CONTRASTS – Collected Works 2015-2017
Release date: 19 December 2025
Label: Home Normal
Formats: 3x CD, digital
Three-CD set including remastered versions of 2016’s ‘Attachment’, 2017’s ‘Opacity’, as well as a third disc of variations, sketches and previously unreleased material from the Attachment and Opacity recording sessions.
CD 1
01 Kept
02 Before
03 Coherence
04 Unsaid
05 Return
06 Stay
07 Red
08 Found
09 Evanesce
10 Outset
11 Away
12 Depart
CD 2
01 Shimmer
02 Blinded
03 Until Then
04 Recollect
05 Glow
06 Clouds
07 Beneath
08 For Now
09 Weightless
10 Clearing
11 Hidden
12 Eyes Shut
CD 3
01 Blinded (Piano Only)
02 Blinded (Variation)
03 Clouds (Piano Only)
04 Distant
05 0905
06 Kept (Alternative)
07 For Now (Alternative)
08 Before (Alternative)
09 Outset (Alternative)
10 Stay (Alternative)
11 Belong (Sketch)
12 Time Passing
Written and produced by Jason van Wyk
Recorded during 2015-2017 in Cape Town, South Africa
Strings performed by Brittany Dilkes, Gavin Clayton, Lynne Donson
Mastered by Ian Hawgood
Cover art by Ross Millam
South African composer and music producer Jason van Wyk has been releasing music since the mid-2000s. Producing mostly club music during this period, van Wyk found a home on the Dutch label Black Hole Recordings, where numerous singles, collaborations and remixes were released.
The next decade, however, saw him incorporating elements of electronica, modern classical, and ambient into his music, bringing his sound to where it is today.
The music appearing on both Attachment and Opacity came from the same recording sessions that took place from 2015 to 2017. Van Wyk had just moved into a new studio and purchased a fully restored 1920s Grotrian Steinweg upright piano. A few of his vintage synthesisers had recently returned from being serviced and were added back into his setup. Many months were spent on the first few tracks, with van Wyk still unsure what they would become.
Session musicians came in for violin and cello parts, all of which were recorded separately and then manipulated through chains of analogue and digital processors. The tracks slowly started to take shape.
In 2016, Attachment was put together for the French-based Eilean Records, a 100-release concept label by Mathias Van Eecloo, which ran from 2014 to 2019. Ian Hawgood, who mastered this album, connected with van Wyk and offered to reissue it a year later on his revered label, Home Normal.
Examining van Wyk’s control of time and space among the pieces, Attachment lulls the listener with its simple and unabashed beauty. Bittersweet melodies are rendered on dampened piano, interwoven with soft melancholic drones and a variety of sonic ephemera in the form of incidental sounds and field recordings.
A year later, van Wyk returned to Home Normal with its follow-up, bringing twelve new pieces to light. On Opacity, slowly rising ambient swells brush along their acoustic string counterparts. The closely-miked piano offers the listener a binding structure among all the shimmering sounds. This organic and synthetic treatment of textures puts the keys slightly more in the background, still confident, gentle and vital. Throughout the album, even listening to it again all these years later, I find myself being mesmerised into a state of slight melancholy. I’ve always felt that Opacity is an evident development of the themes explored in Attachment, so I tend to listen to these albums back-to-back.
In addition to my high praise for the albums (Attachment and Opacity both ranked among my favourites, appearing on Headphone Commute’s Best of 2016 and Best of 2017 lists), I wasn’t alone, as compliments poured in from every corner of the music journalist community.
Here we are almost a decade later, and I’m delighted to see this three-CD set appearing on Home Normal. Gathering the first two albums along with a third compilation of variations, sketches and unreleased pieces from those 2015-2017 sessions – expanding the world these albums reside in and giving the listener a glimpse into how they were initially composed. This beautiful collection of music is a time capsule of the emotions I experienced when I first discovered these two albums. I sincerely hope that their timelessness and beauty will enrich your memories as well.
