• Lukas De Clerck -  The Telescopic Aulos of Atlas
  • Lukas De Clerck -  The Telescopic Aulos of Atlas

Lukas De Clerck - The Telescopic Aulos of Atlas

Ideologic Organ

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It's with great pleasure that we can present this mindblowing record from our dear friend out of Brussels, Lukas De Clerck, released not-so-long ago on Stephen O'Malley's Ideologic Organ.

We snuck copies of these over the brexit-border on a recent return to Bristol from BXL.
No mission was too much in order to get this one to you.

Recorded in the depths of an abandoned ex-brewery tower in Anderlecht, Lukas invites you to enter his 'archaemusicological' interpretation of an ancient greek-roman instrument, arduously re-built by himself, he plays two pipes with self-built reeds in tandem, creating (dis)harmonious drones and melodies, by way of an impressive circular breathing technique which allows for a constant flux of sound.

It's a mind-melting, transformative and pensive sonic journey through tones and drones that bind seemingly deep, ancient moods with melodics that feel more unhinged and representative of our modern (sound) world. There's a stark intensity, juxtaposed with a sense of serenity and beauty. We're led into deep meditative states which by turn create a sense of brooding urge, before we're elevated, or dropped, back into apocalyptic sirens, an alarmed state that flits between hope and devastation.

Much like our world, the sounds of Lukas De Clerck's Aulos seem, to us, like a soundtrack to our slow, but sure extinction mixed with a bruised beauty, the fight for positive creation as you will. Or as a sort of war cry, or at least a sad love song for our funeral in the making, perhaps? Not sure where it will take you, but that's where we've been at, when immersed.
It's music that involves a feeling of being at the brink. There's a sense of despair and danger, but ultimately the feelings are filled with hope, and a will to power on, to move forward, down into the tunnel, wherever it leads.

"Lukas de Clerck explores a niche of archaeological research in music; the aulos is a historical Greek instrument that Lukas analyzed and reinterpreted by a luthier in modern times—navigating this impression as an artwork or living sculptural object, as there is an absence of historical partitions or written information about how to recreate technique on the instrument. Lukas de Clerck has interpreted information from the rare archaeological resources and visual art of the classical period to recreate both playing technique and possible sound timbres with the instrument. With his contemporary approach to drone, post-minimalist music, and contemporary folk, we find a deeply satisfying and compelling, even playful set of songs, timbral exercises and compositions.

"The morphology of the aulos is defined by its reeds. The tubular memory inside the plant's fibre will ensure it closes and opens naturally, like the mouth that blows breath inside. The reeds are the core, the sound source—the naked instrument. They behave like two oscillators, bending high-pitched notes into beatings. The pipes are a context, a channel for the sound. They create a narrative."

An essential document of new music meets contemporary archaemusicological research via Stephen O'Malley of SUNN O)))'s label Ideologic Organ.