Belgium-based composer and producer Jean-Philippe Ruelle draws on a rich kaleidoscope of influences from synth-pop to cinematic electronica to ambient soundscapes. Ruelle deftly fuses the emotional heft of storytelling with the detailed craftsmanship of electronic music. He inherits the torch of luminaries like Jean-Michel Jarre, Air, and Vangelis, while his sound remains distinct, personal, and 100% his own. With his latest single, “Impulsein,” Ruelle moves forward boldly to make a piece that feels wide, expansive, and so modern.
At the heart of “Impulsein” lies one of the greatest collaborations. Micheline Van Hautem’s entrancing voice converts this track into something unforgettable, removing it from the mere realm of synth-pop experimentation. There’s something exquisitely expressive about her voice that flips over an ethereal style and outward vulnerability with complete fluidity. In her tone is an agelessness, as if her ancient melodies waited in purgatory to be unearthed when Ruelle had crafted the surrounding production.
Sequenced immediately with heavy, colorful synth patterns, a clipped, deliberate kick drum begins to play under the piece, anchoring the introduction of the track with a heartbeat-like rhythm. This throbbing percussion seemed relentless, expressing physical sensations of excitement, movement, and anticipation.
Jean-Philippe Ruelle’s arrangement comes into the foreground; the gentle swirling arpeggiation melds in, mimicking spoken words, as the midrange synth starts to act as an ostinato, with its movement cleverly mimicking the tides.
Your heart begins to thump again with the first movement, as Micheline Van Hautem’s vocals explode from a brilliant rhythmic base, her voice flying like a strike of lightning with the finesse of an expert fencer. A series of sprawling melodic phrases build upon each other in the first movement, introducing more and more variation, all the same remaining inviting.
But where “Impulsein” gets transcendent is in the second movement. No longer is the jabbing pulse from the frontal assault of the opening; it is almost like breathing after surfacing, after being underwater for so long. Her control over her instrument is truly astonishing, artfully executed, and the product of years of mastery.
The bustling rhythmical first half captures the moment when the two share a more primal acquaintance, while the sorrowful melodrama of the promise begins in the second half and continues to rise because the impulse fades.
Listening to “Impulsein” will throw you into a whirlpool of emotion, memory, and sound. If you have not yet added “Impulsein” to your playlist, now would be the time. Jean-Philippe Ruelle will make you feel the power of music. Do stream “Impulsein” today, and you will be in undiluted enchantment.