We are presenting an interview with Thomas Willey AKA Belgium Limp. A producer from Georgia, USA, who recently released an interesting vaporwave-inspired electronic music project. It is a debut full-length on Primordial Void from the producer, journeying to the furthest depths of psychedelic IDM. We covered releases from Primordial Void, so when Marcel Sletten, the label founder, sent us new music, we knew it would be unique and interesting. So without further ado, let’s deep dive into Belgium Limp’s music and interview.
From the artwork, and just from the first track, I get a feeling, or echoes of vaporwave. I really enjoy the relaxing, ethereal atmosphere of the music. How did you come up with this style? Was it a difficult creative process?
There’s absolutely some vaporwave influence. Vaporwave was my pathway into exploring ambient electronica, although I’ve been a Brian Eno fan since I was a kid. The style comes together in two ways, in no particular order. On the one hand, I experiment with sounds, spend a lot of time thinking about how I can push my software (and lately, hardware) to do unusual things. I’m driven by the idea of finding a sound that nobody else has found yet, although I think it’s unlikely I’ll actually achieve that. Sometimes this mode of engagement becomes almost entirely mathematical and problem-solving based, and not at all musical, but the results feed back into my musical creative process. The other part of the process is that I have all the music I’ve ever heard floating around in my brain, melted into a kind of soup. I constantly have songs stuck in my head – other people’s phrases and ideas, misremembered, bleeding into one another. So I’ll have something I’ve started on, and if my brain is generous, all this other stuff will come bubbling up. I attempt to capture it, and hope none of it is stolen wholesale. I think the many years I’ve spent playing with sound make this part of the process easier, because I hear a sound in my head, and I have a lot of practice implementing it.
As for the creative process, the difficult part is keeping the ideas coming. As I work on something and get familiar with what I’ve already created, it gets fixed in my mind, crystallizes, so I can’t imagine other possibilities stemming from it. Usually, to re-prompt my brain, I have to get some distance from it and then come back. So I tend to work in bursts, with long gaps in between.
Were you inspired by some specific artists or artworks?
Definitely. A whole lot of different ones. Off the top of my head, I can trace the ideas on here to Aphex Twin, Oneohtrix, George Clinton, Vaperror, D’Eon, Deadmau5, The Gap Band, Boards of Canada, CMD094, SOPHIE, and Com Truise. I’m confident that there are other influences I’m not consciously aware of, too. Bits and pieces from all over. Everything in this record comes from somewhere.
The most conscious and intentional inspiration is track 1- I was inspired by Neil Voss’s soundtracks for the N64 Tetris games, and I wanted to make something like that. It wound up sounding quite different, which I view as a good result.
The album consists of surviving MP3 files, because your laptop “took a shit and died, and took all the project files with it.” Did this indeed help you finish the project? I think finishing the piece of music or art is the hardest thing, sometimes.
Oh yeah. Absolutely. There are still things I hear in this album that I think about changing. I have to wonder if, had I not lost the files, I might still be tweaking all these tracks two years later. Of course, I can’t depend on the self-destruction of my next computer to push me to release more music… I guess I have to get comfortable putting stuff out there.
In the press text, there is mention of „braindance“ music. I find it helpful to describe more abstract electronic music. Do you think about your music with this word as well?
Yes, but only after the fact. When I set out to make a track, I don’t usually choose a genre as the basis for it – I try to be open to ideas from anywhere. The flip side is, once it’s done, you have to say, „Okay, what the heck do we call this?“
I think Braindance sums it up well. There is a range of styles and genres incorporated into this album, but the Warp Records influence is pervasive enough that IDM fans will probably get the most out of it. Plus – the word says what it does – it makes your brain dance.
How did you come in contact with Primordial Void? How was the collaboration behind this project?
I met PV founder Marcel Sletten at a performance by his group, Chairs, maybe a year and a half ago. He mentioned he ran a label, and I told him I had some music I wanted to put out. He liked what I showed him, so here we are.
It’s been great working with Marcel – when it came time for mastering, we had some productive exchanges about how it should sound. He took my old MP3s and managed to make them sound crisp and professional. He also gave me lots of good advice about formatting the artwork for the cassette release. He’s killing it on the promotion side, too. Shout out to Marcel – if you’re reading this, thanks for all your patience and hard work!
What about Athens, GA – your city, where you live? Do you have music venues where you can perform as an artist? Can you tell me about an electronic music community there?
Athens is FULL of music venues. It’s got a rich musical history, and the scene has generated more notable bands than I can mention here. Most of the musicians here play in proper „band“ type bands, with instruments and such. But it’s a college town, and all kinds of music flows through in due time, so there are a number of electronic artists working here as well. Primordial Void has set up a lot of those shows. I hope to see the electronic scene grow in the next few years.
What are some of your next plans with the Belgium Limp project? What do you want to try, experiment with, or maybe achieve with your music?
I could see myself going in many different directions. I’ve been experimenting with singing and lyrics in some of my songs. I’ve also been building and learning to play stringed instruments, so whatever I do, you’ll probably hear some guitar and bass in it. In fact, I recently did an improvised live guitar show for the first time, and was very pleased with how it turned out. I’m also going to school for electrical engineering- I have no earthly idea what kind of sounds that might open up. At this time, I’d rather not split my work in different genres or vibes between different project names or aliases, so I hope Belgium Limp can encompass all these possibilities and appeal to people as a multi-faceted, catch-all project. In short, Stay Tuned!
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⦿ Interview by: Krištof Budke / Catch Belgium Limp here, and Primordial Void here ⦿
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