G, A & D

Seeking collaboration in contrast, G, A & D is an artefact in time of two friends and artists challenging themselves to shed their primary artistic methods and embrace one another’s diverging approaches to sound.

When asked to participate in a week-long residency in Ghent, Dutch artists Louis Reith and Eelco Topper, also known as Felbm, found themselves drawn to one another’s disparate styles as a means of stepping outside of their normal musical boundaries. Louis has a predilection for the abstract and noisy, utilizing technology and machines to create silvery clouds of intrigue. Meanwhile, Felbm approaches his craft with a traditional sense of musicality and embraces melodies, chords, and rhythms to create structure, fluidly layering acoustic instruments and organic textures. The residency offered the perfect experiment to work against natural inclinations and learn from one another’s strengths. For Louis, this entailed harnessing structure, and for Felbm, tapping into abstract exploration.

While deviating in working parameters, they found common ground in what they wished to explore: the small, the sensitive, and the naive. These sentiments reflect a shared fondness for the subtleties of life, the intimacy that comes with noticing and gravitating towards nuances and shadings, the residual and the shy. Across the record, you can hear the attentiveness given to each granular detail—the softness of electronic strata blanketing the atmosphere, the meticulous movements of instruments sweeping in and out of the mix. The mood is pensive, a melancholic sense of yearning for something just beyond reach.

The record’s title G, A & D is a play on Gand, the French name for Ghent, and translates to the three musical notes that form a melody together. This became the anchor point throughout the four compositions, with the track “&” purposefully not using these notes or a melody. Louis and Felbm were likewise inspired by Ghent’s sonic personality. With the city as their canvas, they made field recordings from their walks, which were later incorporated into the final tracks. With an acoustic piano, vibraphone, small acoustic instruments, and a handful of electronic machines as their source material, Louis and Felbm brought to life their experiences in Ghent, balancing the small and subtle, and their explorations in stepping out of familiar sonic bounds.