PREMIERE: Leyline - Between Forms [GIFKIKKER]
Brussels collective GIFKIKKER has announced [SPAWN001], a 12-track debut compilation serving as a fundraiser for their local reptile sanctuary. An almost too perfect idea on paper, it turns out the reptile sanctuary was one of the original inspirations for the creation of the collective, when the group of friends brought the poison frog to life years ago, mid-pandemic.
At the helm of the curatorial role for the label is Leyline, an artist I’ve gotten to know over past year or so. We first connected when I featured GIFKIKKER as the first in our Label Spotlight series. Leyline is a man of many hats, juggling the label & regular events with seemingly omnipresent inspiration pouring out of his studio. The breadth of his sound can be heard right away with a quick browse through his releases & his Memoir mix - a kind of ambient techno that is upbeat but subdued, with a continuous flow that I often associate with nature. It’s like sitting by a harbor & hearing all the associated sounds. Water is naturally rhythmic so the sounds of buoys, flag poles, masts of sailboats, docks creaking can be somewhat predictable but within that predictability there’s also a bit of chaos & randomness & that’s something I think Leyline does beautifully with his music. His ambience with atmospheres, noise & crystalline textures, a keen understanding of space with dubbed out elements bouncing around the stereo field.
To provide some more background about the compilation curation process as well as the intentions behind it, I asked Leyline some questions as you listen to his own track ‘Between Forms’ below. We look forward to welcoming Leyline to our very own Never Late label in the future with his debut album sometime at the end of the year / early 2027 & stay tuned for an ambient live set recording on Zach’s Sundays are for at the end of this month.
The [SPAWN] VA concept has been in the works for quite a while, understandably since you curated it yourself as well as did the mastering for all of the tracks. It is such a well-rounded collection of music from a broad range of artists, which really speaks to your vision for GIFKIKKER. What was the process like for you planning & putting together this compilation?
The initial idea of the SPAWN series was to make it a full ambient VA. But this “initial idea” always ends up being only a guideline when it comes to how I develop projects. While I was scouting for tracks I realized the result would be a lot better if I was more open-minded to what music I would accept for this project.
Our vision with GIFKIKKER has always been to let the individuality of an artist shine thru. This is only possible when the label has no explicit sound, as it allows and encourages the artist to make their music as a form of self-expression, rather than trying to fit a certain pre-determined style. It’s my job as a curator to make sure that there is still some sense of coherence in each project, without imposing it on the artists. So in the end it only made sense to carry over this broad vision to the spawn series.
What also helps is that ever since I have been running this label I get to meet a whole lot of super talented individuals all over the world. So creating the VA was just a matter of asking those people I am so happy to be surrounded with. Then all there is left to do is trying to bring all these submissions together as a coherent and emotional story.
When you asked me to be a part of it & mentioned that proceeds from the sales would go to your local reptile sanctuary in Flanders, my childhood self screamed with joy. When I was around 12 or 13 I volunteered at a local nature center & wildlife sanctuary, taking care of reptiles, amphibians & birds of prey. It was such a special experience working there & it's a place I still visit a few times a year, 25 years later. Can you tell me a bit about the reptile sanctuary you've chosen to raise money for & what your connection is to it? Obviously your label's name & visual identity connects to a venomous amphibian & the music represents a balance between the natural & digital world, but what was it specifically about SOS Reptiel that made you want to help raise money for them?
The idea to start GIFKIKKER came partially from SOS Reptiel. Back in the day, the idea was to organize a fundraiser party for this reptile rescue center. We were watching their YouTube videos and one of my friend was keeping tadpoles at his home. Realizing we wouldn’t attract a lot of people by organizing a random fundraiser we started releasing EP’s and mixes, and that’s how GIFKIKKER collective was born
There was only one problem… We soon found out it’s really hard to make any money while organizing underground parties. In fact, during all this time we haven’t really ever been able to turn a profit. So we focused on growing the collective and never ended up doing the fundraiser. The SPAWN series is our way to fulfill this mission, and finally raise some money for the reptile sanctuary.
[SPAWN001] releases digitally on June 19th.