6.20.2014

being in mint condition

DZ13 showcases the work of Hazey Jane, the serene sample-based folktronic pop project of Jeroen de Meyer from Belgium, drawing from styles of artists like of Bibio, Baths, and Blithe Field. After self-releasing the Spring EP in 2010, his style evolved from more raw upbeat sound collage to the blissful snowy soundscapes heard on 2012’s Winter Walks. These days, Jeroen is recording with a laptop, guitar and SP 404, creating samples and loops with buoyant beats and vocal manipulations to arrange a distinct blend of wistful ambience.

Being In Mint Condition conjures up the type of melancholy summer memories that will ease your mind with breezy warm sentiment, coat your skin in glistening balmy glaze, and stir up your thirst for an ice-chilled glass of nostalgia. The album greets you with a woozy and warbled uncoiling of warped textures that hover like refracting heat waves on the horizon. Jovial melodies shine through fuzzy muffled wails and slow grating rhythms as the sun begins to peak. Aural anodyne flows like sand sifting down a synesthetic hourglass while the divine afternoon auras dissolve and make way for the otherworldly glow blown in by evening tides. Dusk fades to darkness, a shimmering hum resonates in the air and the firelight dwindles down to reveal a boundless black canvas speckled with of soft celestial tones. The hushed ambience envelopes you and your eyes grow heavy as the ocean withdraws back into itself.



The album was originally released for free on Jeroen’s bandcamp in late 2013, and is now available on pro-dubbed clear-translucent mint condition cassettes in the store. Not much else remains in the DZ inventory save for a few copies of Reliefs, but digital downloads are all free all the time.