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About

Slaapwel Records is a small record label specialized in music to fall asleep to.

Wim Maesschalck aka Wixel, who started the label, often found himself lying awake in bed, not sleepy enough to fall asleep, not lively enough to keep doing stuff. He figured it would be good if there was more music that soundtracks the thin border between being asleep and lying awake, deliberately choosing the sleepy side of things. So he set out, looking for people that would be good at making mind-soothing songs.

He asked them to write a sleep-inducing record, he listened to it, and when he failed to reach the end because he fell asleep, he released it as a musical record. All artists are various people he met through the years, different yet all connected with their unique talent, yet all very good at making "boring" music. This is not an insult.

"I love their music to death and I think they are all very capable of making wonderful sleep-inducing songs. In any case, don't make too much of it. It is all just good fun. Sleepy fun."

And that is still the philosophy of Slaapwel Records today. 

 

Demo Policy

We're really humbled by all the requests for releasing a record.

It's very flattering you think Slaapwel could be a good home, but, in all honesty: if you made an album and you're looking for a label to release it: Slaapwel can't do that for you.

Slaapwel only releases albums specifically made for people to fall asleep to. Much like scientists, we do a test with each submission before releasing it.

If you want to make something special, feel free to send it over. We promise we'll try it out, if it works, we'll get back to you, if it doesn't, we prefer staying quiet because it is no fun to say it didn't work. :-) 


Elsewhere
Monday
Oct102022

Kreng + Svarte Greiner


Context is crucial. Quiet, flowing music full of space is usually associated with a state of tranquillity. It lowers the heart-rate and controls the breathing. It is only one of many ways in which music can have physical consequences. But once you decide to include an element of impending danger, or an unpredictable element, silence is no longer a refuge, but becomes an audible threat. The masters of suspense and terror, whether they are directors or composers, are fully aware of this: nothing scares you as much as an ominous silence that might be disrupted.

You can easily apply this to The Night Hag. Listen without any preconceptions (perhaps only possible if you didn’t read anything about this release, these notes included, in advance) and this slowly evolving composition suggests a wholesome listening experience, with organic transformations and glowing harmonies. At least, until halfway, when some eerier sounds pop up and a certain kind of unease reveals itself. So far, so good. Then I suggest you listen again, preferably with decent headphones, with the knowledge that The Night Hag was inspired by the concept of sleep paralysis.

This is a state that occurs while you find yourself in the transitional stage of waking up or falling asleep. You are fully conscious, but you can’t move. It has happened to both these musicians and to many other people. And it can be terrifying, as the physical impotence often comes with hallucinations (hence the title). Kreng’s harmonised piano sustain sounds that were run through Svarte Greiner’s miasmachine, are no longer abstract waves forming a patiently moving mass of sound, but ingredients of a minimalist mini-symphony of terror, the few discernible piano touches almost functioning as hypnic jerks sucking you towards the void.

Just lie down for a second and try to imagine you are able to hear, see and smell, but you can’t speak or move. Your body becomes a prison, a padded cell. It is the ultimate personal lockdown scenario. For The Night Hag, it turns a vague disquiet into a 33-minute nightmare that is as subtle as it is paralysing. Or, as a true sonic adventurer might exclaim: “Sleep well. In hell.” (Guy Peters)

Music by Kreng + Svarte Greiner
Kreng: piano
Svarte Greiner: miasmachine

Artwork: Christopher Michael Hefner
Design: ORDNER
Mastering: Ian Hawgood
Liner notes: Guy Peters

The album comes in a hand assembled cardboard package.

 

BUY NOW AS LIMITED CD (10€) OR DIGITAL DOWNLOAD (5€) 

• slaapwel xvi • released 04.02.2021 • limited edition (300) • CD •