Bas van Huizen - Kulverzuchter (2018)

With Kulverzuchter Bas van Huizen returns to Moving Furniture Records for his third album. After the visceral and noisy releases Kluwekracht (2015) and Waanzintraan (2016) this album offers more minimal and ambient explorations.

Kulverzuchter and the accompanying video are perhaps Bas at his most understated. On this album he seems to embrace doubt and uncertainty. The music is hazy, ambiguous and uncanny. The textures are toned down and the sound less layered, but there is a lot happening below the surface. Not unlike his other work Bas explores contrasts and contradictions, but on Kulverzuchter he keeps things subtle and implicit resulting in plenty of vaguely shifting moods. For instance Huichelfluit starts off with pulsating dreamlike warmth, but ends as a vast and cold soundscape.

Like most of his other tracks the titles on Kulverzuchter are made up Dutch words. Different words combined into a new and seemingly nonsensical expression. Absurd one-word poems. Considering his surreal music videos as well it is evident Bas is not interested in serving up explicit concepts and explanations.

Just like the music video the album’s artwork is a departure from his usual collage style, because for Kulverzuchter Bas only used his daughter’s first drawing to create the various images.