Ruben Block - Looking To Glide (LP)

Recorded over a period of 4 years, going back and forth from his homestudio in Antwerp to the LA based studio of producer Mitchell Froom (Elvis Costello, Crowded House, Randy Newman) and mixed by Tchad Blake (Pearl Jam, The Black Keys, Arctic Monkeys) ‘Looking To Glide’ is a cut & paste patchwork of ripping and mangled guitars, looped drumgrooves and wonderfully eerie soundscapes. It’s folk infused blues music turned upside down and inside out.

After 20 years of writing and performing with Belgian powerhouse trio Triggerfinger – and scoring an unlikely hit with their improvised cover version of Lykke Li’s ‘I Follow Rivers’ – Ruben Block was ready to leave the safety net of his band and started looking for new ways to express himself. In Mitchell Froom he found the perfect match to accompany him on his solo trip. The pair worked together under the Californian sun in LA or remotely from Ruben’s place in Antwerp.

They were having a ball. Besides forcing his guitars into a mishmash of contrasting colors, a wide range of self-recorded and molded samples were kicked around on the sonic playground alongside bubbling organs and crackling keyboards. Ruben also explored ranges of his voice he didn’t employ before, never losing the objective to let all ingredients serve the song. The result sounds both fresh and familiar