1, Vide Obscur

Where to start? I guess in the middle. There’s a solid common ground among two people who both had a few forms of success, a good learning curve and built a few valuable connections. This was the perfect starting point to do something completely different. Vide Obscur was found in Cologne by electronic music artist/producer Julian Stetter and producer/multi instrumentalist Jakob Lebsanft [Lebsanft]. Whilst sophisticated in their respective genres and a ton of household names under their producing belts [C.A.R., Casey Spooner, Dumbo Tracks, Elisa Metz, Henry Lee, Keøma, Lord Folter, Magic Island to only name a few], there lurks an urgency for creating something more tangible with as little mouse clicks as possible. They started to record a bunch of instruments 5-days in a row without the slightest idea where the music wants to go. Then, in true producer fashion, sent the signals through a couple of devices, mashed them together to soundscapes and arranged songs. The finished product of this vivid session is the 6 track strong EP named 1. It’s somehow difficult to describe what Vide Obscur sounds like, cause you’ve probably heard everything but somehow can’t put it together. Lovers In The Night”, for example, is a vocal house loop, paired with drum patterns you’ll rather relate to some kind of progressive rock but then feels like a grunge song!? “Weaponized Ideas” piled a bunch of first takes on top of each other creating something that could easily pass for indie pop whilst reciting an agitated story about territorial expansion. “Le Troisième Regard” is a bass guitar loop, combined with mesmerising Wurlitzer chords and an intimate voice creating pure sonic beauty. As experimental as it sounds, 1 is quite accessible. At times it could be 90's post-rock like Tortoise, on the other hand there are many nuances of New Wave, Jazz, 2000's Indie-Pop, R'n'B and I’m sure some electronic music that I didn’t recognise. (Btw is it still common trying to put music in a box? This should be dead since mono-genres). Vide Obscur is about generating something from nothing and not caring about whatever there might be to care about. They deliver a soundtrack to dig in your nose to, their music may assist you in stealing a pencil from the local corner shop or in finally getting addicted to Yoga.