Mike Lazarev, September 2025
headphonecommute.com
INHERENT
Release date: 13 June 2025
Label: n5MD
Formats: Vinyl, CD, digital
South African composer and producer Jason van Wyk is continuously honing his craft, with each consecutive release feeling like a clear evolution of its predecessor. Through his albums and soundtrack commissions, van Wyk’s technique at perfectly balancing melody and atmosphere is now more apparent than ever.
Inherent, his sixth aptly named album, finds van Wyk distilling his sound to where each note seems to have implicit cinematic intent, revealing intricate new details with every listen. Inherent features large swaths of warm, wispy ambient, ghostly piano and widescreen drone. Yet, at the very moment when all seems to apex, van Wyk presses on by mining his past endeavors in club music, neo-classical and scoring work to create something else entirely. Distorted guitars, percolating synth arpeggios and poignant beat design propel the contemplative ambient sections into the light, bringing van Wyk’s sound into previously unexplored territory.
“A masterclass in cinematic minimalism.” – Igloo Magazine
“Emotionally rich, intricately designed compositions, confirming that van Wyk remains a leader of his craft.” – DestroyExist
“A hypnotising cocktail of spatial ambience and pulsating rhythms.” – Headphone Commute
“A beautifully produced work of mystery, exploration and reflection.” – Monolith Cocktail
01 All Visible
02 Inner
03 There Again
04 Remnants
05 If Only
06 Shine
07 Cascades
08 Still Visible
Written, produced and performed by
Jason van Wyk
Recorded during 2022-2024 in
Cape Town, South Africa
Mastered by
Ian Hawgood
Cover photography by
Gabrielle Guy
HORIZON
Release date: 12 August 2025
Label: n5MD
Formats: Digital EP
With Horizon, South African composer Jason van Wyk returns to his Inherent material in a new light. Three tracks, Inner, Shine, and Cascades, are transformed through an ambient lens, trading rhythmic momentum for expansiveness and contemplation. The result is a companion piece that spotlights the latent tranquility and emotional resonance of the originals, reframing familiar melodies as immersive sonic landscapes. Horizon confirms van Wyk’s evolving artistry and his uncanny ability to deconstruct and reassemble his work into something renewed, introspective, and deeply felt.
01 Inner (Horizon)
02 Shine (Horizon)
03 Cascades (Horizon)
Written, produced and performed by
Jason van Wyk
Recorded during 2022-2024 in
Cape Town, South Africa
Mastered by
Ian Hawgood
Cover photography by
Rebecca Hauri
It’s such a pleasure to announce that I’ll be a part of Headphone Commute’s Headphone Community Patreon as their featured artist for the month of July. They’ve profiled some of my favourite musicians working today over the last few months, so it’s a real honour to be a part of it.
We have a lot planned for you all, including in-depth interviews, unreleased tracks, discussions about my studio, and I’ll also be answering questions. So if you haven’t yet, please subscribe. It’s really worth your while.
I hope to see you there.
—Jason
“To learn more about the process and inspiration behind this stunning new work, we asked Jason five questions—diving into his influences, creative approach, and the sonic evolution that led to Inherent.” — Don Haugen, Igloo Magazine
A long form one hour mix compiled for the Home Normal label’s 15th anniversary mixtape series.
Mixes from a selection of their artists are available through their Bandcamp on a pay-what-you-like basis, with each mix put together exclusively from the label’s own catalog over the past fifteen years.
Mix and production by
Jason van Wyk, April 2024
Cover photography by
Rebecca Hauri
DEEPRIVER – VOLUME ONE
Release date: 16 June 2023
Label: n5MD
Formats: Vinyl, digital
Deepriver is the recently formed intercontinental project of Cape Town-based Jason van Wyk and long time Stockholm-based collaborator Joni Ljungqvist. Having worked previously in collaboration mining the more introspective side of trance, Deepriver’s inaugural aural statement, “Volume One”, finds the two experimenting with atmosphere and composition to maximal effect. Van Wyk’s recent viscerally experimental direction seamlessly coalesces with Ljungqvist’s conceptually reflective approach in a way that recalls the sounds and nostalgia of electronic music from decades past. Having slowly formed through many iterations, “Volume One” is out now on limited edition clear-vinyl and digital formats.
