RoqueForte

Studio album by Aranis

Released

21 September 2010

Recorded

March–April 2010

Genre

Avant-rock, experimental, neo-classical chamber, minimalism

Length

58:22

Label

Home Records

Aranis chronology

Songs From Mirage
(2009)

RoqueForte
(2010)

Made in Belgium
(2012)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Babyblaue Seiten
The Rocktologist	7/10

RoqueForte is a 2010 studio album by Flemish acoustic avant-rock, experimental and neo-classical chamber music group Aranis, led by composer and contrabass player Joris Vanvinckenroye. It is their fourth album and was released in Belgium by Home Records.

The album includes guest musicians Dave Kerman (drums) from Thinking Plague and Present, and Pierre Chevalier (keyboards) from Univers Zero and Present. The inclusion of a drummer on RoqueForte is a departure from Aranis' previous "signature drummerless acoustic sound".

In a review at AllMusic, Dave Lynch called RoqueForte Aranis' "finest recording thus far", and described the music as their "most varied … to date". He said that Joris Vanvinckenroye's compositions here are "uniquely beautiful and powerful", and complemented rock drummer Dave Kerman's restraint on this "chamberesque – and at times nearly orchestral" album.

Writing at Progressor, Vitaly Menshikov described the album as "truly astonishing", and "highly recommended to all 'serious' progressive music lovers". A reviewer in The Rocktologist magazine was a little more critical of the album, saying that while he has enjoyed Aranis' music, he felt that some of the compositions on RoqueForte tend to be similar in structure to their earlier work, and that the arrangements are often a little "too condensed", leaving "hardly any spaces for the music to take on more atmosphere".

All tracks written by Joris Vanvinckenroye.

Source: Liner notes,AllMusic,Discogs.

Recorded March–April 2010 at Madam Fortuna, Borgerhout, Antwerp, Belgium

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