Ben Bertrand – Relic Radiation

Of my first visit to Earth in 2024 I have only the fuzziest recollection, for here I must fall back on my own mnemonic resources. My chief impression seems to have been of sunlight, the authentic, inimitable sunlight of Earth. Organs that have evolved under particular conditions will naturally be most comfortable where those conditions obtain, and thus no substitute, however artful, can provide just those balances of colour and intensity, those alterations of night and day, summer and winter, hazy and clear, that our very cells will recognize, demand, and crave.

from The Puppies Of Terra by Thomas M. Disch.

The occasion of possibility runs through Ben Bertrand's new album Relic Radiation. It is all backdrops and layers. Hints of the emotive and the distant. Confronting the classical with what is new, looking for an expressive space. Melancholy, not melancholy. Contemplation on a midnight blizzard. Dust motes in a sunbeam. Sand dunes and microwaves.

Ever since 2018 and the release of his first solo album, Ben Bertrand has been working up his own interpretation of the bass clarinet as an instrument of the avant-garde. Touching upon ambient and cosmic as well as earthy sceneries, his is a gentle musical paradox come to life. Let go of explicit pleasantries, Relic Radiation is the polymathic interpretation of a frozen intercom, of a subdued intent of . The music is competent and familiar, distant without being distant. There is no predefined form or context here. It is a different kind of colour.

As musical moments and modi become enormous, things break down into exploration. On the crystal shores of perception, Relic Radiation leaves a lot of space for interpretation. It is never loud, although it works loud. An at times almost sequenced feel to treated and overdubbed bass clarinet and clarinet notes adds to a feeling of paradox. Every voice, every gesture indicates a way in. The electron is now an immeasurable wave.

Ben Bertrand previously released his album Manes (2020) on Stroom and Dokkaebi (2021) on les albums claus. Relic Radiation now subtly deepens the spectrum. It is a hands-on interface for probing into endlessness both inward and outward, personal and impersonal.

Rafael Severi for Stroom
credits
released April 16, 2025

Composition, bass clarinet, clarinet, and electronics: Ben Bertrand.

Recorded and mixed by Christine Verschorren at Strawberry Lab between March and July 2024

Mastered by Mathieu Savenay at Studio Henri in November 2024

Artwork by Victor Verhelst

Ben would like to thank Iria, Ziggy, and Wannes

Composed during a residency in Slovakia in the water mill of the Slovakian National Gallery (SNG) in Pezinok. Thanks to Veronika Němcová of the SNG for this residency

Thanks also to Quentin Velghe at Le Brass in Brussels for the residency that permitted Ben to prepare the recording.

This album is dedicated to the memory of Yves Bertrand.