“The sheer emotional weight and gristling static these pieces carry make it something much more than ambient music.” – Elsewhere Magazine
“Sign me up for Volume Two.” – [sic] Magazine
“Lush and enveloping.” – Stationary Travels
“Magnificent electronic composition.” – DestroyExist
Year End List – Best of 2023 – Igloo Magazine
Year End List – Best of 2023 – Headphone Commute
01 Tides
02 Coastal
03 Home
04 Valley
05 Slower Waves
06 Motion Blur
07 Hours
08 Divided
Written and produced by
Jason van Wyk and Joni Ljungqvist
Recorded during 2022 in
Cape Town, South Africa and Stockholm, Sweden
Mastered by
Ian Hawgood, Mokoshi Mastering
Cover art by
Karen Lynch, Leaf and Petal Design
Photography by
Nanje Nowack
DESCENDANTS
Release date: 21 October 2022
Label: n5MD
Formats: Vinyl, digital
Descendants is the fifth full-length album from South African producer and composer Jason van Wyk. The followup to “Threads”, his 2021 debut on n5MD, Descendants advances the narrative of van Wyk’s broader-scope, atmospheric sound. This new work brings into focus an approach that builds on van Wyk’s production methods. Underlying elements are taken further and pushed to the extremes while the influence of his film composition work continues to shine through. Descendants is a slow dive into enigmatic depths; disarming, explorative, evolved. A tentative descent into introspection, with each track a sonic rumination of drifting elements, tunnelling into a subterranean wilderness. Available now on limited edition white-vinyl and digital formats.
“One of the most beautiful ambient albums of the year.” – Indie Rock Mag
“Serene ambient abstraction which brings van Wyk’s daring musicianship to a point of absolute coherence.” – DestroyExist
“It doesn’t matter which route he goes with his music – I will always be there, absorbing it all. Best of 2022.” – Headphone Commute
“Consistent, intriguing, and always emotionally pleasant. Best of 2022.” – Igloo Magazine
01 All This Time
02 Erasure
03 Undoing
04 Reach
05 Past
06 Glimpse
07 Held Still
08 Surface Drone
Written, produced and performed by
Jason van Wyk
Recorded during 2018-2021 in
Cape Town, South Africa
Mastered at
37N,122W
Cover photography by
Rebecca Hauri
Video by
Nanje Nowack
THREADS
Release date: 23 July 2021
Label: n5MD
Formats: Vinyl, digital
Threads is the fourth solo full length from Cape Town, South Africa based composer Jason van Wyk and his debut album for Oakland based n5MD. Previously known for his progressive trance works, van Wyk has spent a lot of his time as of late composing for the film industry. In 2013, his solo output switched to more pastoral forms of neo-classical leaning ambient with his first full-length Days You Remember, before moving into more piano-based composition for Attachment (2016) and Opacity (2017). Threads does reflect some of his previous ambient works; however, the album shows van Wyk composing music for (and of) current times. There is a much-welcomed underlying beauty to Threads, but there are also threads of anxiousness and unwavering intensity throughout its forty-minute run-time. Threads is out now on vinyl and digital.
“Distantly beautiful. Jaw-droppingly epic. One of my favorite releases of the year so far.” – Igloo Magazine
“Van Wyk leaps even further into the open and high textured atmospheres. One which I’ve been playing on a loop. Best of 2021.” – Headphone Commute
“A wide and yet stylistically-uniform tapestry of tones and textures. A record of supreme beauty.” – Fluid Radio
“Another enthralling instalment on van Wyk’s musical journey.” – A Closer Listen
01 Retention
02 Amidst
03 Sun Fluorescent
04 Light Burns Out
05 Partial Dawn
06 Where To End
07 Subdued
08 Near Dark
Written, produced and performed by
Jason van Wyk
Recorded during 2018-2020 in
Cape Town, South Africa
Mastered at
37N,122W
Cover photography by
Gean Burrell
Original score in collaboration with Andries Smit for the film “Triggered”, directed by Alastair Orr and released through Samuel Goldwyn Films. The film and score are both available now on VOD and all digital / streaming platforms.
