FOLK, A Sonic Capsule of Shared Emotions: A Review of the Blaze’s 2025 Album
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Perennial engageurs of sensory stimulation, The Blaze, committed their energetic live performances to their 2025 album, FOLK. Ensnared in an ethereal embrace with their audience, in London’s legendary Royal Albert Hall, the French twosome captured the epitome of collective intimacy. Transcending the conventions of dancehall and jungle, FOLK manifests the dynamic relationship between the artists and their fans.
Cousins Guillaume and Jonathan Alric, better known as The Blaze, have been etching their name in the ambient electronic dance music scene since debut video “Virile” in 2016. Jonathan’s film school roots in Brussels combined with Guillaume’s musical prowess created a multidimensional experience of sight and sound. They have carried this philosophy through their discography, culminating in FOLK.
A spontaneous genesis of shared melodic resonance, FOLK is an exultation of live music’s unique camaraderie. The mesmerizing rhythms and lyrics, echoing through London’s Royal Albert Hall, resonated with dancing bodies and receptive ears. It encapsulated three years of world tours, unforgettable festival performances, and an ever-growing sea of fans – a homage to the transcendental power of live performance.
Like an aural homage to human warmth thriving in concerts, FOLK genre-hops into a treasury of human experiences. This goes in sync with The Blaze’s philosophic titles for previous albums. The album encapsulates the ethos of dancehall, adds the vibrancy of Jungle and brings out the human element of FOLK. A testament to human narratives, the album serves as a memory capsule, a keepsake of shared musical performances.
FOLK is reminiscent of their previous album, Dancehall that received critical acclaim and later, their success with Jungle in 2023. However, unlike working with popular artists like Dua Lipa and The Weeknd on previous albums, FOLK stands alone, built on mutual electric energy between The Blaze and their audience. This introspective album propagates the same raw, ethereal ambiance, akin to tracks by other artists in the same genre, like Tchami and M83.
From their humble beginnings in Paris, producing music with interlaced visuals, to globally recognized performances at festivals like Coachella, Sonar, Roskilde and Rock en Seine, The Blaze continues to challenge the confines of traditional performance. FOLK is not just an album, but a sonic encapsulation of shared experiences, a testament to an evolutionary journey through sound and rhythm. It is a tribute to every beat, rhythm, and melody that brought people together, transforming bodies into a sea of music and motion.
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