Ramses3000 to release new album Thalamus

Ramses3000 will release his new studio album Thalamus on May 10th via Intercept Records. The album was recorded in a monastery near Breda. Today the new single Everglades is released. During Roadburn festival Ramses3000 will present Thalamus at the offroad programme at museum De Pont.

In the winter of 2022, multidisciplinary artist Yannick Verhoeven, better known as Ramses3000, spent three months in a monastery, working on a new album. Inspired by calming music, Verhoeven aimed to compose music that allows the listener to relax and process the stimuli of daily life. After his debut Nadja, Verhoeven had the desire to explore unknown, musical territory. Like many other creatives Verhoeven deals with ADHD-disorder. Relaxing music helps him on a daily basis to calm down and get his head straight. Driven by a desire to share this sense of tranquility with others, Verhoeven relocated his studio to Park Zuiderhout, a historic monastery and nursing home for elderly people, located in the woods. To gain more insight about how music calms listeners down, during his residency Verhoeven explored the workings of the human brain. He became intrigued by the effects of music on the brain and the ways in which the brain processes music. This led to the title Thalamus, the name for the brain nucleus essential in processing music.

In addition to the natural surroundings, the residents of Park Zuiderhout had a significant impact on Verhoeven's creative process for his new music. Through conversations and attending church services, Verhoeven became enamored with classical music styles such as Gregorian, Baroque, and Renaissance. The conversations with the brothers and fathers about the meaning of life and what the role of music played in their lives, became the foundation of ‘Thalamus’. At the end of his residency he performed his newly composed music live in the chapel, for the local inhabitants of the elderly home. During this recording process Verhoeven had to process some personal stuff: a relationship had just ended and with his music he had the desire to move on and look to the brighter side of live. Crafting the album for two years resulted in a remarkable trip that should be, according to the musician, listened to as a whole. Thalamus is a cross-pollination where the classical and digital worlds meet, incorporating influences from ambient, jazz, new age and psychedelic music.

For the creation of the new single Everglades, Ramses3000 made many different versions: "The track started during my working period at the monastery, where I had a first version where I had played the entire instrumentation myself. To make the track come more alive, I then asked several musician friends to join in. For composing this track, I was inspired by both baroque compositions and game soundtracks." Listen to the single at the bottom of this post. Earlier he already released the single Aphasia.

To give audiences insight into his creative process, Verhoeven had his music heard on various platforms. From prestigious art institutions to performing Thalamus as an art installation, to renowned festivals such as Amsterdam Dance Event, November Music and Boring Festival. At the upcoming shows, he also collaborates with scent artist Brian Oomens and live visuals are generated by Aniek de Rooij.

Shows:

18 April - Roadburn festival - offroad - museum De Pont, Tilburg

3 May - Noordbrabants Museum, Den Bosch

9 May - Park Zuiderhout - chapel, Teteringen