Weval CHOROPHOBIA (Red)

When it came to making their fourth album, ‘Chorophobia’, critically-acclaimed Dutch duo Weval faced their fears. Despite being grouped into the dance scene since their 2013-released debut EP ‘Half Age’ and going on to play festival stages including Nuits Sonores, Lowlands, Primavera, Best Kept Secret, Pukkelpop and DGTL Amsterdam with their five-piece band, Harm Coolen and Merijn Scholte have actively pushed away from being known as a floor-filling act. In fact, when the world-touring pair’s self-titled 2016 debut was awarded Best Dance Album at the Edison Awards in their native Holland, they thought they had been nominated in the wrong genre – especially as they were in the same category as EDM DJ Martin Garrix. Such reluctance makes sense: the friends - who have sold out headline shows at the prestigious Royal Concertgebouw and iconic Paradiso in their hometown Amsterdam - got their start in the film industry and have always made music that’s on the more introspective and cinematic edge of the electronic scene. An album designed to be experienced with others - akin to the listening session they hosted for fans which resulted in changes to some of the songs - ‘Chorophobia’ is sure to satisfy both longtime fans and lead them to discover a new audience. Not only is it a hedonistic expansion to the sonic world that Weval spent almost a decade building, their stylistically-brave fourth record is proof that doing what scares you the most often ends up being the most thrilling choice to make.