Koen Holkamp (of Mountains ) releases his Thrill Jockey debut as Beast, entitled Ens. Crafted leading up to and after the birth of Koen's first child, Ens is a profoundly intimate and heartfelt journey into the composer’s psyche. Beast reins in his sprawling sound with new resolve, crafting tightly constructed pieces of engaging and ecstatic beauty. Beast’s initial releases simply titled Vol 1 and Vol 2 were performance-centric limited editions and were directly linked to a series of visual environments Holtkamp created with 3D laser projections. As a purely studio project, Ens takes on a more precise and contemplative approach, utilizing finely tuned virtual instruments to create a wealth of beautiful, idyllic textures. The simple beauty of Holtkamp’s music explains the recent surge in interest of both his solo material and Mountains' albums, via popular ambient and electronic playlists. As Beast, Holtkamp has nimbly altered his process of creating dense, immersive music. Ens stands as not only the culmination of his newfound methods, but also a deeply personal moment. In crafting the graceful and passionate sonic tapestries into compact compositions, Beast's Ens masterfully melds the earthbound and the ethereal
