bvdub - Safety in a Number (2015)

Brock Van Wey started off our year with a podcast that came at a transitional time in his life, which included relocating after a decade-plus stint teaching English in China. His prolific musical output slowed down in the midst of it, with the ambient artist dropping just one album when he usually does a handful.

Safety In A Number, then, is his second full-length of 2015. He calls it his "most intense, and seminal album... the zenith, to date, of my story and my voice." It was written over a long process that took two years. The LP will be self-released through Bandcamp in a hand-numbered CD edition of 365. (A further 100 Japan-only copies will come via Linus Records.) There will be no repress, though Van Wey will make a digital edition available. He's not offering any preview streams either.

"This time, I am asking people to take a leap of faith," he told RA over email. "There will be no sound samples on my Bandcamp... Those who know me will have to trust me... And those who don't, well they will have to be willing to take that risk. I want it to show up in your mailbox, and be a surprise from start to finish... a true, and new, experience."