Genre/Influences: Soundscape, Dark-Ambient.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Hessel Veldman is a Dutch composer who might be seen as a pioneer in his genre. This new album -which is the first one he released on Winter-Light is a conceptual work, meant as ‘an experimental audio sound map of Ijmuiden’ which is the city where Hessel lives.

Content: This work is nothing less than a Dark-Soundscape. The tracks are progressively evolving and sometimes not really evolving at all. A constant dark sound wave is running through. There’s just one track with a bit more diversity resulting in an approximate apotheosis.

+ + + : I like the dark sound texture of this opus. “Piervrees” is the single cut which is a bit more elaborated creating this climax affect in the end.

– – – : I’m missing elaboration and diversity, but I’m afraid that’s often part of Soundscapes. This is one of the very few Winter-Light productions which couldn’t convince me.

Conclusion: Veterans or pioneers aren’t always warrant for great productions.

Best songs: “Piervrees”.

Rate: 6.

Label: www.winter-light.nl / www.facebook.com/winter.light.1

Winter-Light released “Ymuiden” on 26 January 2022 on CD and digitally. The seven tracks are “Rauw 0:18;76 / Sluisgelag”, “Stuurlast”, “Scheepskoorts”, “Ademslak”, “Tongrot”, “Piervrees” and “Duinbeton”. Martijn Comes mastered the album at the Immovable Substance studio. Murray Maffra photographed the cover sleeve at locations around IJmuiden, and Midnight Sun Studio handled the design.

Each title points at a part of the town. Veldman links “Sluisgelag” to the docks that form the gateway to Amsterdam, “Ademslak” to the steel factory, “Tongrot” to the international fishing harbour, “Stuurlast” to the off-shore industry and “Duinbeton” to the wartime fortifications of 1943 to 1945. The release date was chosen to coincide with the opening of the new sea lock at IJmuiden on 26 January 2022.

Listen to “Ymuiden”:

About Hessel Veldman

Hessel Veldman is a Dutch musician, composer and producer from IJmuiden in Noord-Holland, working in experimental electronics, industrial and dark ambient. He was born in the town and still lives there, and the label credits Willem de Ridder as an inspiration on this record.

“Ymuiden” is his first release for Winter-Light, a Dutch label specialising in dark ambient, drone and experimental electronics. Side-Line reviews the label’s output regularly, including Nam-Khar & Vortex – Nag-Hammadi a few weeks after this album and Rapoon – Ten Four: Centred Horizons in 2023.

The album is built as a sound map rather than a set of separate pieces, tracing the history of a town founded in 1876 around the mouth of the North Sea Canal. That approach explains the near-static structure the review describes.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

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