MH-251 Loden - Valeen Hope Valeen Hope, Loden’s first full-length release, is a collection of singularly beautiful shoegaze inspired electronic work. Across twelve compositions, rays of early ‘90s pop melody shimmer through layers of deconstructed beats and oceans of ambient synth noise. Valeen Hope’s majestic sheaths of sound have drawn comparisons to contemporary artists like M83 and Air, and even the mighty My Bloody Valentine, making it feel strangely familiar yet completely fresh. Written as he was traveling between Holland and his native Belgium, Loden deals in emotions often suppressed in beat-driven music; digital sounds are skillfully manipulated to convey feelings of longing or discovery. Valeen Hope is a stunningly mature album from a talented young producer.

Tracklist 01. (In) 02. Vlugt (And More For You) 03. Tenofour 04. A Star On Your Shoulder 05. Komop 06. Valeen Hope 07. Our Exploding Lives 08. Tears For The Thirsty 09. So This Is Reality 10. Sugar Tea 11. Ideal Skies 12. KNKK

Release Details Release Date: 10/11/2005   Running Time: 42:56   Download/Available/$7.00 1XLP/Out Of Print CD/Available/$10.00 Territory: World

Reviews

Aiding & Abetting / Boomkat / Holland Rocks / Igloo / Paper Thin Walls / Properly Chilled / Rough Trade / Staalplaat / Textura / The Wire / Treble / XLR8R / XLR8R /

Loden a.k.a. Jolan Koks a student at the Faculty of Art, Media & Technology. Influenced by a wide range of bands such as Boards Of Canada, My Bloody Valentine, Cornelius and Stereolab, the album features acoustic guitar, laptop and synthesizer. Keyword is melody. For once the electronics does not end up in a vague collection of sounds. There are plenty of highlights on this excellent debut album: the title track, "Our Exploding Lives" and the post rock-like "So This Is Reality." - Holland Rocks