The Rising Moon reminds you of the difference between hearing and listening. Between receiving passively and actively. And while the first act can be valid as well - it’s how we experience so much music in our daily lives - , the second can be so much more rewarding. At the same time, it also requires attention, an investment from the listener. It doesn’t have to be the kind of deep listening as described by composer Pauline Oliveros - "a way of listening in every possible way to everything possible to hear no matter what one is doing” -, but make an effort, and you will be generously compensated.
This project by guitarist Willem Heylen came out of jam sessions focusing on sound and textures. Now, the project is reinvigorated with a new line-up and new music. The Rising Moon exists in a kind of in-between world, where ambient, free, experimental, post-classical and contemporary music overlap. All members have experience in jazz, but they are adventurous seekers, trying to dissolve not only genre distinctions, but also modes of playing. As such, the music can become a shared ritual, a slowly evolving dance, an act of creation. An invitation to listen.
While it’s perfectly reasonable to approach this music as an ever-transforming mass of sound, it is probably even more interesting to delve into the myriad of shades, timbres, sounds and ideas that are combined. From ominous drones to soothing waves, from sudden injections to gradually dissolving details, from rugged abstraction to sheer, overwhelming beauty, this music triggers the imagination, will convince you you’re wandering in a dark cavernous environment one moment, to be taken to some celestial dreamplace the next. It is free-floating interaction, allowing itself to move in every direction, but never arbitrary.
The Rising Moon is a vessel of sounds and possibilities, with Willem Heylen, Hanne De Backer, Stan Maris, Ruben De Maesschalck and Jonas Boutsen as committed crew members inviting you along for a trip. It’s up to the listener how to deal with it, each with his own background, and imagination. Some will find comfort or a challenge. Others will get carried away, discover new destinations. It’s an apt reminder of what can happen when you open your ears and listen.
- Released : 21/02/2025
- Recorded : 23-08-2024
- Supports : CD, LP