LOVE
A modern adaptation of the poem ‘Love’ by
Polish writer Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska,
originally published in 1926.
Director: Ben Lankester
Starring: Marysia Lyszkowska & Alex Karpinsky
Director of Photography: Conor Chalk
Colourist: Matthieu Toullet
Music & Sound Design: Jason van Wyk
Interview and profile by music journalist Ibrahim Khider for Chain D.L.K.’s Feedback Monitor podcast.
“Jason narrates on ‘breaking in’ the music industry, work flows, habits, and musical transitions.”
“My first introduction to the music of South African producer and composer Jason van Wyk was his 2016 contribution to the Eilean Records project, an entrancingly lush foray into piano-centric post-classical electronica called Attachment. He followed the next year with the equally exquisite Opacity, this time on the venerable Home Normal imprint. Jason made a welcome return last year on the n5md label with Threads, which saw him exploring a more densely layered, atmospheric sound, reflective of his work in composing for film over the intervening years. Continuing in that vein, he has just released a follow-up called Descendants, an album which he deems more introspective in tone but is still very much imbued with the same kind of cinematic breadth and depth. I have thoroughly enjoyed both albums many times over and am thrilled that Jason has taken a few minutes to talk to us about them here.” — Stationary Travels
Three pieces were commissioned by Cologne based book publisher Taschen for three documentaries to promote their upcoming releases; Renowned architect Renzo Piano, fashion and photography icon David LaChapelle and the Bauhaus School of Art and Design.
Renzo Piano: Complete Works
David LaChapelle: Lost and Found / Good News
Bauhaus: 100 Years
Director: Jonas Walter
Executive Producer: Jonas Scheler
Editor: Hagen Hinkelmann
Sound: Markus Gembaczka
Music: Jason van Wyk
The Criterion Collection commissioned a piece for their documentary on New York based fashion illustrator Richard Haines. Among his work with Prada, Calvin Klein and his blog “What I Saw Today”, Haines provided the cover art for Criterion’s release of Tony Richardson’s Oscar winning film, Tom Jones.
Studio Visits: Richard Haines
Producer, Camera, Editor: Tara Young
Supervising Producer: Kim Hendrickson
Production Manager: Brett Sharlow
Executive Producers: Peter Becker, Fumiko Takagi, Jonathan Turell
Audio Mixer: Vasilis Fotopoulos
Post Production Supervisor: Giles Sherwood
Director of Production: Angie Bucknell
Criterion Channel Programmer: Penelope Bartlett
Music: Jason van Wyk
BLINDED
From the album Opacity
Director, Editor: Khai Le
Filmed in Japan, April 2018
Music: Jason van Wyk
FOR NOW
From the album Opacity
Director, Editor: Jacob Rigaux
Music: Jason van Wyk
OPACITY
Release date: 15 September 2017
Label: Home Normal
Formats: CD, digital
“Both haunting and incredibly moving, Opacity is one of the year’s highlights.” — Fluid Radio
“Such an assured combination of emotional effusion and rich sound design is rare to find. Exceptional.” — Stationary Travels
01 Shimmer
02 Blinded
03 Until Then
04 Recollect
05 Glow
06 Clouds
07 Beneath
08 For Now
09 Weightless
10 Clearing
11 Hidden
12 Eyes Shut
Written and produced by
Jason van Wyk
Recorded during 2016-2017 in
Cape Town, South Africa
Strings performed by
Brittany Dilkes, Gavin Clayton, Lynne Donson
Mastered by
Ian Hawgood
Cover photography by
Gregory Euclide
ATTACHMENT
Release date: 3 March 2016
Label: Eilean Records, Home Normal
Formats: CD, digital
Originally released through Eilean Records on 3 March 2016. Reissued by Home Normal on 1 September 2017.
