April Bourne – Ox-Eye

April Fools' Day? No. Just April Bourne and his debut EP, Ox-Eye.

Today is the first day of April, better known as the day we should not trust anyone – as it is April Fool’s Day – or of those jokes that can be made on this day. The idea is always to transmit an idea that surprises others, with unexpected facts, but which could certainly be real.

With April blooming within us, the birds humming and the leaves brighter than ever, we enter April with…April. And with April…We are Bourne Again. We could make several puns, but this week’s new EP comes straight from Antwerp, Belgium, with April Bourne.

April is Dutch, but it was a little further down the European line that his talent was brought up to life. From Dordrecht to Antwerp we are separated by only 83km. A short trip down the road, literally.

April’s talent makes our souls freeze. And the name of his first sonata? Right below.

Ox-Eye

Ox-Eye cover

It is the first momentum in the musician’s career, and we start the same path with thirteen minutes that take us to the spring we have always dreamed of. This release comes from Rotterdam’s record label /nightclub Bound Centre. Certainly, a good place to listen to quality music when we all smile again, live.

The EP fills our lives with four courses, based on one of the greatest pieces of nature that exist on our wonderful planet: the daisy/ox-eye flower. And now we take an ox-eye from nature to our hands. We begin to unfold it, with four petals representing the disc. Will we get a yes, or a no?

As April mentions in the introduction to this EP, the concept behind the name reflects the intersection between nature and the growth of human technology, where ox-eye merges and thrives at this intersection. The result? Ox-eye, for sure.

Out of nowhere, we have the rhythm of Daisy Debris in our ears. A sound that embraces the reliving of good moments in our head. If we close our eyes, we just feel our surroundings, with that fresh breeze washing our soul. I remembered a game that marked my childhood, Night Into Dreams.


Synthetic Vitality follows the initial rhythm, with a more natural side that could perfectly be playing in our favorite nightclub, at the exact time we need to dance until there is no time left. At some point, it reminded us of Sofa T and his album Yakera, which we reviewed here


Heading towards the end, Bruisewort resembles the best of what is done in the dance/synth-pop world. Out of nowhere, we are reminded of Pet Shop Boys and their timeless anthems. Yes, this is the level we raise April to.


We close with a golden petal, named Sour Vitamins, a slow-burn that starts to wake up, little by little, after thirty seconds. From there to the end, the flow dissolves in the air, until it suddenly ends. Nature at its best.


We have finished defoliating the flower. It is still as beautiful as at the beginning, and the answer is clearly a yes. The affection we have for April Bourne is real, and his distinctive sounds already set a unique rhythm in our lives.

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