Polygraph Heartbeat by Ameel Brecht

‘Music is an openhearted gamble; whatever lengthens the day, whatever gets you through the night.’

Next to being one of the core members of the acoustic deep listening ensemble Razen, Ameel Brecht is a trained guitar player who has a life-long involvement with the instrument’s repertoire under his belt. On his debut album “Polygraph Heartbeat”, he puts his guitar-heart on the line by means of 9 compositions for steel resonator and resonator mandolin.

The album is a reflection of polyphonic music as seen through a multi-coloured and highly personal lens, as Ameel’s guitar idiom crossbreeds a classical technique and weird open tunings with a love for early ragtime, slide grandmasters and baroque music. As is the case with Razen’s body of work, Brecht’s solo pieces confront because of their pureness and their focus on essential sound. Clear, precise phrases leave room for silence and slowly open a passageway to a undefined in-between world. Carried by a brutal and razor-sharp slide, nervousness and a languidly brooding atmosphere occasionally cut through the stillness. The transparent lyricism is not without a number of sonic shocks
that expose Ameel as a former club-dweller and as fan of the Voivod guitarist Denis D’amour.

”Polygraph Heartbeat” is an album which shows a committed musician who employs control and craftsmanship in order to dissect the Condition Humaine of the 21stCentury.

Tracklist

1.	A Better Time	3:54

2.	Polygraph Heartbeat	5:58

3.	Only your Heartbeat can't be Beat	4:15

4.	Endless Reflection	4:10

5.	Night Borders	3:46

6.	Minus the Bloodshed Waltz	4:43

7.	Breakaway	2:39

8.	Polygraph Tremors	6:05

9.	The Banshee	2:41

Credits

released January 27, 2018

300 copies
mastered by Christophe Albertijn
recorded and produced by Johan Vandermaelen
artwork & design: Ruttens-Wille

License