“Attachment is replete with simple, unabashed beauty albeit with sophisticated underpinnings – bittersweet tunes rendered on dampened piano interwoven with soft melancholic drones and a variety of sonic ephemera in the form of incidental sounds and field recordings.” — Headphone Commute
“Deceptively simple sounds embedded in elaborate pieces.” — A Closer Listen
“Desolate and soul searching.” — Fluid Radio
01 Kept
02 Before
03 Coherence
04 Unsaid
05 Return
06 Stay
07 Red
08 Found
09 Evanesce
10 Outset
11 Away
12 Depart
Written and produced by
Jason van Wyk
Recorded during 2015-2016 in
Cape Town, South Africa
Strings performed by
Brittany Dilkes, Gavin Clayton, Lynne Donson
Mastered by
Ian Hawgood
Cover photography by
Vadim Petrakov
CONTRASTS – Collected Works 2015-2017
Release date: 19 December 2025
Label: Home Normal
Formats: 3x CD, digital
Three-CD set including remastered versions of 2016’s ‘Attachment’, 2017’s ‘Opacity’, as well as a third disc of variations, sketches and previously unreleased material from the Attachment and Opacity recording sessions.
CD 1
01 Kept
02 Before
03 Coherence
04 Unsaid
05 Return
06 Stay
07 Red
08 Found
09 Evanesce
10 Outset
11 Away
12 Depart
CD 2
01 Shimmer
02 Blinded
03 Until Then
04 Recollect
05 Glow
06 Clouds
07 Beneath
08 For Now
09 Weightless
10 Clearing
11 Hidden
12 Eyes Shut
CD 3
01 Blinded (Piano Only)
02 Blinded (Variation)
03 Clouds (Piano Only)
04 Distant
05 0905
06 Kept (Alternative)
07 For Now (Alternative)
08 Before (Alternative)
09 Outset (Alternative)
10 Stay (Alternative)
11 Belong (Sketch)
12 Time Passing
Written and produced by
Jason van Wyk
Recorded during 2015-2017 in
Cape Town, South Africa
Strings performed by
Brittany Dilkes, Gavin Clayton, Lynne Donson
Mastered by Ian Hawgood
Cover art by Ross Millam
South African composer and music producer Jason van Wyk has been releasing music since the mid-2000s. Producing mostly club music during this period, van Wyk found a home on the Dutch label Black Hole Recordings, where numerous singles, collaborations and remixes were released. The next decade, however, saw him incorporating elements of electronica, modern classical, and ambient into his music, bringing his sound to where it is today.
The music appearing on both Attachment and Opacity came from the same recording sessions that took place from 2015 to 2017. Van Wyk had just moved into a new studio and purchased a fully restored 1920s Grotrian Steinweg upright piano. A few of his vintage synthesisers had recently returned from being serviced and were added back into his setup. Many months were spent on the first few tracks, with van Wyk still unsure what they would become. Session musicians came in for violin and cello parts, all of which were recorded separately and then manipulated through chains of analogue and digital processors. The tracks slowly started to take shape.
In 2016, Attachment was put together for the French-based Eilean Records, a 100-release concept label by Mathias Van Eecloo, which ran from 2014 to 2019. Ian Hawgood, who mastered this album, connected with van Wyk and offered to reissue it a year later on his revered label, Home Normal. Examining van Wyk’s control of time and space among the pieces, Attachment lulls the listener with its simple and unabashed beauty. Bittersweet melodies are rendered on dampened piano, interwoven with soft melancholic drones and a variety of sonic ephemera in the form of incidental sounds and field recordings.
A year later, van Wyk returned to Home Normal with its follow-up, bringing twelve new pieces to light. On Opacity, slowly rising ambient swells brush along their acoustic string counterparts. The closely-miked piano offers the listener a binding structure among all the shimmering sounds. This organic and synthetic treatment of textures puts the keys slightly more in the background, still confident, gentle and vital. Throughout the album, even listening to it again all these years later, I find myself being mesmerised into a state of slight melancholy. I’ve always felt that Opacity is an evident development of the themes explored in Attachment, so I tend to listen to these albums back-to-back.
In addition to my high praise for the albums (Attachment and Opacity both ranked among my favourites, appearing on Headphone Commute’s Best of 2016 and Best of 2017 lists), I wasn’t alone, as compliments poured in from every corner of the music journalist community.
