Donder

DE WONDEREN

To be released on W.E.R.F.-records, November 22nd, 2024

Downloads & links

 Full album in 320kbps MP3 (85.5mb)
 Album cover (0.5mb)
 3 high resolution band photo’s (7.2mb)

 Donder’s homepage
 Bandcamp
 Spotify

Tracklist

A
1. All I Want For Now (03:59) *
2. Sleutelwoud (1:29)
3. Wolkenkrabber (3:42)
4. Het Mierenlied (2:13)
5. Vergeet de Prins (2:04)
6. Vader ademt (3:54)

B
1. Waterval (3.30)
2. Jouw Blauwe Ogen (2:03)
3. Schapenpootwals (3:10)
4. Koekentrommels (2:55)
5. Versnipperd (3:13)
6. Oh My Love (4:49) *

Credits

Casper Van De Velde - drums, percussion
Harrison Steingueldoir - piano
Stan Callewaert - double bass, percussion, voice

*all tracks composed by Donder, except All I Want For Now by Genevieve Artadi and Oh My Love by John Lennon/Yoko Ono

Stijn Cools - recording, mix
Gert Van Hoof - mastering
Recorded at KC Nona, Mechelen on July 7th, 2023

Lay-out by Jelle Martens
Cover photography by Casper Van De Velde

Music video’s

Vader Ademt
Stop motion video made in ceramics by Juliette Pons

Het Mierenlied
3D animated video made by Robbe Callewaert

Liner notes by Guy Peters

“If there is one instant on De Wonderen that embodies the current artistic modus operandi of Donder, it might be “Vader Ademt”, and more specifically Stan Callewaert’s coarse string scraping around 00:43. As the ‘noise’ in the background gets more intent on disrupting the harmony in the foreground, it feels as if there is a furniture moving company at work, pushing and pulling wooden and metal objects from one side of the room to the other. In the hands of Callewaert, Casper Van De Velde and Harrison Steingueldoir, the piece seems to suggest that music becomes part of the fabric of everyday life.

That refreshing unpretentiousness has always been there. Throughout their near-decade of existence, Donder have always managed to process ordinary life into their albums and performances, with music that is rooted in the moment and a soft spot for the little details and instants that lend color to whatever they/we are doing and experiencing. With this album full of percussive ideas and unpredictable contrasts, you are once again reminded that beauty is more striking when you have to wait for it, or find it in unusual places.

Combine piano, bass and drums and people will tell you “that’s a piano trio, right there”. On their fifth album, they turn that idea upside down. There are several cuts on De Wonderen that present Donder as a kind of percussion trio, the three of them eagerly messing with rhythm, texture and sound. It makes those instances when Steingueldoir comes up with dreamy, hypnotic melodies all the more memorable. Callewaert on his part seems to have freed himself completely, cutting through the music with and without a bow, turning his instrument into a flexible sound generator.

As such, De Wonderen becomes another hard-to-label album by a band that in a matter of a few minutes can sound boldly experimental, unapologetically romantic and childlike spontaneous. They have reached the point where they not only have freed themselves from restrictions, but also work towards a collective sound that is entirely their own. Devoid of sentiment, but touchingly real. Free from pretension, but consistently artful. Playful and loose, while being 100% authentic and personal.”

Guy Peters

About the band

Donder © Björn Comhaire

Belgian band Donder offers an unusual perspective on the usual piano trio. Avoiding set formulas and formats, they paint abstract and plastic landscapes that evoke stillness, confusion and wonder. The music of Donder is authentic and unpretentious, and pays tribute to the sounds and stories of everyday life.

Since their first concerts in 2015, Donder has toured extensively in Europe and released four full albums, including an LP with Danish reed player Lars Greve (Girls in Airports/Bon Iver). They won several prizes, including the Young Jazz Talent Ghent award in 2019 which lead to a cooperation with Norwegian harmonium player Sigbjørn Apeland. The resulting album ‘Het Verdriet’ came out in 2020. In 2024, they are touring with a lie-down concert series, each time with a different guest musician. Donder’s 5th full album ‘De Wonderen’ is scheduled for release in November ‘24.

Drummer Casper Van De Velde (°1995, BE) graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp in 2017 where he studied with Teun Verbruggen, Stéphane Galland, Dré Pallemaerts and Joey Baron. He won the Storm! Contest (organized by KAAP in Ostend) both in 2015 with his duo SCHTNZL and again in 2017 with Donder. In 2016 he was awarded the prize for best instrumentalist at the Tremplin Jazz Contest in Avignon. Casper is active in bands Bombataz, Warm Bad, Early Life Forms, Schreel Van De Velde and An Pierlé Quartet. In 2023 he released his first solo album ‘Sympa’ as singer-songwriter Simba.

Pianist Harrison Steingueldoir (°1995, BE) finished his masters degree at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp in 2017, where he studied piano with Free Desmyter and Erik Vermeulen. Throughout the years Harrison won different awards as soloist and band member and toured through Belgium, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Portugal and Japan with Donder, GYJO and coaching projects with Ambrose Akinmusire and Avishai Cohen. His most recent release is a duo project with saxophonist Erik Bogaerts. Harrison teaches and composes and arranges for bigband, and has both arranged for and played with Brussels Jazz Orchestra.

Bassist Stan Callewaert (°1995, BE) moved to Copenhagen in 2016 to take a master in Music Performance at the RMC. At the same time he also completed his masters at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp where he studied with Nicolas Thys and Brice Soniano. Besides Donder, Stan is a part of the Copenhagen-based trio Lawaai. Through the years he has shared the stage with Karen Borca, Helga Myhr, Randy Peterson, Kresten Osgood and Warren Smith among others. His holistic approach to the double bass as a sound source results in a unusual and recognizable sound. The last years, Stan has been based in Oslo, Norway, where he focuses on teaching, mushroom picking and learning cross-country skiing. He also studies contemporary music at Norges Musikkhøgskole.