German electronicist plays in nature
Who?
Jan Soutschek is an artist from Leipzig specialising in the audacious pursuit of genre traversal. Sometimes going under the name Socˇek, his first two Bandcamp releases were mysterious reworks of folky laments – David Campbell’s ‘Splinters Of The Tree’, and Peggy Seeger’s ‘Emily’ – while his debut solo EP ‘Teoculcán’ comprised three tracks which can only be described as downtempo though uncompromising explorations of the jungle. That’s not jungle music, but quite literally jungle noises, with the piece built around manipulated vocal samples, tweets, hisses, growls and synthesisers that scratch and skitter like creepy-crawlies. It’s nothing short of mesmerising.
Why Jan Soutschek?
Soutschek released his debut album ‘Cycles’ earlier in 2023, and it’s vastly different from anything he has previously offered listeners. Built around 10 recordings of a pedal steel guitar which he bought from a retired folk musician, the album trips and weaves its way through gently trickling melodies, beatless atmospherics and ambient noise, inviting listeners to experience full-on serenity and peace of mind. The pedal steel guitar that features so heavily on ‘Cycles’ might have required both the artist’s arms and legs to play, but the effect sounds effortless. You wonder where Soutschek will go from here.
Tell Us More…
Aside from his location, Soutschek’s background is a well-kept secret, which does make his releases that little bit more enigmatic. One thing we do know, however, is that he was a member of the duo JaJa (his label YNFND describes him as the “lower half” of the group) with fellow Leipzig-resident Jascha Haren, whose own solo work teeters more towards the deep house side of electronic music.
‘Cycles’ is out on YNFND
