Abul Mogard - Live at Le Guess Who? '2025

Tracks list

       "The pair resonate the cavernous vaulted ceiling of the Jacobikerk church
with immense-sounding celestial drones that seem to stretch off into
infinity...one of the most awe-inspiring performances of the weekend."
- Ben Horton, Crack Magazine (UK)

"The duo sends slow, endlessly sorrowful melodies rippling through the church,
growing louder and layered with deeper bass and hissing white noise. The
woodwork of the church shudders, creaks, and groans under the resonating sound
waves, submerging the audience as well. What a colossal sound, and how this
music strikes at the emotions."
- Robert van Gijssel / Gijsbert Kamer, de Volkskrant (NL)

"Truly captivating... an endorphin rush where heady drones and blistering sonics
formed as something likened to the sound of hope..."
- Simon Kirk, SUN13 (UK)

"It really is a magical mix of music, space and atmosphere. Field recordings and
sound arts mingling with composed works.”
- Elizabeth Alker, Unclassified (BBC radio 3)

"An intense and almost physical set...this recording of the full 50-minute set
is almost as good as being there...For those who were there, this is a reminder
of the unforgettable experience that night. For those who could not be there,
this is a nice compensation for what you missed out on.​"
- Peter van Cooten, ambientblog.net (NL)

During Le Guess Who? Festival 2024, Abul Mogard and Rafael Anton Irisarri
delivered an unforgettable performance in the stunning Jacobikerk church in
Utrecht (NL). Live at Le Guess Who? captures this complete, unedited concert; a
mesmerizing alchemy of the artists, the architecture, and the audience. Opening
with field recordings to serve as a palette cleanser before transitioning into
"Waking Up Dizzy on a Bastion"—a piece that builds from delicate, bowed
guitar and synth tones to become an immersive wall of sound filling the vaulted
ceilings of the gothic church with its raw emotional power.

"A Secret Postcard from Nowhere" follows, intertwining lush guitar loops with
modular drones to create an intricate, expanded atmosphere. Towards the end, a
cheer from the audience punctuates the piece's last minutes, adding human
connection to the unearthly soundscape. At the heart of the set is "Place of
Forever," showcasing Mogard’s sweeping synth lines, and paired with
Irisarri’s signature cascading guitar textures, they stretch the tension
and release over seventeen spellbinding minutes. "Cascade Infinite" is an
awe-inspiring finale where subsonic bass waves, melancholic guitar lines, and
sumptuous synths converge into a celestial crescendo that increases in
breathtaking intensity until it leaves the audience in a state of reverent
delight.

Mastered by Stephan Mathieu at Schwebung, the recording preserves every nuance
of the live experience—from the reverberations of Jacobikerk’s
ancient walls, dating back to the 13th century, to the standing ovation of the
attentive audience. Emanuele Breda’s cover photo portrays the two artists
silhouetted against the interior of the church illuminated with orange light and
evoking the sacred gravitas of that evening. This live recording captures their
shared artistry—a dialog in sound that feels at once fleeting and
timeless. 

Tracklist:
01-01 Abul Mogard - Waking Up Dizzy on a Bastion (Live at Live at Le Guess Who?)
[19:39]
01-02 Abul Mogard - A Secret Postcard from Nowhere (Live at Live at Le Guess
Who?) [6:09]
01-03 Abul Mogard - Place of Forever (Live at Live at Le Guess Who?) [14:20]
01-04 Abul Mogard - Cascade Infinite (Live at Live at Le Guess Who?) [11:34] 

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