Here we are almost a decade later, and I’m delighted to see this three-CD set appearing on Home Normal. Gathering the first two albums along with a third compilation of variations, sketches and unreleased pieces from those 2015-2017 sessions – expanding the world these albums reside in and giving the listener a glimpse into how they were initially composed. This beautiful collection of music is a time capsule of the emotions I experienced when I first discovered these two albums. I sincerely hope that their timelessness and beauty will enrich your memories as well.
Mike Lazarev, September 2025
headphonecommute.com
INHERENT
Release date: 13 June 2025
Label: n5MD
Formats: Vinyl, CD, digital
South African composer and producer Jason van Wyk is continuously honing his craft, with each consecutive release feeling like a clear evolution of its predecessor. Through his albums and soundtrack commissions, van Wyk’s technique at perfectly balancing melody and atmosphere is now more apparent than ever.
Inherent, his sixth aptly named album, finds van Wyk distilling his sound to where each note seems to have implicit cinematic intent, revealing intricate new details with every listen. Inherent features large swaths of warm, wispy ambient, ghostly piano and widescreen drone. Yet, at the very moment when all seems to apex, van Wyk presses on by mining his past endeavors in club music, neo-classical and scoring work to create something else entirely. Distorted guitars, percolating synth arpeggios and poignant beat design propel the contemplative ambient sections into the light, bringing van Wyk’s sound into previously unexplored territory.
“A masterclass in cinematic minimalism.”
– Igloo Magazine
“Emotionally rich, intricately designed compositions, confirming that van Wyk remains a leader of his craft.”
– DestroyExist
“A hypnotising cocktail of spatial ambience and pulsating rhythms.”
– Headphone Commute
“A beautifully produced work of mystery, exploration and reflection.”
– Monolith Cocktail
01 All Visible
02 Inner
03 There Again
04 Remnants
05 If Only
06 Shine
07 Cascades
08 Still Visible
Written, produced and performed by
Jason van Wyk
Recorded during 2022-2024 in
Cape Town, South Africa
Mastered by
Ian Hawgood
Cover photography by
Gabrielle Guy
HORIZON
Release date: 12 August 2025
Label: n5MD
Formats: Digital EP
With Horizon, South African composer Jason van Wyk returns to his Inherent material in a new light. Three tracks, Inner, Shine, and Cascades, are transformed through an ambient lens, trading rhythmic momentum for expansiveness and contemplation. The result is a companion piece that spotlights the latent tranquility and emotional resonance of the originals, reframing familiar melodies as immersive sonic landscapes. Horizon confirms van Wyk’s evolving artistry and his uncanny ability to deconstruct and reassemble his work into something renewed, introspective, and deeply felt.
01 Inner (Horizon)
02 Shine (Horizon)
03 Cascades (Horizon)
Written, produced and performed by
Jason van Wyk
Recorded during 2022-2024 in
Cape Town, South Africa
Mastered by
Ian Hawgood
Cover photography by
Rebecca Hauri
It’s such a pleasure to announce that I’ll be a part of Headphone Commute’s Headphone Community Patreon as their featured artist for the month of July. They’ve profiled some of my favourite musicians working today over the last few months, so it’s a real honour to be a part of it.
We have a lot planned for you all, including in-depth interviews, unreleased tracks, discussions about my studio, and I’ll also be answering questions. So if you haven’t yet, please subscribe. It’s really worth your while.
I hope to see you there.
—Jason
“To learn more about the process and inspiration behind this stunning new work, we asked Jason five questions—diving into his influences, creative approach, and the sonic evolution that led to Inherent.” — Don Haugen, Igloo Magazine
A long form one hour mix compiled for the Home Normal label’s 15th anniversary mixtape series.
Mixes from a selection of their artists are available through their Bandcamp on a pay-what-you-like basis, with each mix put together exclusively from the label’s own catalog over the past fifteen years.
