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Why the Eye is an experimental masked quartet from Brussels that propels bodies into trance during its live performances. All instruments are DIY and played in real time, without loops or sequencers. Fans of The Residents, Société Étrange, Autechre, Boards Of Canada, The Meridian Brothers and Fulu Miziki could easily relate to their sound.
Describing their music as “Prehistoric Techno”, Why The Eye released their latest album Inspirex on the 4th October via Exag’ Records.
Having formed in 2013, the band’s first scheduled gig was for Carnaval Sauvage – an illegal, alternative carnival held in Brussels, hence the masks – where participants dress up in homemade costumes, often made from recycled materials, then dance through the city. The concert never took place, but everyone had cobbled together their own masks, and the band had pooled four chef’s jackets, looking forward to showing it all off in concert. The first date soon followed, masked and dressed. Feeling a new freedom in their musician’s bodies, it immediately became an integral part of the band’s identity.
Following the release of a self-titled debut album in 2017, Why The Eye has performed on numerous mainly underground and experimental stages across Europe, including Le Magasin 4, Le Brass, Les Ateliers Claus, Le Rockerill, Dour Festival (Belgium), Sonic Protest, La station in Paris, Festival Hop Pop Hop, Baignade interdite (France), Cave 12, Le Festival de la Cité (Switzerland), Urvakan (Armenia)…
On the recording of Inspirex, Damien Magnette who produced the album says: “The album is live music based on energy. It has a chaotic side. How do you convey the chaotic, wild, animal energy of live music on record? My point of view is that to achieve this energy, you have to do exactly the opposite in the studio. A lot of layering. Lots of overdubs that we can’t do live. It’s all these elements that give the album its wildness.”
At the heart of each track are the DIY instruments band member DjP (Jean Paul Domb) has assembled over the years, some of them directly inspired by the African sanzas (thumb pianos). With names such as ‘radiocaphone’ and ‘castabignettes’, the instruments are cleverly connected to different effects pedals and are the heartbeat of Why The Eye.
