Unless you have been living under a rock for the past thirty years, the name Dirk Serries will probably ring a bell. The good man has been leading the way in ambient-drone land for decades and now he slowly makes the transition to jazz, in which he is already quite influential. So yeah, Dirk Serries is a talented man who has delivering intrinsic soundscapes for decades.

Perhaps, living under that same rock, you will have never heard of Consouling Sounds either. Founded by Mike Keirsbilck ten years ago, this record label has put our little country on the alternative music map again. During those ten years, Mike and Nele have been working their asses off to deliver some exquisite musical goodies from Amenra, Wiegedood, CHVE, Maudlin, A-Sun Amissa, Barst, Inwolves... The list goes on and on. And on.

So when the people from BRDCST festival invited Consouling Sounds to have a little birthday celebration, Mike quickly agreed and decided to put Dirk Serries in the spotlight. In his turn, Dirk called-up some of his henchmen and wrote down names like Stratosphere, Scatterwound, Fear Falls Burning and Yodok III. For such a line-up, I was willing to travel to Brussels, taking my own henchwoman with me, especially to witness Yodok III. She had never experienced them before. She'd be in for a wild ride.

​(p.s. read my review for 'Epitaph')

We left our apartment somewhere in the afternoon. It was warm. The sun was shining. The tulips were opening up and the mating call of the many birds in our neighbourhood provided us with a joyful mood. It's a thirty minutes walk from the house to the trainstation, over the much feared Antwerp-Ring and through two sunlit parks. Once arrived, we quickly grabbed something to eat before embarking on the train to Brussels. There, a continuously talking American was annoying the rest of the passengers. Some were trying to nap in the sunlight, others were live streaming their train ride on facebook or instagram. We? We just looked outside, trying to locate buzzard nests. 

Anyway, about an hour later, we arrived at the AB, one of Belgium's most respected venues. Young rock bands dream of playing at Rock Werchter. Young dance producers dream of Tomorrowland. But here in Belgium, every musician dreams of playing at Ancienne Belgique. Stratosphere did it for years and Dirk Serries made that dream come true. Rightfully so, too, but I'll get to that soon. I met Ronald inside the AB Club. He was nervous, just a tiny bit. Most of all, obviously, he was excited. "AB. I'm playing at AB". He handed me a copy of his "Collaborations 1" CD (read our review and listen to teasers) and we had a little chat. Then it was time for the event to start.

(oh, sorry about the either absence or the quality of photos. I didn't bring my camera.)

The buzz inside the AB Club faded away when Stratosphere sat down and picked up his bass guitar. Spontaneously, the people in the first two rows sat down on the floor. I was one of them and I really wished they had put down a bunch of chairs. But, nonetheless, my back pockets met the floor when Stratosphere's first soundscapes started filling the room. 
Soon it struck me. I didn't know the song he was playing. Or in other words, it was not 'Desolation', the track he had been playing live for the past several years. In fact, Ronald had decided to showcase the new Stratosphere, away from the post rock and shoegaze influences and deep into immersive ambient soundscapes. 
This was a remarkable gig, one that clearly shows the next step in the evolution of Stratosphere. It was also a bit short but perfectly performed.

By the end of the Stratosphere performance, Dirk and N (Hellmut Neidhart) walked up and took their place behind Ronald. While I crawled to the back to get a drink, Scatterwound replaced Stratosphere. One's drones faded out, the other's fuzzy soundscapes faded in. With this duo, the evening gained a noisy, gritty sound, like sitting in a bobsled that goes 300 kilometers per hour on a rocky slope. It was harsh, intense and pulsating. It was brilliant too, just not very friendly for people's ears. Nonetheless, this was a perfect example of Dirk's evolution. From these mesmerizing drones to the overwhelming madness that was yet to come, the evening couldn't have been better. It certainly couldn't have started better. I high-fived Ronald in an effort to congratulate him with his convincing performance and fully enjoyed the rest of Scatterwound's impressive concert.

After a brief break, in which the floor in front of the stage was being cleared, it was time for the much anticipated resurrection of Fear Falls Burning. I had seen this act once before, with Dirk fronting three drummers in one of the most impressive performances I have ever seen. Now, here in AB, the band appeared in a new incarnation, with one drummer and a saxophone. Although different, this was yet another sweet piece of music in which ambient, jazz and almost industrial drumming created a whirlpool of noise. 

