Bello Benischauer - THE FEEL GOOD PROJECT

 Released: February 1

THE FEEL GOOD PROJECT is a rather surprising album in terms of just how strangely eclectic it is. It starts off with a bit of misdirection as “Anonym” begins with the softest of pads and ambiances. Slowly, voices creeping in with a combination of spoken word and some soft singing, both just gently guiding us through the composition until it fades away quietly. But as soon as the second track comes in, it’s all off-kilter percussion with all manner of bleeps and bloops. It seems as thought that this is where the more carefree fun begins, with intermittent pauses for a more reflective moment. 

The rest of the album falls somewhere in between these two modes, with some just being flatly odd. “Finsternis” stands out as one of these more oddball pieces, consisting of a primary loop that is reverse and slightly mangled.This consistent motif gives the track an unsteady ground to build on as clicks and clack weave around an otherwise meaningless chant that persists along with the loop. It’s rather indicative of the creative approach of slapping things together with a sense of wonder and lack of specificity, letting these happy little accidents spontaneously appear. 

As the album draws to its end, the final tracks takes us out of rather dissonant and squeak-gilled notes. “HUMAN ERROR” in particular makes use of a Morse code-like bleeping tonality, one that occasionally perks up and sounds like it will form a coherent rhythm until falling back apart into the mire. Certainly descriptive in its title, it feels like it symbolizes that simultaneous frustration and joy of creating something out of thin air, struggling to put the pieces together and celebrating the joy of a well-timed sequence. It’s a fitting end to something encouraging one to, well, feel good.