Donder (thunder in Dutch) is a Belgian trio featuring Oslo-based double bass player-percussionist Stan Callewaert, pianist Harrison Steingueldoir and drummer-percussionist Casper Van De Velde. De Wonderen (The Wonders) is the fifth album of this unorthodox piano trio, following its sophomore album with Danish reed player Lars Greve (self-released, 2018) and the fourth one with Norwegian organ player Sigbjørn Apeland (Het Verdriet, W.E.R.F., 2020).
The trio recorded the new album on a slow summer day in July 2023 in the old theatre hall of KC Nona in Mechelen, enjoying the room’s lively acoustics and the conscious choice for an upright piano. De Wonderen is characterized by unusual and unorthodox playing techniques and carefully documented imperfections. Guy Peters, who wrote the liner notes, faithfully summarized this album’s aesthetics: «With this album that bubbles with 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».
And Donder does not stop surprising with irreverent ideas. This trio paints abstract and plastic landscapes that evoke stillness, confusion and wonder, in an innocent and unpretentious manner that pays tribute to the sounds and stories of everyday life. De Wonderen begins with an introspective percussive cover of the dreamy pop song of American singer-songwriter Genevieve Artadi’s «All I Want For Now». It continues with a like-minded, chaotic but often lyrical-melancholic blend of abstract melodies, with occasional whistling and even Norwegian lyrics, that sometimes sound like part of an imaginative, dramatic-percussive soundtrack. The album ends with a beautiful but subversive cover of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s «Oh My Love». Beauty is indeed a strange thing, full of many unorthodox wonders.
The attached videos were created by 3D and motion designer Robbe Callewaert and visual artist and ceramist Juliette Pons.
Eyal Hareuveni
Casper Van De Velde (drums, percussion), Harrison Steingueldoir (piano), Stan Callewaert (double bass, percussion, voice)
