Best of 2016 #10: Stijn Demuynck – “Pouance” (Self-Produced)

The debut album from drummer Stijn Demuynck is a very specific vision, a solitary image captured in time that hints at the existence of a multitude of details below the surface.  With only the comforting chatter of drums, the murmur of woodwinds and bass, and the occasional harmony of a choir, Pouancé exists in a state of serenity, and the only transformations that occur are those that reflect its different facets.  There is the impression of a snow globe.  Within it, a city skyline.  It exists in an entirely different world.  And even from the turbulence of being shaken, that city and all of its hidden inhabitants, remain unmoved, a tranquil presence as the water grows more still and the snow falls down upon it.  That is how I’ve viewed Pouancé for the better part of the year I’ve been listening to it.  It remains one of the most beautiful things I’ve heard in 2016.

Jazz from Cologne, Germany.

Read more about the album on Bird is the Worm (LINK).