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│ Ostinatos presents: │
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│ Johan Gielen pres. Airscape - Etherflow │
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│ : : │
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│ Artist: Johan Gielen pres. Airscape │
│ Album : Etherflow │
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│ Genre : Trance │
│ Date : 2026-03-14 │
│ Encoder : LAME 32bits version 3.100 (http://lame.sf.net) -V0 │
│ Quality : 259 kbps avg │
│ 4410kHz / Joint Stereo │
│ Track(s) : 14 │
│ Playtime : 00:41:52 │
│ Size : 81.99 MB │
│ Language : English │
│ Source : CD │
│ Label : Black Hole Recordings │
│ Catalognr : BHCD262 │
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│ ┌─────────────────────────────[ ReleaseNotes ]───────────────────────────┐ │
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│ ôAlways, I have believed that artist albums need a purposeö says Johan │
│ Gielen, ôand that purpose canÆt simply be feeding the industry machine │
│ or the bi-annual expectations of a fanbaseö. Nonetheless, itÆs been │
│ nigh on twenty years since æRevelationsÆ appeared, making æEtherflowÆ │
│ less of a æreturnÆ to the Johan Gielen longplayer, and more a musical │
│ reckoning for it. │
│ │
│ Fair to say then that expectations have been raised, and its taken the │
│ Belgium-born/Dutch-based legend three earth cycles of production to │
│ meet them. An album forged in grief, resilience, and a raw creative │
│ truth, æEtherflowÆ isnÆt just a long-awaited ænext chapterÆ. ItÆs part │
│ an epic celebration of life, and part an existential excavation of it - │
│ one thatÆs been written from the inside out and charged by the weight │
│ of lived experience. │
│ │
│ As Johan himself puts it: ôthereÆs the Beauty of Silence, but also æthe │
│ beauty of absenceö. æEtherflowÆ though is where that absence ends. │
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│ WhatÆs in a title then? Johan expands à ôEtherflow represents the │
│ natural, continuous movement of universal energy ù an invisible current │
│ that connects every being, thought, and element of existence in a │
│ harmonious manner.ö Which is important, as that perspective on life is │
│ bound into every musical bar of the album - one thatÆs shaped by events │
│ all too real in GielenÆs life. │
│ │
│ Specifically, it carries the weight of loss, most notably in the │
│ passing of his long-time friend and tour manager, Robert Sanders. │
│ Paradoxically, that became the most significant driving force in │
│ JohanÆs return to the album form, which ultimately brought his second │
│ longform to life. │
│ │
│ ôLosing Robert broke me for a long whileö says Johan. ôFor a decade we │
│ toured the world and saw it together, and his passing came out of │
│ nowhere. With hindsight, I see I went into the studio to try to process │
│ some of that pain. To try to æwrite it off my chestÆ in some fashion. │
│ From there, the album became a broader meditation of lifeÆs ups and │
│ downs ù the highs, the lows, but as well, the æin-betweensÆ weÆre often │
│ not grateful enough for. ItÆs about growing up in dance music and oddly │
│ the twenty years of perspective between æRevelationsÆ and ÆEtherflowÆ │
│ was an incredible benefit to writing it. Ultimately though, this oneÆs │
│ for Robert ù itÆs how I expressed my grief, without words.ö │
│ │
│ In that respect, the track æBeach Pearl (RobertÆs Theme)Æ does stand as │
│ a major emotional centre within æEtherflow ù an instrumental tribute │
│ formed in the quiet after heartbreak. However, æEtherflowÆ as a whole │
│ is no longform eulogy. Be it the sun-drenched optimism of æPiano del │
│ SolÆ, æLove from AboveÆs divination; recent (speaks-for-itself) single │
│ title æEcstaticaÆ (with Daniel Wanrooy) or Pierre Pienaar co-op æMarula │
│ SunsetÆ, it radiates positivity at any number of junctures. │
│ │
│ What does run the length of æEtherflowÆ though is the spark of a chance │
│ writerÆs camp meeting between Johan and Arkayne (Kevin van der Tholen) │
│ ù a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who wasnÆt even meant to be │
│ there that day. Over the last three years, Arkayne became an essential │
│ creative partner on the album. Their bond brought new textures and │
│ instrumentation to it ù from live guitars to sweeping piano lines. │
│ ôKevin says IÆm like a walking music encyclopaedia,ö Johan laughs, ôbut │
│ heÆs the real musician. Piano, guitar, vocals ù he does it all, and you │
│ can hear so much of that threaded into the album.ö │
│ │
│ In its latter stages, æEtherflow looks upwards again, albeit not to the │
│ heavens, but the skies. Says Johan, I did two tracks side by side with │
│ Joakim æShakespeakersÆ Skeide. ôA couple of years ago he booked me for │
│ a gig in Norway, where he also has a studio. We hadnÆt planned on │
│ working together, but when he mentioned it, I said, æhey, letÆs try │
│ somethingÆ andÆ ten minutes later we had a track started. Norway is one │
│ of my favourite places, and after fishing and hiking with Joakim, those │
│ experiences naturally flowed into the music. æNordic ChantÆ and │
│ æSatellitesÆ capture that Norway vibe ù the Northern Lights, the │
│ mountains, the skies and the raw beauty of the country û itÆs all bound │
│ up in them.ö │
│ │
│ JohanÆs æEtherflowÆ doesnÆt so much close an album circuit, as it opens │
│ up a current. One that runs through memory, healing, and the unbroken │
│ rhythm of creation itself. │
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│ ┌──────────────────────────────[ Tracklist ]─────────────────────────────┐ │
│ : : │
│ [ ] │
│ [ ] │
│ 1. Johan Gielen pres. Airscape - Etherflow (Album Mix) [ 4:07] │
│ 2. Johan Gielen pres. Airscape ft. Sarah Anglionin - [ 2:39] │
│ Invincible [ ] │
│ 3. Johan Gielen pres. Airscape - Beach Pearl [Robert's [ 3:12] │
│ Theme] [ ] │
│ 4. Johan Gielen pres. Airscape - Love From Above [ 3:00] │
│ 5. Johan Gielen pres. Airscape - Piano Del Sol [ 2:27] │
│ 6. Johan Gielen pres. Airscape with Daniel Wanrooy - [ 2:46] │
│ Ecstatica [ ] │
│ 7. Johan Gielen pres. Airscape with Gid Sedgwick - Healing [ 2:54] │
│ 8. Johan Gielen pres. Airscape - Never Look Back [ 4:11] │
│ 9. Johan Gielen pres. Airscape ft. Arkayne - In The Dust [ 2:28] │
│ Where Love Is Gone [ ] │
│ 10.Johan Gielen pres. Airscape ft. Shakespeakers - Nordic [ 2:49] │
│ Chant [ ] │
│ 11.Johan Gielen pres. Airscape ft. Shakespeakers - [ 2:23] │
│ Satellites [ ] │
│ 12.Johan Gielen pres. Airscape with Pierre Pienaar - Marula [ 2:56] │
│ Sunset [ ] │
│ 13.Johan Gielen pres. Airscape - Circles [ 3:02] │
│ 14.Johan Gielen pres. Airscape with Katie Sky - All Of Me [ 2:58] │
│ For All Of You [ ] │
│ [ ] │
│ [ ] │
│ │
│ 00:41:52 │
│ ------- │
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