Mix and production by
Jason van Wyk, April 2024
Cover photography by
Rebecca Hauri
DEEPRIVER – VOLUME ONE
Release date: 16 June 2023
Label: n5MD
Formats: Vinyl, digital
Deepriver is the recently formed intercontinental project of Cape Town-based Jason van Wyk and long time Stockholm-based collaborator Joni Ljungqvist. Having worked previously in collaboration mining the more introspective side of trance, Deepriver’s inaugural aural statement, “Volume One”, finds the two experimenting with atmosphere and composition to maximal effect. Van Wyk’s recent viscerally experimental direction seamlessly coalesces with Ljungqvist’s conceptually reflective approach in a way that recalls the sounds and nostalgia of electronic music from decades past. Having slowly formed through many iterations, “Volume One” is out now on limited edition clear-vinyl and digital formats.
“The sheer emotional weight and gristling static these pieces carry make it something much more than ambient music.”
– Elsewhere Magazine
“Sign me up for Volume Two.”
– [sic] Magazine
“Lush and enveloping.”
– Stationary Travels
“Magnificent electronic composition.”
– DestroyExist
Year End List – Best of 2023
– Igloo Magazine
Year End List – Best of 2023
– Headphone Commute
01 Tides
02 Coastal
03 Home
04 Valley
05 Slower Waves
06 Motion Blur
07 Hours
08 Divided
Written and produced by
Jason van Wyk and Joni Ljungqvist
Recorded during 2022 in
Cape Town, South Africa and Stockholm, Sweden
Mastered by
Ian Hawgood, Mokoshi Mastering
Cover art by
Karen Lynch, Leaf and Petal Design
Photography by
Nanje Nowack
DESCENDANTS
Release date: 21 October 2022
Label: n5MD
Formats: Vinyl, digital
Descendants is the fifth full-length album from South African producer and composer Jason van Wyk. The followup to “Threads”, his 2021 debut on n5MD, Descendants advances the narrative of van Wyk’s broader-scope, atmospheric sound. This new work brings into focus an approach that builds on van Wyk’s production methods. Underlying elements are taken further and pushed to the extremes while the influence of his film composition work continues to shine through. Descendants is a slow dive into enigmatic depths; disarming, explorative, evolved. A tentative descent into introspection, with each track a sonic rumination of drifting elements, tunnelling into a subterranean wilderness. Available now on limited edition white-vinyl and digital formats.
“One of the most beautiful ambient albums of the year.”
– Indie Rock Mag
“Serene ambient abstraction which brings van Wyk’s daring musicianship to a point of absolute coherence.”
– DestroyExist
“It doesn’t matter which route he goes with his music – I will always be there, absorbing it all. Best of 2022.”
– Headphone Commute
“Consistent, intriguing, and always emotionally pleasant. Best of 2022.”
– Igloo Magazine
01 All This Time
02 Erasure
03 Undoing
04 Reach
05 Past
06 Glimpse
07 Held Still
08 Surface Drone
Written, produced and performed by
Jason van Wyk
Recorded during 2018-2021 in
Cape Town, South Africa
Mastered at
37N,122W
Cover photography by
Rebecca Hauri
Video by
Nanje Nowack
THREADS
Release date: 23 July 2021
Label: n5MD
Formats: Vinyl, digital
Threads is the fourth solo full length from Cape Town, South Africa based composer Jason van Wyk and his debut album for Oakland based n5MD. Previously known for his progressive trance works, van Wyk has spent a lot of his time as of late composing for the film industry. In 2013, his solo output switched to more pastoral forms of neo-classical leaning ambient with his first full-length Days You Remember, before moving into more piano-based composition for Attachment (2016) and Opacity (2017). Threads does reflect some of his previous ambient works; however, the album shows van Wyk composing music for (and of) current times. There is a much-welcomed underlying beauty to Threads, but there are also threads of anxiousness and unwavering intensity throughout its forty-minute run-time. Threads is out now on vinyl and digital.
“Distantly beautiful. Jaw-droppingly epic. One of my favorite releases of the year so far.”
– Igloo Magazine
“Van Wyk leaps even further into the open and high textured atmospheres. One which I’ve been playing on a loop. Best of 2021”
– Headphone Commute
“A wide and yet stylistically-uniform tapestry of tones and textures. A record of supreme beauty.”
– Fluid Radio
“Another enthralling instalment on van Wyk’s musical journey.”
