The international echoes of the Los Angeles beat scene likely permeated Belgium years ago. Le Motel is presumably a few generations deep in the influence, but reports from TAR head PBDY are that the Ripples EP has found its way into Wednesday sets at the Airliner.
With good reason, the three-track EP is a mesmerizing companion to the earthen machinations of the OKA EP released in December. On the OKA EP, Le Motel sought to unite global tribes in nature worship, looping ancient chants into beat suites. Ripples is almost pre-human at times. Its sounds bubble, gurgle, swish, and thump like the volcanic artwork. The rare human moments are instructional like on the footwork of “Up & Down”, a pre-language hum on “J’eux D’eau”, and the singular word “blood” on the eponymous track. Closer “Blood” is an ode to the life force liquid that courses through us, while carrying a mythos of symbolic weight that remains unspoken by Le Motel yet understood.
