Soundway have 2 new tapes from Dutch musician Eelco Topper, AKA Felbm. The sketches of his first pair of releases now fleshed out on Tape 3 and Tape 4 with further instrumentation. Mellotron flute and vibraphone vying for bounced down Tascam 4-track space and time within his carefully crafted arrangements for acoustic guitar, electric piano, and rhythm box. The jazz-conservatory trained Topper lending the latter significant syncopation: Blossom Dearie liking London in the rain, Gothenburg’s Doris Svensson giving the world some love today, Frenchmen Cortex in their mellower moments, that kind of swing. His gentle fusion shorts leaning toward library music. Stuff that would soundtrack Left Bank lovers, hand-in-hand by the Seine. Despite being created in the heartache and void following a romantic break-up, to the ignorant listener – i.e. me – the atmosphere is far from melancholy. I`d say it was jaunty even, as Topper painstakingly picks through bossa novas and afrobeat acrobatics in this polished instrumental sunshine soul. Field recorded woodlarks and wind-chimes accompanying classical keys in the overlapping patterns. Electronics undulating and / or sending out fragile concentric ripples. Between the `80s home-computer ping and pong, bleeps and blips, on Herausweh, the end results are not unlike early Air.
Felbm`s Tape 3 and Tape 4 are available individually, digitally, via Soundway. The double vinyl is due October 16th.
Reference Links
