Van Morph – Faith, Hope and Love
(Khôros, 2021-08-06)
Black shirt, black Mohican hairstyle, black tattoos, Khôros’ owner Van Morph is like Droneghost: “a punk in electronic music”, but then, why is he so “perfectly nice” for anyone who knows him? Why is he naming his release “Faith, Hope & Love”, instead of “Fuck The Future!”?
Never – ever – the presentation of a context has been so important to understand where the beautiful tracks of the touching man come from. There is a strange common point between all these “Van Hoesen / Van Boetzelaer / Van Oers / Van Morph”; they all have at one point experienced the underground heat too close during their lifetime and have used art to return back to the surface, with aerial pads that sound like the light to follow, at the end of the tunnel.
For sure, there is a lot of “faith, hope and love” behind the pieces of Van Morph’s release, sensed in the subtle dreamy arpeggios of “Faith in you”, in the ethereal atmosphere of “Hope for a better future” and in the intense pads of “Love is all about”. Three tracks, containing one message: music has always been first and foremost a warm refuge for broken souls.
Van Morph’s work from 2013 to his previous release was matching more with his rebellious image: deep, dark-oriented – sometimes harsh – moods, sustained by impactful beats, with evocative titles such as “Dark Mind“, “Dark Waves“, “Melancholy of a lost soul“. His previous release however marked a deep musical transition from the darkness to the light, difficult, tainted of the “rage of the survivor” with “Mutation” and chasing after the positive life with “Happiness“.
“Faith, Hope & Love” represents the next step: the release of painful tension and the creation of a healing one. “If you replace each feeling of fear with a feeling of love, your life will forever change,” says an old mantra. Van Morph experienced the storm and is seeking the sunshine, with “pink” becoming the new “punk” riot.
WRITING BY: CEDRIC FINKBEINER | 9 AUGUST 2021