The soundscapes reappeared and so did whatever it is that Tomas Järmyr does. To clarify, Tomas plays jazz, rock, metal, grindcore and black metal, plus solo cymbal sets, and with Yodok III, he does it all in one song. Supporting Dirk's drones and Kristoffer's tuba sounds, Tomas carefully explored the possibilities of his drum kit. First quiet and introvert, the music gradually built up. I, still watching the "newbies", was excited. I saw the look in their eyes, they had no idea how to feel about this stuff. The music became louder, and Tomas moved from incoherent tapping on cymbals and tripods to equally incoherent banging on toms. Some heads started to nod in approval.

Then the band decided that it was time for hell to break loose. Louder and fuller in sound still, the performance suddenly blasted off in brutal, repetitive drums and a tsunami of drones, reminiscent of pummeling death metal concerts. Now there was no stopping Yodok III as they raged on with a never seen before intensity. By now, there were people headbanging, including me. Even the die-hards were impressed and the "newbies" were simply awestruck. With their mouths open in disbelief they willingly underwent the most intense ambient/jazz performance in history. 

And then they did it all over again with a second track.

So, the verdict? Well, apart from the absence of chairs, this evening was simply perfect. We saw a new Stratosphere. We saw Dirk as central artist giving the very best of himself. With great ease, his enthusiasm radiated through the AB Club and infected everyone inside. On the way back home I wondered why I didn't have a Yodok III t-shirt yet, probably because they don't have merchandise like that. So congratulations Dirk and congratulations Consouling Sounds. This was perfect.

Oh, while we were carrying Stratosphere's equipment to his car, some bloke yelled "respect pour des musicièns". I couldn't agree more...


​Serge

Belgian label Consouling Sounds is our country's leading expert in all things drone and ambient. In a way, I also think Consouling Sounds is at least partially responsible for the genre to evolve and alter. I mean, in my life I have heard countless of ambient albums and seen many acts perform their breathtaking music live but I have never witnessed something as immersive, danceable and intense as the three gigs I plunged into last night. Drone music is no longer the dark and lazy cousin of ambient, oh no. Drone is the new jazz.

I arrived just in time to climb up the stairs towards the Trix Bar and find myself a nice spot to see what this A-Sun Amissa was all about. I already heard the new album (and I'm listening to it this very moment) so I had a decent idea. However, the album contains a plethora of guest appearances and on the gig the band was a trio but that didn't seem to harm the quality and intensity.

I think the safest thing I can do, is compare A-Sun Amissa to acts like Dale Cooper Quartet and the Dictaphones or Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble. With a blend of drones, experimental ambient and dark jazz, this act convinced me from the very beginning. Their set was the slowest, the only one without a trace of percussion but nonetheless an awe-inspiring and highly immersive one. It gave me goosebumps and I'm damn sure that I wasn't the only one. For a period of time, the entire audience must have felt like they were extra's in the new Twin Peaks series. 

1. In the Belgian drone and ambient scene, Barst is pretty much the odd one. Most of our acts in this scene focus of layers of drones and soundscapes and a trance-inducing atmosphere. Not Barst. He turns his gigs into dance parties by throwing heaps of beats and percussion into his music. That's not all. He brings in some guest musicians too, including Monnik, who was able to showcase his throat singing and his fierce screams. 

I remember thinking of one of his songs as 'Born Slippy' of the drone-ambient scene and another one of Front 242 meeting Aidan Baker, or something like that. Nevertheless, Barst live is always an adventure and in that aspect, this gig was no different. Even I, mister stiff, was dancing a little bit. This evening was getting better and better and the headliner was still to come.

For those who don't know, Yodok III is the new wave of jazz collaboration between Kristoffer Lo, Tomas Järmyr and Dirk Serries. On their own, each of them makes excellent, progressive and experimental music but together they seem to shine like no other. At least, that is the impression I had last night. I know that collaborations make artists better, more versatile too, but this was simply out of this world.

The concert started like many of the Dirk Serries concerts I have seen in my life. Sluggish soundscapes and drones gently filled the room before the other two started interfering. The dynamic and often insane drums of Tomas turned the whole thing into free jazz while Kristoffer added a touch of gloominess. From then on, the music grew, gained momentum and intensity. Hell, quite often even Dirk Serries was headbanging. Yeah, headbanging, to jazz, because why not. This gig had more intensity that most of the metal gigs I have seen (and believe, that is a lot).

I often try to indicate a winner, an imaginary price for best gig of the evening but I'm not going to do that here. For me, A-Sun Amissa won in sound, Barst won in party-caliber and Yodok III won in experience and intensity.  Perhaps the biggest winner of the night was Consouling Sounds. Them or the audience. I think it's going to be extremely tough to equate the sheer quality that pierced our eardrums last night. Like I said, drone is the new jazz and it can get bloody heavy...


​Serge