15 Years of Icarus Records @ Minard, Ghent (13/03/23)
On 13 February, Icarus will celebrate its 15th anniversary together with loyal concert partner Democrazy during a new Icarus Night. That night, the Icarus Records/ Consouling Sounds tandem will present the new albums of Matterhorn Well & Mirek Coutigny at Ghent’s Minard.
If you pre-order Matterhorn Well - Sketches For Francis at Consouling, we'll hook you up with a promotional code so you can purchase a ticket at the discounted rate of €13!
Matterhorn Well are Imre De Cauter and Matthias Dewilde. With the help of effect pedals and several playing techniques, Imre De Cauter (Myrddin & Imre De Cauter) and Matthias Dewilde (Nagløed) fuse the acoustic and electronic sound worlds. Coincidence, improvisation and minimal compositions are the starting point for this. The end result is a breathtaking experience, where, with your eyes closed, you can transcend reality for a moment on an intense inner journey.
This album came about on the occasion of a photography exhibition by Belgian visual artist Francis Vanhee, on whose work the cover is inspired.
The album ‘Four Sketches for Francis’ was born out of the improvisation sessions of Matthias Dewilde and Imre De Cauter who, struck by Vanhee’s carefully mutilated images, managed to perfectly translate the colour and texture of his work musically. This pure and uninhibited primal form of the work has been preserved as much as possible and further developed into this release.
Inspired by Emily St John Mandel’s book ‘Station Eleven’ and the world around us during the lockdown in 2020, Mirek Coutigny started writing new music. Our current society is characterised by fragmentation and polarisation, the apocalypse is just around the corner and fear rules the world. Coutigny responds
musically against that dystopia with a story of connection and resilience in which he pits hope as a positive force against fear.
‘Through Empty Landscapes and New Beginnings’ is a true group record that literally cries out to connect with the listener through a grander and more electronic sound with room for drums, guitars and even voice. With this, Coutigny brings a record that goes a lot further than his previous work.