolds, Vaag further dismantles the very notion of conformity. “Haunted” and “Manku” linger like cryptic messages, barren yet strangely alive, each moment stretching into eerie stillness. Coincidentally, closing track “Stretchhhh” introduces a playful strangeness—funk-infused tones and alien pulses making Vague shimmer with a subtle tug on perception. The latter half of the album leans into stark, mechanical terrain, while the beginning offers a more introspective drift—an unconventional serenity etched in sleek noise.
Album art by soda.
Vague is available on Detroit Underground. [Bandcamp]
