Tag Archives: Early Life Forms

Mixtape #166

02 December 2024

A prodigious young talent and one of the stalwarts of the Belgian jazz scene, Vitja Pauwels is one of the most distinctive, versatile and daring guitar players of his generation. Besides his membership and collaborations with the likes Naïma Joris, Bombataz, Warm Bad and Lara Rosseel, Pauwels’ remarkable body of work also includes two acclaimed solo records. Sprouted from a festival invitation, Pauwels put together his “dream” band under the name Early Life Forms, comprising Frederic Leroux, Casper Van De Velde and Laurens Dierickx, and also his hero Marc Ribot. Their one-off performance was recorded and released as a self-titled record last January, daringly walking a wire between jazz, latin, cuban, rock and improv with a touch of exoticism and cinematic explorations. Needless to say we're ecstatic to kick off the month with a rad mixtape put together by Pauwels. Press play already!

  1. Pascal Comelade – To The Last Imaginary Solutions [Because Music]
  2. Zanmari Baré – Mary Salangann [Cobalt]
  3. Latin Playboys – Ten Believers [Slash / Warner Bros. Records]
  4. PJ Harvey – On Battleship Hill [Island Records]
  5. Espen Reinertsen – Bjørnens Sang [SusannaSonata]
  6. Gustaf Ljunggren, Skúli Sverrisson – Vestegnsromantik [April Records]
  7. Morphine – Claire [Accurate Distortion]
  8. Lhasa De Sela – De Cara a la Pared [Tôt Ou Tard / Audiogram]
  9. Tom Waits – All Stripped Down [Island Records]
  10. Ali Farka Touré with Ry Cooder – Lasidan [Hannibal Records / World Circuit]
  11. Marvin Pontiac – Bring Me Rocks [Strange & Beautiful Music]
  12. Arto Lindsay – Complicity [For Life Records / Güt]
  13. Daniel Lanois – Iceland [Anti-]
  14. Alabaster Deplume – Visit Croatia [International Anthem / Total Refreshment Centre / Lost Map]
  15. Moondog – Bird’s Lament [Columbia Masterworks / CBS]
  16. Talk Talk – Myrrhman [Polydor / Verve]

Early Life Forms announce eponymous debut album featuring Marc Ribot

02 December 2023

Photo: Olympe Tits

A rising star in the music firmament, Vitja Pauwels has made a name for himself playing with bands and artists like Naïma Joris, Bombataz, Warm Bad and Lara Rosseel, and also as a solo artist, releasing his debut album, Day at Half Speed, in 2019, and the critically acclaimed follow-up Drift By, Sink In in 2022. Pauwels has unearthed Early Life Forms, his new quartet also comprising Frederik Leroux (baritone guitar), Laurens Dierickx (Hammond organ) and Casper Van De Velde (drums). Following an invite by the BRAND! Festival in Belgium, the multi-instrumentalist put together his “dream” band, including his hero Marc Ribot. Ahead of the festival, Pauwels wrote a few songs for the show with the caveat that there would be no rehearsals in advance, only a brief soundcheck with Ribot. “The music was played and heard for the first time, and it felt like a birth of something that needed to be alive”, Pauwels explains. “We felt connected in the right state of mind – relaxed and focused – and it all happened in a rush of shared energy. No ego’s or fear, only connection and the music”. Speaking about the collaboration with Ribot, he comments:

“Marc’s commitment in the music was better than I could have hoped for. What he played was with 200% intention, putting the rest of us in a state of hyperfocus. Given the fact that it was a one-time thing and a recording, we took risks without ‘overplaying’ or overthinking it. Right before the gig, we felt an urge to play, Marc said, “Let’s rock!!” and we hit the stage”.

Their one-off performance was recorded and comes January 26th, it will be released as a self-titled record marking their debut album. A melting pot of sounds and influences, Early Life Forms fuses together musical genres such as latin, jazz, cuban, and rock with a touch of exoticism and cinematic explorations, and other than Marc Ribot, the quartet cites Ry Cooder, Henry Mancini, Los Lobos and Ennio Morricone as influences.

To tease the release of the upcoming album through W.E.R.F. Records, Early Life Forms have just shared ‘Groove Encore’ and we can’t stop playing it. Listen to it below, and check out the previously released single, ‘Latin Dancer’, straight after.