Felbm is the recording name of multi-instrumentalist Eelco Topper, and his new release is winterspring-summerfall. winterspring was already out and is now joined by summerfall to complete all four seasons. This is a superlative collection of ambient tracks; music to slow time and foster contemplation. The description by Allie Hatch on Felbm’s Bandcamp page sums the project up perfectly:
“Whilst reading a book about the Japanese tea ceremony, Felbm first came in touch with Nijūshi-sekki, a calendar used in Ancient China and Japan that, rather than dividing time into four seasons, uses 24 points, with six periods per season, to mark what is happening in nature at precise moments. The poetics of these markers intrigued Felbm. Beginning in November 2022, he decided to follow the Nijūshi-sekki for a year, tracking and recording his observations of nature in a journal—from cloud formations to weather patterns, animal life to plants sprouting—while collecting musical ideas inspired by the changes and reflections experienced per period. These musings slowly took shape over the course of the year and became winterspring/summerfall.”
In the winterspring section you get a sense of stillness and the muted colours of winter with the use of ceramic percussion played by Gemma Luz Bosch capturing the stillness and heft of snow, moving into the thaw as we move closer to the spring tracks. The percussion is often playful as it chimes around the other instruments, especially on ‘winter v’ where the flute motif and harmony are entrancing.
The Spring tracks are lively and full of optimism and start to effervesce as the music depicts nature waking up and all the energy required to push out buds and shoots as we prepare for all the R’s: rebirth, rejuvenation, renewal, resurrection and regrowth. NB: the word ‘Spring’ derives from springen or springan (from the Germanic sprenganan) verbs meaning to ‘burst forth’.
There are field recordings blended into many of the tracks and as we arrive at Summer we get the crackle of fire and the sounds of ducks on water; something that the dancing notes and faster pace of ‘summer ii’ illustrates wonderfully, and ‘summer iii’ recreates the feel of restless, hot days and nights so well I nearly had to open a window to try and catch a breeze.
The final movement on the album is ‘fall’ with ominous, low percussive chimes of ‘fall i’ accompanied by rustling sounds that act like dried leaves that have fallen from the trees. We get a more contemplative tone in the music, but this is not about sadness for the loss of summer but an understanding of the necessary transition as nature withdraws in preparation for winter. There is a shiver in the air when you hear the sounds of rain creeping in and there’s a wistful air captured by the nylon-stringed guitar’s minor and 7th chords in ‘fall iv’ and ‘fall v’ which also brings in brittle notes from the harp.
The concept of cycles is not new to Felbm having explored this in the work cycli-infini, a 38-minute piece that, if left to repeat, becomes an infinite loop, and the vinyl version has a locked groove* which can only stopped by lifting the needle on the turntable. The deliberate use of lowercase letters when titling songs and albums signifies to me Felbm’s desire for understatement. No guitar shredding or massive orchestral scores, this is the landscape equivalent of a zen garden rather than the Gardens of Versailles, with nature being mirrored not marshalled.
winterspring-summerfall is a world to lose yourself in. Its overall sense of calm belies the work that has gone into its creation. The hardest thing with ambient music is often the restraint needed when writing; too much is too much, too little is not enough. The concept of this album is inspiring and the execution so evocative of natures cycle you might find the strange desire to reach for a jumper or shorts depending on which season is playing. Felbm told me, “I hope to invite listeners to hear nature differently—or attentively—and to discover the music within its silence.”
All the music is composed, performed, recorded & mixed by Eelco Topper who plays the bansuri (a bamboo transverse flute), nylon string guitar, upright & grand piano, harpika (a sort of zither), log drum, alto xylophone, seed shakers, singing bowls, vibraphone, and gamelan metallophones. Double bass by Nana Adjoa and ceramic percussion on ‘winter’ by Gemma Luz Bosch.
You can also read about how Felbm captured the field recordings in the fascinating article harvesting the sounds of nature with Felbm by Zӧe Brennan and watch Eelco creating the music for the cycli infini album in the video below directed by Pierre Zylstra.
Felbm: Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | YouTube | Bluesky
* locked grooves have fascinated me since I had a copy of The Culling Is Coming by 23 Skidoo which had a locked groove that repeated the album’s title until you couldn’t take it anymore (which wasn’t long). There’s a great Wikipedia page on unusual types of records which includes parallel grooves – this is how you can have a 3-sided album from artists such as Monty Python, Jimi Hendrix, DEVO, and Henge have recently released Journey To Voltus B), flexi-discs, luminous pressings, etched discs, liquid-filled discs and the most exclusive record of all, the gold plated disc that went into space on the Voyager Mission.
Review by Paul F Cook
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