illuminine - no. 1 lp

Limited edition 180g white vinyl, numbered with gold stamp.

In the silence of the night, Kevin Imbrechts awoke as Illuminine. In his bedroom, accompanied by a guitar and a handful of style effects pedals. For years, the Leuven native had secretly been tinkering with soundscapes and more elaborate guitar tracks, but now, 'Illuminine', his '#1' debut is ready to face daylight for the first time. '#1' consists of fourteen clean, minimalist songs which follow the road to your heart without a detour. Illuminine is organizing traffic on the crossroads between neoclassical and post-rock, far away from Mosquito's noise rock, Imbrechts' other band.

In the studio at Muziekcentrum Het Depot, with producer Christophe Vandewoude by his side, the outlines of Illuminine began to take shape. "I had a guitar album in mind when we started, but it became more symphonic and warm along the way when we added a piano, strings and wind instruments. Christophe has taught me to push myself, to always aim just that little bit higher or to try something different. I used to be happy after two takes, this time I pushed myself to the limit."



"I honestly did not know I had it in me. I’ve always been rather insecure." he whispers later. Nevertheless, Imbrechts did find the courage to send his music to Sigur Ros. "A day later, Birgir Jon Birgisson, the band’s sound engineer, suggested completing the album at Sigur Ros' Sundlaugin Studio in Reykjavik." Illuminine breathes Iceland, and the self-titled album could be related to Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds or A Winged Victory For The Sullen. But Imbrechts was not necessarily influenced by them. From opening track 'Dualisms' to closing track 'Svengali', '#1' sounds warm and cold at the same time. It’s the kind of album that does not need a lot of words to say a lot. Serene and inspired simplicity, carefully spiced with melancholy.