Dolphins into the Future
Bio
Lieven Martens (°1981, Turnhout - Belgium) performs conceptual music that challenges expectations and expands the boundaries of what's possible. Trough experimentation and mistakes he reveals a beauty, a storyline, a fantasy, or some hard fact.
He researches field recording and the sociological dimensions of the soundscape.
And then he writes words for an NGO.
He has been acknowledged as one of the starters of the ambient/new age revival that took place all along the past decade.
His live concerts float between field recordings, ambient, sound art and modern composition.
He recently collaborated with Christina Vantzou, M. Sage, Miaux, and Sugai Ken.
He released albums on a.o. the Japanese label Em Records, American label Not Not Fun Records, and the Belgian labels Ultra Eczema and Kraak.
He runs the record label Edições CN, praised for its quality catalogue of international artists.
> Lieven Martens Onesheet PDF
> Lieven Martens Artistic CV PDF
Press Quotes
Lieven Martens is well known for his work as Dolphins into the Future in which he was a leading figure in the noise boom of the early 2000s and was associated with Exotica using early synth and electronic music and new age influences. I hope we will hear a lot more of his music on UK Radio in the ensuing years. He really is a major talent. BBC Radio 3
Martens is a prominent figure in the international post-noise network. (…) has fastened on one rivulet in the torrent of ex-Skaters output and developed it into a distinct and more fully realized sound-stream. Dolphins Into the Future is a significantly more electronic proposition, touching on just about every decade of its history. Simon Reynolds
Field recordings are often more about listening than recording, and nobody listens like Lieven Martens. As Dolphins Into The Future, he blended new age, early synthesizer music and tropical field recordings making one-of-a-kind soundscapes during the noise boom of the mid-2000s. Now, under his own name, his music is even more poetic. FACT
And that’s part of the allure and brilliance of his work here. “The Habu” could be a soundtrack to any number of genres and fit in just fine. Lieven Martens work continues to be an important touchstone and with “The Habu”, he shows there’s so much more to come. Foxy Digitalis
Selected Discography
Katharina AW with Miaux and Luc Dockx (Edições CN, BE 2023)
Riding Fences with Matthew Sage (Edições CN, BE 2022)
Serrisme with Christina Vantzou & Jan Matthé (Edições CN, BE 2021)
The Habu (Poole Music, USA 2021)
KAGIROI with Sugai Ken (Edições CN, BE 2021)
Lips with Roman Hiele (Ultra Eczema, BE 2018)
Three Amazonian Essays (EM Records, JP 2018)
Idylls (Pacific City Sound Visions, USA 2017)
Songs Of Gold, Incandescent (Edições CN, BE 2015)
Music from the Guardhouse (Kraak, BE 2013)
Canto Arquipélago (Underwater Peoples, USA 2012)
Eternal Landscapes with Ada Van Hoorebeke (Aguirre, BE 2011)
Ke Ala Ke Kua (Kraak, BE 2010)
The Music Of Belief (Release The Bats, SE 2010)
On Sea-Faring Isolation (Not Not Fun, BE 2009)
These albums were reviewed in
The Wire, Foxy Digitalis, Fact, Tiny Mix Tapes, Gonzo (Circus), Humo, The Quietus, Pitchfork, ...
Lieven Martens toured in
Europe, North America, Mexico, Japan, Australia & New Zealand
He performed at
Centre Pompidou Paris, ISSUE Project Room New York, Café OTO London, Oshiai Soup Tokyo, Aural Mexico City, WWW Tokyo, Blä Oslo, AB Brussels, Theater Aan Zee Oostende, Bozar Brussels, Wiels Brussels, Fylkingen Stockholm, ZDB Lisbon, Kraakfestival Hasselt, Aalst and Brussels, ...