Baljuw Premiere Their “akalipso” Music Video

Baljuw is the improvisation project of Matthias Dewilde (Nagløed, Matterhorn Well) and Nicolas Van Belle (Suura, Ever Present, Sarcastic Fringehead). They released their new record Dinsterwenk late last month. A co-release between Icarus Records and Consouling Sounds, the album came together as a result of a series of intense recording sessions (read more about it in our exclusive Track-by-Track published earlier this month).

Now, they unveil their new music video for “akalipso.” Ambient and experimental, it’s more like a composition than a song. Like many other tracks on the record, they utilize a wide palette of sounds, layering sound upon sound and style upon style.

Discussing the song, the duo states:

“A dark, thick layer of Rhodes slowly unfolds into a longer-lasting, edgier structure. The guitar joins in, speaking of the crows that have left the landscape. A thin, eerie bowed guitar paints the image of trees, burned and left behind as blackened skeletons.

“Bold flashes of lightning and thunder from the Rhodes briefly illuminate the scene, giving way to a melody that feels like a lament, declaring the end of time to those who wouldn’t listen. The crescendo rises, only to leave behind an echo of a distant memory.”

Although the two musicians were longtime friends, it still took until 2023 for the two to begin “playing” together, stimulated by a shared interest in sound, texture and transformation. A series of improvisation sessions and some tasteful performances (including at the Ghent Citadelic Festival in Ghent, Belgium) followed, which only stimulated the hunger for more. Slowly, the idea grew to translate the energy and excitement of those jams into a record.

Dinsterwenk emerged from several intense recording sessions during which the duo deepened their palette of sounds and carefully built their music, layer upon layer, into an intimate yet intoxicating trip, hesitating between jazz, folk, ambient, and warm electronica.

Baljuw ‘Dinsterwenk’ album artwork