The modest, and certainly not outspoken, Eelco Topper, has had quite a storied career. His interest in music began with making beats in his bedroom, before enrolling at Utrecht University to study piano. Having graduated, he then hosted open mic nights, playing live with various hip hop and drum & bass outfits. For 8 years he collaborated closely with Tim van Berkestijn – the artist now better known as Benny Sings – eventually launching the solo electro-pop alias Falco Benz. In 2016, tired of the push and pull of the commercial music business, Topper retreated and reinvented himself as Felbm. Releasing music independently, at his own, pace, under this pseudonym he ditched the synths and instead experimented with acoustic instruments. The first fruits of this project were a series of tapes – 1 to 4 – collections that mixed mellow jazz and bossa nova, which were quickly snapped up and pressed to vinyl by respected London-based label, Soundway. 

Since 2020 Felbm’s music has become increasingly organic – finding him making extensive use of field recordings. The results more fluid, genre-wise less easy to pin down. ECM’s blend of folk, jazz and new age / deep listening, is perhaps the best comparison. For example, 2021’s Elements Of Nature, had him holed up in a former monastery, in the forests of Doornburgh, with only his Tascam recorder and a bag of percussion instruments for company. 2023’s Cycli Infini was a 38 minute cyclical, morphing, completely looped composition, inspired in part by “the circle of life” – Mother Earth’s ability to recycle and repurpose. 

Felbm’s latest long-player, winterspring/summerfall, conceptually is based on Nijūshi-sekki, an ancient calendar once used in China and Japan. The system, rather than dividing the year into 4 broad seasons, instead employs 24 points to more precisely mark the environment’s annual movement. Topper became interested in the idea while reading about the patient perfection of the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, and decided to live by the calendar for 12 months. Recording fauna, flora, and the weather, both sonically and in a diary, as he went. 

The 24 short tracks flow together seamlessly. effectively forming a single piece. Travelling through gamelan gongs and gaggles of wild birds, to plucked harp and guitar strings. All interwoven with a woodwind – whose transforming timbre suggests not only flute, but also reed, and trumpet. The simple, overlapping repeating patterns creating a counterpoint in constant flux. Each layered element drifting in and out, taking its turn to lead. A rippling river, segues into marimba, mimicking the calming click of a zen garden shishiodoshi. Modal moments recall Pharoah Sanders or Don Cherry at their most spiritual / serene. 

Felbm’s winterspring/summerfall can be ordered directly from Bandcamp. 

Last August Felbm shared a Tokyo stage with likeminded musical souls, Maya Ongaku. Check the video below: