The Story Of Current: In the summer of 2025, vocalist and composer Vivienne Aerts set sail across the Dutch waterways aboard a 1951 mahogany sailboat called De Vouw. Over two weeks she transformed the tiny boat into a floating studio, recording new songs and soundscapes that blur the lines between jazz, improvisation, and environmental art. Current captures the sounds of creaking wood, rippling waves, passing locks, and birds in flight, weaving them with voice, electronics, and acoustic instruments. The project explores how humans and water coexist – reflecting both the Netherlands’ heritage of “living with water” and the fluidity of creative life itself.
Even before you get to the music, if you have the physical CD, you have to admire the packaging of Current (see the picture at the end of this review). A lot of thought has gone into the presentation of this CD, which makes for a feast for the eyes and all you could need to understand the thinking behind the sounds you are about to be immersed in – probably the most comprehensive liner notes I have come across for the CD format.
My fingers were hovering over the keyboard and … nothing. I found myself totally immersed in the sounds I was hearing. I hit replay and Nothing Needs The World played out again. This is a song about quiet, stillness, contemplation and reflection. The bass work from Adinda Meertins is superb, as is the vocal and key work from Vivienne Aert, but it is the multilayered harmonica lines from Hermine Deurloo that stay with me: “multiple lines [of] the song that miraculously fit together like puzzle pieces”* – simply sublime!
Watch It Show introduces us to saxophonist Susanne Alt who plays beautiful spacious lines with a an authentic feel for the lyrics of the song. Adinda Meertins keeps everything grounded with her bass playing accompaniment to Vivienne Aerts on keys. The lyrics and vocals are wonderful as they overlap in a layered, dynamic crescendo. When I’m Gone is a haunting, introspective piece on dealing with goodbye (whether a permanent or temporary state will be down to listener’s interpretation) and, again, it is the clarity of the harmonica playing of Hermine Deurloo that stands out.
My fingers were hovering over the keyboard and … nothing. I found myself totally immersed in the sounds I was hearing. I hit replay and Outside Inside Outplayed out again. This rarely happens: totally lost for the right words to express what I am hearing more than once on an album. Everything about this song, like the album’s opening track, simply works and I am wrapped up with something visceral, with nothing to say and everything to feel.
Current works on so many levels, musically, artistically and naturally. There is a complex simplicity at play throughout the album in which it is so easy to loose one’s self. Vivienne Aerts blends played music with soundscapes, electronica and natural sounds to such good effect – and the musicians she has chosen to work with appear to understand what her music is about, and what she is trying achieve. The CD package is an important part of this release (“a little travel kit for stillness”**) and I would strongly suggest that you will get more from the experience if you have the physical product.
Current is due for release Friday 26th of June, 2026 (the same day I am booked in for a haircut – just wanted to share that with you for some reason).
Tracklist: 01 – Nothing Needs The World; 02 – Touching The Light; 03 – Watch Its Show; 04 – Gathered Hear; 05 – Current (Improv 1); 06 – When I’m Gone; 07 – Where Is The Sun; 08 – Closer; 09 – Water Lock (Improv 2); 10 – Reminiscing; 11 – Outside Inside Out.
All compositions and arrangements by Vivienne Aerts
Musicians: Vivienne Aerts (vocals, keys & electronics), Hermine Deurloo (harmonica), Susanne Alt (saxophone), Adinda Meertins (bass)
* taken from the liner notes.
** taken from artist’s website https://vivienneaerts.nl/current/ and well worth looking at!
SimplyJazzTalk 