about the record

With hypnotic tape loops, grainy textures, and mesmerizing saxophone, Mattias De Craene creates possible worlds that herald a spiritual transformation. From the Scottish Highlands and desolate mountains to the deepest recesses of the soul, this music has the power to create cinematic landscapes that transcend time and space.

“It’s crazy how everything in my life seems to come together for this project. A fondness for a ‘higher’ being, existentialism, delicious absurdism, cinematography, humor, film music... A complex maze that describes life’s journey in a non-complex way,” shares Mattias De Craene.

Above all, this album is a deeply personal journey and unintentionally serves as a metaphor for De Craene’s ascent of his own mountain. For the VIDEODROOM festival by VIERNULVIER, the saxophonist began working on a new soundtrack for the film The Holy Mountain in 2023, but his body and mind abruptly called him to a halt, forcing him to take a professional break. However, this project never left him, leading to an honest and raw quest to find himself as both a person and an artist, with Jodorowsky as a companion de route and music as an anchor. It initiated a long process of dismantling, searching, healing, and back again. The album not only provides a sanctuary for dreaming to all who listen, but for its creator, it also serves as both an outcry of despair and a source of comfort during challenging times.

All the tracks on A House Where I Dream share an unfiltered grain of life, as one can almost feel the damp breath of the saxophone blowing.

The album opens with the strong three-part “Transcention,” where the hypnotic interplay between soprano sax and lo-fi tape loops leads to higher realms of the mind and soul. Alternating between deep frequencies and far-out folk modalities, this mantra-like triptych acquires an alchemical character and ultimately transcends time and space. In the ethereal “Away,” one can peer into an abyss of resonance while a saturated tenor sax lends guidance in the spirit of Terry Riley’s productions. “You and Me” also bathes in a similar atmosphere, albeit in the vein of healing ’90s ambient, as granular sax tones converge with celestial chants. “Gazing Upwards Towards The Sky” offers different shades of blue as a slumbering tenor sax is juxtaposed with swift sax patterns. On “A Stranger That Moved Me,” beauty lands in a soft and subtle manner, while the closing track “Shepherd’s Glow” drifts like a mountain wind flaring up at the darkest hour of the night.

The artwork is created by Ghent-based artist Sam Timmerman, who portrays the world of A House Where I Dream with playful repetition and mystique.