Is This Music?

 flakebelly is nothing if not committed. There’s a sense of both the hermetic and hermitic with the Hebridean artist and his twisted vignettes. He’s out to explore memory and perception, employing tape loops and collagism, old-fashioned piano licks and fingerpicked guitars, field recordings with strong emphasis on the field. It’s unvarnished and genuine; the esoteric style bouncing from studied oddness to affecting glimpses into a cracked psyche. 

In Parks of Tall Trees, a sprawling psychedelic outpouring - with added rant, from the Isle of Lewis studio of flakebelly. A songsmith who's extensive and wildly eclectic sonic adventures can be found on Bandcamp.

Listening to this album is like being Alice in Wonderland, transported through a maze of moments in flakebelly's imagination. The fact that everything about this album was curated by the artist himself is audible, as the listener is carried along through this considered, intricate and particular journey.

The timeless technicolour psychedelia of Syd Barrett and the alternative lo fi mastery of Elliott Smith. These are two of the most important artistic touchstones for FLAKEBELLY’s original musical output. Based out of Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, this remote singer-songwriter project holds creativity and innovation at its core. These qualities superbly come across on the upcoming Apprentice Green LP, to be released in November of this year. The record has already been brilliantly preluded by lead single ‘Great Buckets of You’, a DIY masterpiece that bridges the gap between indie folk and chamber pop.

Hitting the ground running with a biting, chugging bassline, angular shards of gothic guitar slice over the top while flakebelly’s voice carries the ardency of someone sharing an agonising secret. It’s a brainy, spacious, absolutely compelling song which has more in common with Television or Wire than Sgt. Pepper’s. You can’t help but wonder what he’ll get up to next.

 Orkney’s flakebelly continues his strong form with the engagingly unusual 3 Little Rooms. With a slightly shuffling beat, the vocal matches a mainly pentatonic melody played on an echoing piano. It pushes him up into his upper range with a kind of held back, slightly whispery style that contrasts the moments where he ups the dynamics. Meanwhile whistling sounds come and go. It is a simple but really effective format and, when a bit of subtle slide guitar and other sounds permeate the mix later on, they really add to its momentum. Refreshingly individual and very likeable. 

flakebelly has released his new album, Behaviours that is full of soul munchies that remind us of the important things and values that sustain and keep us. Hailing from Orkney Islands, the songsmith populates his sound with a small town charm that allures us with its simplicity and minimalism. The multi-instrumentalist, folk singer-songwriter has an unlimited supply of nostalgia that he generously shares with us.

 Some songs are like Prince’s Purple Rain, simple yet etched in your memory forever. flakebelly has his new EP out called Behaviours. It is a tip of the hat to unbridled creativity, simplicity reigning supreme and an out pour of emotions. This is what makes this track tick. 

The fourteenth single released since 2020’s debut album, ‘Rotten!’, BALANCE CLOWN continues flakebelly’s incessant search for new moods and diverse sonic textures. Acoustic jazz meets pop harmonies, with hints of eastern funk flavor and a side order of beat poetry.