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Changelings

by Microwolf

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Black vinyl in a reverse-printed sleeve. Limited edition of 100 copies.

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1.
It’s here Whether right or wrong Whether does or does not belong And it is gonna stay For long Brought forth By force unknown Beyond our grasp and yet our own We’re so much stronger Than we know And it is hungry All our dreams Into skin and bones Tangled branches, set in stone It is a vessel It’s been chosen Suppose We’ve met before Found our way back here once more To share a moment Off we go Always hungry
2.
"I'm life that wills to live in the midst of life that wills to live" - Albert Schweitzer
3.
Papavers 09:37
There’s nothing I have learned Well enough to pass it on I can’t be a father, I’m a kid There’s still so many things That I haven't said or done I can’t be a dad, I haven’t lived Now is not the time To let the leaves grow Pave better ways Let the crops burn Wait for the rain The future’s bleaker than it was In the bleak times from before How much does this world still have to give? They're looking for a common ground But who will the landlord be? And what about the life that wills to live? Now is not the time To let the leaves grow Pave better ways Let the crops burn Wait for the rain "Break a leg You planted a seed, boy As one does when alive" "Lay an egg You better believe, boy It's gonna hatch" Pull my hair Make a bow Draw a tune from my heart Break my bones Make a harp I'll accompany your song Have my skull Make a drum Rat-tat-tat all night long
4.
Foot of the mountain Edge of the lake Lord knows I'm more than afraid Breaking patterns Making space Head on with the shame and the rage Burning crops Before the rainy days "No one gave you this life It's not yours it ain't mine Everything will be fine Let it flow"
5.
Odo'ital 05:56
6.
She knows the lake is full of life She enters without greed She builds upon all that she finds She will devour me Steady as she goes She won't wait for me Steady as she goes Away from me She knows that time awaits itself She moves in different speeds She knows she can embrace herself She knows she does not need Steady as she goes She won't wait for me Steady as she goes Away from me

about

'Changelings', the fourth and final collection of original songs by Benjamin van Vliet a.k.a. Microwolf, is a concept album about becoming a father. Its six expansive, free-flowing songs deal with themes such as wonderment, fear, reverence for life and the act of letting go.

The album was written and recorded by Van Vliet while his wife was pregnant with twin daughters, and finished after they were born. The recordings were then given to a very eclectic group of musician friends (including Belgian improv stronghold Joachim Badenhorst and Hansko Visser of Dutch cult band Plan Kruutntoone) to record contributions as quickly and spontaneously as possible, without hearing the other guest contributions. Van Vliet then cut and edited the recordings he received into free yet coherent arrangements, that never could have been conceived any other way.

This process was inspired by the final two Talk Talk albums, Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock, with which Changelings shares its loose, jazzy sound with lots of space, and its slow, unhurried paces. There are also stylistic nods to bands from the 1990s Antwerp scene, such as Zita Swoon, Kiss My Jazz and dEUS, as well as to the experimental indiefolk acts that have inspired Van Vliet throughout his entire musical career, such as Sufjan Stevens, Sparklehorse and Ryland Bouchard.

credits

released September 1, 2023

Written, played, recorded, mixed & designed by Benjamin van Vliet, with:

Floyd Atema - drums (1), mastering
Joachim Badenhorst - keyboard (1, 2, 5), vocals (3, 5), vibraphone (6)
Arno Breuer - drums, percussion (2, 3, 5, 6), bass guitar (3, 6), acoustic guitar (3, 4)
Romke Burger - saxophone (1, 4), flute (2)
Jarno van Es - organ, Juno, Moog (3), Rhodes, percussion, bells (4), piano, melodica (5)
Harold Konickx - backing vocals (1, 2)
Hansko Visser - electric guitar (3, 5, 6)

'Theme from Changelings' contains a sample of 'Pisces Ex Machina I' by Sgt. Fuzzy and an unidentified skipping record. 'Odo’ital' contains a sample of 'Escargot' by Strings & Timpani. The lyrics in the second half of Papavers borrow heavily from Alasdair Roberts’ 'I Fell In Love'.

Thank you: Arno, Stefan, Ryan, Martijn, Michiel, Thijs, Dulce, Rafael and all the guest musicians


For Mila and Lilia

Tiny Room Records 2023

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about

Microwolf Tilburg, Netherlands

Microwolf is the nom de plume of Benjamin van Vliet, a Dutch DIY singer/producer currently residing in Tilburg. After spending 7 years as the lead singer and songwriter for anti-folk band Moi, le voisin, he created Microwolf in 2012 as an outlet for his more intimately radical ideas. ... more

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