melancholy and lightness

darkness travels light unites deep melancholy with lightness in a way only at the close of every day can lay down. again, minco eggersman’s dark, narrative lyrics perfectly go together with axel kabboord’s trademark jazzmaster loops and in their playfulness they bring hope.

thematically, darkness travels light shows just how deeply hopelessness can nest in every aspect of human life – from minco’s stressed-out period following the release of his solo album reservoirs, a period in which almost literally the lights went out for him – echoes of which resound in falling through. from probably the band’s most personal and most heartbreaking song sadness is moving away (with beautiful strings that are reminiscent of the work of david sylvian) to the reality of broken homes (joy to the world but not today). like with his solo album hamden, again minco traveled to the usa for inspiration. like before the trip ended in chicago though this time the desolate concrete residues of an old industrial center of detroit inspired him most deeply. darkness travels light was born.

yet darkness travels light is not a heavy weight from beginning till end. the frugal, rudimentary arrangements – beautifully recorded by jan borger who also recorded minco’s solo albums hamden and reservoirs – breathe wideness and acquiescence. only very rarely do the songs need a powerful starter, but even then – in the haunting oh lord hear my prayer – only almost carelessly mixed in somewhere in the background. across the board it’s the consolation that gives voice to even the deepest melancholy that makes darkness travels light a very special album.

reunion

darkness travels light also represents the reunion of minco eggersman and axel kabboord after more than six years of radio silence, in which axel primarily focused on his family and medical practice, and minco earned his pedigree as a film music composer and a solo artist.

the way in which at the close of every day returns after this period shows just how much the duo’s potential has matured. every one of the songs is moving in its simplicity, while the small typical instrumentals add a timeless dimension. it is at the close of every day’s special gift to create music without making much sound that comes to the fore on darkness travels light like nowhere in their earlier work.

hope

however black the night, eventually she will float past. in that combination of melancholy and hope, darkness travels light moves. for long-time fans a maturing of what has always been there in seed-form. for new adopters an impressive acquaintance with what has really already belonged to the best the netherlands have to offer musically for quite some time now.

at the close of every day begins with shadowlight and closes with when sadness is moving away. and perhaps, that’s the way it should be.

limited edition

from the day the band started, at the close of every day has been known for their special editions. darkness travels light also comes in a limited edition: this time it’s a hand-numbered beer bottle filled with their own unique beer! the 75 cl bottle (limited to 250 bottles) comes with an album download (WAV) as well (downloadable at tongval.com, the beerlabel minco started recently with two friends of his). every 33cl bottle has got a unique code in order to download the ‚hope for hope’ song. tongval combines two great joys in life: special beers & sweet music. a unique combination that perfectly adds to the experience of listening and enjoying music these days. every year tongval will select an artist and create a specially handcrafted beer, fully inspired by the music released under the sub-label called audiobeer.

atcoed in days gone by

in 2002, atcoed made their debut zalig zijn de armen van geest, which was received well worldwide and was released in seven different versions (from usa to norway and from the uk to switzerland). the band received a cult status with the 2004 album the silja symphony, released in europe, japan and israel, which was named ‘album of the year’ by vpro’s 3voor12 (the outfit’s first 3voor12 award).

in the same year, at the close of every day presented their live cd/dvd the sound of someone watching me (registered live at brussels’ ab club during their european tour with 16 horsepower, and featuring david eugene edwards on guitar on the song september grass). in addition, singer/drummer minco released his first solo album the wagon fair during the same year.

the hymnal de geluiden van weleer, fully in Dutch, was received very well in the netherlands and belgium, being released in october 2005.

at the close of 2007, the remix album leaves you puzzled appeared, for which friends from the electronica world such as styrofoam, solex and donato wharton carefully deconstructed and reassembled a number of selected songs from previous albums. in 2008, to worldwide acclaim, the duo released their wonderfully titled cd troostprijs, expressing very succinctly the ‘consolation prize’ that at the close of every day offers their listeners.

in 2013 at the close of every day returned from a longer-than-planned sabbatical with monsters, a combination of highlights (like a duet with spinvis), rarities and a number of impassioned new songs. late 2014, there is the completely new album darkness travels light.

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