Published
Mon, May 6, 2019, 20:15
- The Brussels-based composer was recently the subject of a vinyl retrospective called First Meeting.
The obscure but well-loved Belgian composer Dominique Lawalrée has died.
Lawalrée worked at a prolific pace over the course of his career, composing around 450 works spread across 20 albums. In 2017, a compilation called First Meeting, drawing from private-press recordings released between 1978 and 1982, met with underground acclaim. That record led to Lawalrée's first live performance in the US, which RA's Brandon Wilner reviewed.
Lawalrée's sparse, Satie-influenced compositions for piano and synthesizer fit into "The New Simplicity" movement, according to Kerknet. Brian Eno was a fan, and considered Lawalrée's music for his Obscure Records label before it folded. Instead, many of Lawalrée's recordings came out via his own Editions Walrus imprint. Lawalrée had been focused on religious music since 1994, following a conversion experience during a pilgrimage to Medjugorje.
Listen to Dominique Lawalrée "Le Secret Blanc."