Michel Banabila - Unspeakable Visions
Banabila returns with a second LP release on Knekelhuis. The renowned Dutch producer is up there among the stars when it comes to ambient music and the so-called ‘fourth world’ legacy. On this eleven-track album, we witness soul-wrenching, kraut-tinted, and early-yet-modernist electronics.
Coming from his heart, these imaginative recordings center around otherworldly voices – fictional characters chanting in a made-up language, imbued with a captivating spirit, transcending linguistic barriers. Through remarkable complexity and technique, 'Unspeakable Visions’ is full of sonic textures, together evoking a layered, emotional arc.
While the track 'Rattles' still references the artist's first album on Knekelhuis, 'Echo Transformations', the style of most other tracks departs towards an intriguing new mix of both pop-infused songs and gloomy abstraction, balancing between a sense of anticipation and desolation. (Luke Cohlen, May 2024)
Album snippets:
Reach Sound:
Banabila seems to have tuned a radio station to the global frequency of the Earth.
The Answer Is In The Beat:
“Little Star” seems like it can only be described as an alien lullaby.
Vital Weekly:
'It’s melodic, rhythmic and delightful, but it’s also very ambient, very atmospheric, and dark at times.
Record Report:
Unspeakable Visions delves into sonics and structure more holistically for those seeking a departure from the ordinary.
Ambientblog:
His evolution has birthed a genre-defying sound that’s instantly identifiable and impossible to replicate.
Audiopile:
Banabila creates something genuinely strange and dreamlike. But it's also immediately appealing and deeply chill. Frankly, an excessive abundance of unearthly wonders.
Written and performed by Michel Banabila.
Sounds: voice (processed), Qu-Bit Nebulae granular sampler, ukelele, modified vintage cassette player, angklung, Eventide H9 harmonizer, turtle flute, text to speech, software instruments, voice cloning, hand drum, found objects, rain stick, web SDR, Roland VT3, tapes, field recordings.
Design by Steele Bonus.
Artwork by Keziah Philipps.
Mastering by Wouter Brandenburg.
Executive producer Mark van de Maat.
Cat. nr. KH052
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