– A Closer Listen
01 Retention
02 Amidst
03 Sun Fluorescent
04 Light Burns Out
05 Partial Dawn
06 Where To End
07 Subdued
08 Near Dark
Written, produced and performed by
Jason van Wyk
Recorded during 2018-2020 in
Cape Town, South Africa
Mastered at
37N,122W
Cover photography by
Gean Burrell
Original score in collaboration with Andries Smit for the film “Triggered”, directed by Alastair Orr and released through Samuel Goldwyn Films. The film and score are both available now on VOD and all digital / streaming platforms.
LOVE
A modern adaptation of the poem ‘Love’ by
Polish writer Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska, originally published in 1926.
Director: Ben Lankester
Starring: Marysia Lyszkowska & Alex Karpinsky
Director of Photography: Conor Chalk
Colourist: Matthieu Toullet
Music & Sound Design: Jason van Wyk
Interview and profile by music journalist Ibrahim Khider for Chain D.L.K.’s Feedback Monitor podcast.
“Jason narrates on ‘breaking in’ the music industry, work flows, habits, and musical transitions.”
“My first introduction to the music of South African producer and composer Jason van Wyk was his 2016 contribution to the Eilean Records project, an entrancingly lush foray into piano-centric post-classical electronica called Attachment. He followed the next year with the equally exquisite Opacity, this time on the venerable Home Normal imprint. Jason made a welcome return last year on the n5md label with Threads, which saw him exploring a more densely layered, atmospheric sound, reflective of his work in composing for film over the intervening years. Continuing in that vein, he has just released a follow-up called Descendants, an album which he deems more introspective in tone but is still very much imbued with the same kind of cinematic breadth and depth. I have thoroughly enjoyed both albums many times over and am thrilled that Jason has taken a few minutes to talk to us about them here.” — Stationary Travels
Three pieces were commissioned by Cologne based book publisher Taschen for three documentaries to promote their upcoming releases; Renowned architect Renzo Piano, fashion and photography icon David LaChapelle and the Bauhaus School of Art and Design.
Renzo Piano: Complete Works
David LaChapelle: Lost and Found / Good News
Bauhaus: 100 Years
Director: Jonas Walter
Executive Producer: Jonas Scheler
Editor: Hagen Hinkelmann
Sound: Markus Gembaczka
Music: Jason van Wyk
The Criterion Collection commissioned a piece for their documentary on New York based fashion illustrator Richard Haines. Among his work with Prada, Calvin Klein and his blog “What I Saw Today”, Haines provided the cover art for Criterion’s release of Tony Richardson’s Oscar winning film, Tom Jones.
Studio Visits: Richard Haines
Producer, Camera, Editor: Tara Young
Supervising Producer: Kim Hendrickson
Production Manager: Brett Sharlow
Executive Producers: Peter Becker, Fumiko Takagi, Jonathan Turell
Audio Mixer: Vasilis Fotopoulos
Post Production Supervisor: Giles Sherwood
Director of Production: Angie Bucknell
Criterion Channel Programmer: Penelope Bartlett
Music: Jason van Wyk
BLINDED
From the album Opacity
Director, Editor: Khai Le
Filmed in Japan, April 2018
Music: Jason van Wyk
FOR NOW
From the album Opacity
Director, Editor: Jacob Rigaux
Music: Jason van Wyk
OPACITY
Release date: 15 September 2017
Label: Home Normal
Formats: CD, digital
“Both haunting and incredibly moving, Opacity is one of the year’s highlights.”
— Fluid Radio
“Such an assured combination of emotional effusion and rich sound design is rare to find. Exceptional.”
— Stationary Travels
01 Shimmer
02 Blinded
03 Until Then
04 Recollect
05 Glow
06 Clouds
07 Beneath
08 For Now
09 Weightless
10 Clearing
11 Hidden
12 Eyes Shut
Written and produced by
Jason van Wyk
Recorded during 2016-2017 in
Cape Town, South Africa
Strings performed by
Brittany Dilkes, Gavin Clayton, Lynne Donson
Mastered by
Ian Hawgood
Cover photography by
Gregory Euclide