One song every month for a year. This is pledge from Belgium based artist Gabriel Rios for his latest album ‘This Marauder’s Midnight‘.
Ever the musical chameleon, Rios is now flanked by classically trained musicians Ruben (double bass, vocals) and Amber (Cello). The 12 songs, all very different from each other, share a hauntingly beautiful thread of space and controlled musicianship, coupled with Rios‘ poetic pros create a vulnerable yet dark fairytale-like world.
There’s a wonderful sense of musical union and playful creativity about this trio. Gabriel admitted to me backstage at Hasselt’s Cultuur Centrum that when he brought the sketches of the songs to Ruben and Amber for arrangement, if they didn’t work live, they were binned; an importance of honesty and focus rarely seen in popular music. There is an artistic boldness that really sets these musicians apart; A passion for the genuine and stark in songwriting and no compromise when it comes to artistic integrity.
‘Gold‘, the first song of twelve, has been received fantastically online and on radio, much to the surprise of the singer who, as an artist, looks beyond commercial appeal but is understandably excited when his songs are given recognition for the right reasons. On the radio, when the song sits between two ambient-dance-cookie-mould pop songs that have taken over much of Europe’s national and local radio lately, it stands out like a sculpture amongst mannequins, a hymn that’d been lost and now recovered.
As with the record being cut live, each of the twelve songs will have a live video accompanying it, songs such as ‘Madstone‘ and ‘Apprentice‘ have carried on the both visual and musical nakedness and minimalism of ‘Gold‘.
In a world where it is so easy to compromise artistically and to multi-track and layer the artificial, Gabriel Rios has created something rather special. The delicate melodies of a cello coupled with punchy and intelligent baselines are all that sits upon Rios‘ acoustic guitar. It’s the passion delivery of these elements that makes this trio so worth watching.
‘This Marauder’s Midnight‘ will be released Winter 2014, check out his site for the latest songs.
—–
Post by TR Wicks
—–
TRACKS:
