Weval (Harm Coolen and Merijn Scholte Albers) are an Amsterdam-based duo who have established a solid reputation across the globe for crafting highly textured and sophisticated electronic music. Pitchfork were quick to praise the talent of the duo, highlighting that the “fully-formed nature of their songwriting, sublime pacing and monolithically tasteful atmosphere is remarkable” in their 8.0 review for Weval’s self-titled debut album in 2016.
The particular allure of Weval is the realm they occupy on the threshold of minimalist head techno and accessibility. Their music properly distributes dark and hopeful moods with melodic kinetic microhouse. On their new record, Remember, Weval go down the rabbit hole while zig-zagging between melodic accessibility and bass-splitting personality.
There is a soundtrack and concept-album quality to Remember. Standout tracks work beautifully on their own, but generally, the songs are built to segue, compliment, complex, and relieve one another. Half of those here work best in context because of what came before. Remember is filled with musical cues and snippet-like parts that make you think of all the electronic greats, from Boards of Canada and Aphex Twin to Underworld, Röyksopp, Daft Punk, and beyond ad infinitum. Remember is a brain chart of everything Weval is made of.
Remember is a kaleidoscopic, gut-turning, jaw-dropping wonderous journey through the “memorial sounds” of Weval’s Harm Coolen and Merijn Scholte Albers. Nothing makes logical sense, and reason won’t get you anywhere. Remember is a head trip that is best entered with an empty mind. Only emotional chemistry will forge new ways of seeing and understanding here.
