{"title":"VLEK","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"nachthorn","title":"Nachthorn","description":"\u003cp\u003eMaxime Denuc releases \u003ci\u003eNachthorn\u003c\/i\u003e, his latest album produced with a midi-controlled organ, on Belgian label Vlek. After having made his solo debuts in 2020 with the release of his LP Solarium on Vlek, Brussels-based electronic music composer Maxime Denuc returns to the Belgian records label with Nachthorn, an 8-track piece recorded on the main organ of St. Antonius Church in Düsseldorf. \u003ci\u003eNachthorn\u003c\/i\u003e takes its name from one of the 78 stops that make up the main organ from St. Antonius Church. This instrument, equipped with a system developed by the German company Sinua, offers the possibility of controlling all of its keyboards and timbres via a computer: the organ thus became a powerful synthesizer. With this MIDI organ he controlled with his own softwares, he fulfilled one of his old dream: to create an entirely acoustic dance music piece with the organ as sole actor. Oscillating between dub techno, harmonic locked grooves and after-hours pop, \u003ci\u003eNachthorn\u003c\/i\u003e offers a hypnotic music piece whose lines sketch the outline of an imaginary warehouse. Armed with arpeggiators, bouncy chords, the brilliance of organ sounds and a unique vision of a minimalist rave, Maxime Denuc plunges us into his singular vision of a drumless party that will delight both church music enjoyers and afterparty nightbirds. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"VLEK","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50505732489547,"sku":"1169082","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/947cec55-916f-4348-af82-c57d9c1a2005_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727816300"},{"product_id":"standingengraving","title":"Standing\/Engraving","description":"\u003cp\u003eVlek Records is pleased to announce the upcoming release of \"Standing \/ Engraving,\" the latest LP from musician and video artist Jean D.L. This album features a blend of experimental folk guitar and field recordings, creating a distinctive soundscape. Each track combines guitar melodies with natural environmental sounds, producing a complex auditory experience. \"Standing \/ Engraving\" offers a meditative and immersive listening journey, evoking a range of emotions and memories. Jean D.L. has collaborated with the likes of Julia Kent (Anohni and the Johnsons), Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth), Margaret Hermant (Echo Collective), Mauro A. Pawlowski (Deus), Karen Willems and more.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"VLEK","offers":[{"title":"Clear LP","offer_id":50875360149835,"sku":"2227997","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50875360280907,"sku":"2228002","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Jean_DL_-_Standing_Engraving_f808e7a4_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1732259452"},{"product_id":"pieces-monophoniques","title":"Pieces Monophoniques","description":"\u003cp\u003eCrafted entirely on an analog monophonic synthesizer with no overdubs, \u003cem\u003ePièces Monophoniques\u003c\/em\u003e is a tribute to simplicity in an era of limitless digital possibilities. Since his debut album, \u003cem\u003eMusic For Prophet\u003c\/em\u003e (Les Disques du Festival Permanent, 2017), Majorca-born composer Marc Melià, now a long-time resident of Brussels, has been redefining the contours of electronic music through a minimalist, reductionist approach. Much like a solitary hike through the vastness of mountains, where one carries only the essentials, Melià’s work invites listeners on a journey stripped of excess, focusing instead on the purity of sound and intention.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile some have dismissed monophonic music as overly simplistic, others have embraced its distinct charm. Historical records, such as those by Johannes Quasten, reveal that early Church leaders were drawn to monophonic music because it resonated with the era's cosmological beliefs, highlighting the harmony and unity of all creation. In an age of digital abundance, Marc Melià deliberately embraces constraint, crafting an album that thrives within a limited palette of choices. Yet, from these self-imposed boundaries emerges a stunning universe, brimming with rich textures and elegant harmonies. For his debut album, Melià worked exclusively with a Sequential Prophet. With \u003cem\u003ePièces Monophoniques\u003c\/em\u003e, his third LP, he returns armed solely with an analog monophonic synthesizer and handcrafted MIDI sequences etched directly onto a single stereo track. These recordings seek to uncover beauty within the boundaries of limitations and simplicity, rejecting any embellishments that are not essential. Melià presents the bare skeleton of music, highlighting the power of absence and silence as creative forces. Like the hidden mass of an iceberg, what is not heard becomes as significant as what is heard.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe album navigates the boundary where the quest for an uninhibited emotional response intersects with the mechanical sounds generated by synthesizer circuitry. Despite being a collection of beatless tracks, a pulse occasionally surfaces, like in the closing piece, \"224 Steps. A sharp sequence blended with multiple delays and reverbs creates the vaporous celestial specter of multiple voices in \"Illusions of Polyphony\", while \"Échoes et Fantasies\" conjures the illusion of dual harmony. The expansive reverbs and silences between the euphoric synth phrases in \"Overture\" transport us to an imaginary majestic landscape shaped out of an electric field. \"Resonances,\" a one-note drone-like sequence, embodies the album's aims as a series of resonances created with the synth filter emerge from the fundamental note.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePièces Monophoniques\u003c\/em\u003e, aims to contribute to a tradition that dates back to the dawn of humanity. After all, there is no denying that the earliest music crafted by humanity was monophonic, from the soothing lullabies sung to newborns to Gregorian chants, traditional labor songs, and the repertoire of solo compositions by countless composers.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"VLEK","offers":[{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":51777655439691,"sku":"R2300-9361","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/MarcMelia-PiecesMonophoniques.jpg?v=1746545117"},{"product_id":"einstein-on-the-beach-rg","title":"Einstein on the Beach","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn November 2025, Brussels-based label VLEK will release a new recording of Einstein on the Beach (Philip Glass, 1976). Captured at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, this version brings together the Ictus ensemble, the Ghent-based Collegium Vocale Gent, and Suzanne Vega, iconic figure of the New York folk revival. In 2018, Ictus and Collegium Vocale Gent, with the support of visual artist Germaine Kruip, took on a bold challenge: to deliver a purely musical interpretation of Einstein on the Beach, now widely regarded as the manifesto of minimalist music. Suzanne Vega later joined the project, taking on all spoken roles. Carried by the physical commitment of the performers, this version retains the hypnotic power of the original score while opening new sonic perspectives. After touring successfully across Europe, the work was recorded in November 2022 at the prestigious Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. Founded in Brussels in 2011, VLEK first made its mark with experimental electronic music. In 2025, the label celebrates its 15th anniversary by launching a new editorial line focused on contemporary creative music. The CD and vinyl release of Einstein on the Beach illustrates this ambition: to let singular works resonate across borders and genres, reach curious and diverse audiences, and place today’s music within a lineage that is both heritage-based and everevolving.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"VLEK","offers":[{"title":"3LP - Black","offer_id":53591116218699,"sku":"R3916-2065","price":42.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"2CD","offer_id":53591116251467,"sku":"R3916-2641","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/EOTBsleevecovercopy.jpg?v=1760365157"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/de\/collections\/vlek.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}