Amor Fati (2015) is currently being remastered. 

1. Hasteland
2. Echonation
3. NoToKen
4. Lydia II
5. Thurasia
6. Homeless Homeland
7. Soulétude
8. At Stake
9. Irene
10. Wake-up Call from a Dreamgirl
11. Amor Fati

ONGEHOORD

WDS 03.10.015
[Translated from Dutch]

Out for about a month now: Amor Fati, the fourth full album by Wim Kesteloot, better known as WiltMan. In recent years, the far too modest singer-songwriter from Ghent had already delighted us with the Lo-Files series (I, II and III).
“Fine piece of art,” we wrote about the final part of the Lo-Files triptych, which breathed nothing but melancholic Americana. Expectations were therefore rather high when we found the new album in the post.
One year after the (for now) final Lo-Files release, WiltMan takes a slightly different tack with Amor Fati. Slightly, because the album—eleven tracks strong—does not immediately involve a major change of course. Whereas in past years Kesteloot mostly let his guitar do the talking—something he is astonishingly good at—on the new album he takes the floor himself more often.
The guitar still takes center stage, but it now has to share the listener’s attention with more vocals, samples, keys, and percussion than before. On the opening track Hasteland, even a busily ticking drum computer keeps things moving.
If the Lo-Files evoked an autumnal feeling, then Amor Fati is more suited to dog days associations: making music when it’s scorching hot and daily life is forced into a lower gear, while worries and preoccupations keep charging ahead full speed. In short: a summer record in which sunny feel-good tunes are conspicuously absent.
The best comes halfway through the album with Thurasia: a plaintively wailing guitar and a heavenly beautiful melody in which the growling baritone is joined by Maud Cosijn, who delivers excellent backing vocals. Homeless Homeland, immediately after Thurasia, is a second highlight.
Amor Fati is a beautiful, warm album with a few rough, dark edges. Intriguing and engaging. It only reveals its secrets after several listens. Well worth discovering.

Maarten Timmermans - 26.01.016
[Translated from Dutch]

Wiltman is the one-man project of Wim Kesteloot from Ghent. On his first three releases (Lo-Files I, II and III) he set out in search of a new musical outlet. He had already been active in a few other bands (Viper Rosa and Agent Wander) and as a sound designer for theatre. As Wiltman, he gives free rein to his love for dark Americana and cinematic soundscapes. The foundation of the songs lies in his autumnal voice and blues-tinged guitar sounds. And in the background there is always something of electronics crackling along, a sample emerging, or a beautiful second voice appearing. All these elements come together on this record in eleven fine songs. Despite the different musical touches, it never feels overcrowded. The unnecessary has been cut away, both musically and lyrically. This is simply solid work from someone still operating in the shadows. And albums that come with a handwritten note always end up a bit higher on our pile.

DE ONGELETTERDE WANHOOP

Sven Volckerijck - 05.11.015
[Translated from Dutch]

With Amor fati, Wiltman has made an album, following his series of three Lo-files, on which he brings the vocals more prominently to the foreground. That voice strongly reminds me of Daan, and in the opening track Hasteland we get music that would not be out of place in the Antwerp artist’s back catalogue. But attentive listeners, especially from the following tracks onward, will discover a sound of his own. Everything sounds very warm, and the guitars are steeped in Americana. Notoken takes me to a remote ranch in a vast landscape, with mountains in the background and fragments of clouds accentuating the glow of the orange sunset.
The lyrics are sometimes rather minimalist and not so easy to interpret, as in Lydia II (Les virages / Au Nord ou Sud de Rome / d'être sage / deux hommes / Les virages / Au Nord ou Sud de Rome / deux visages / un homme).
Among my favorites is certainly Thurasia, which musically again evokes a longing for vastness, and lyrically tells of dilemmas and choices and the difficulty of cutting the knot. For this, Wiltman does not use grand words or eloquent sentences, but simple, almost everyday phrases.
In the past, comparisons have sometimes been made with Mark Knopfler, and for me that applies most clearly in Homeless homeland. Soulétude is something of an outsider, yet still a fascinating piece to sink one’s teeth into. It sounds more playful, with the guitar subordinate here to percussion and the simple motif that keeps returning.
​The album closes with two instrumental tracks. Wakeup-call from a dreamgirl sounds dreamy and comes close to the soundtrack work of Ry Cooder, while the short title track incorporates the spellbinding intensity of David Eugene Edwards’ (Woven Hand) guitar playing.

MUSICZINE.NET

[Translated from French]

A saying of the philosopher and Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius: “Amor Fati” means “accept your destiny” in Latin… For the Belgian Wiltman, that destiny will probably be never to enjoy mass success, despite the evident quality of his compositions. A few months after releasing an EP that nicely combined one idea of folk with another of progressive rock—while making judicious use of samples—Wim Kesteloot returns to the table, still drawing inspiration from Ry Cooder (Homeless Homeland), Mark Knopfler (Echo Nation), and the American West so often plundered (Thurasia). Yet the man from Ghent manages to construct a distinctive universe by carefully juxtaposing sound excerpts (Echo Nation), while making use of his deep voice and an unsettling instrumentation. In this way he succeeds in creating captivating tracks, torn between electricity and genuine soundscapes. May Wiltman’s “Amor Fati” persist in its deviant path, regardless of the success expected…