Between modal mysticism and otherworldly folk trance, “Stained Glass Starling” draws the Razen universe into its deepest
listening mode yet.
Belgian formation Razen joins forces with Dutch composer and theatre musician Dick Van der Harst for a new collaborative album
Stained Glass Starling on VIERNULVIER Records.
After their recent LP Mirages (Kraak Records,2025) with French turntablist Guilhem’All, the group continues to explore collaborations with
artists and instruments from diverse musical traditions. Building on decades of uncompromising acoustic exploration, Razen delves deeper into their
practice with five improvisational pieces that unfold slowly in time and space. The duo’s radical core - Brecht Ameel and Kim Delcour -
finds in Van der Harst a longtime kindred spirit, united by the impact of sound, intonation, and the sheer joy of playing.
To be released on April 24 via VIERNULVIER Records, the artwork for Stained Glass Starling was created by American visual artist
Robert Beatty (Oneohtrix Point Never, Christina Vantzou, The Weeknd, Tame Impala). The physical release comes with a 16-page
booklet including artwork and an interview.
A long-standing artistic kinship lies at the heart of this project, with first encounters dating back to the early 2000s in Belgian musical improv theatre. Van der Harst’s lifelong experience in improvised music and music theatre, spanning back to the 1980s, combined with a vast arsenal of rare and historical instruments, opens new tonal territories within the Razen universe.
These explorations are not incidental: his family roots in the former Dutch East Indies — through his great-grandfather — provide a quiet backdrop to his enduring affinity for Asian musical traditions. Instruments such as erhu, Javanese kacapi, and others introduce timbres that bring the music its most pronounced Asian inflections to date. Yet despite this shift in colour, the underlying ethos remains unmistakably Razen. Working from sound rather than form, the ensemble approaches music as painters approach a canvas: adding layers, contrasts and shades with care. There is no soloist’s ego here; all
voices are equal, echoing principles found in gamelan traditions.
Over the decades, Razen and Dick Van der Harst have crossed paths repeatedly, notably through cult theatre productions by Belgian theatre
maker Eric De Volder, including Zwarte vogels in de bomen (2002) and Huis der Verborgen Muziekjes I–II (2000–2006). Recording an album together had long been a shared aspiration — a wish that crystallised after a 2024 concert at Concertzaal Miry in Ghent, part of the Ruiskamer series by VIERNULVIER Art Centre.
ABOUT THE ALBUM
Recorded in the living room of David Poltrock, Stained Glass Starling captures moments of heightened presence and attention. Most pieces were performed in first takes, with minimal cues discussed beforehand — a practice that forms the very foundation of Razen’s work and consistently shapes both their recordings and live performances.
The core trio consists of Dick Van der Harst, Kim Delcour and Brecht Ameel, joined by guest musicians Berlinde Deman (serpent) and Paul Garriau (hurdy-gurdy). Overdubs were added with precision, always in service of the music’s inner balance and soul. Entirely acoustic, the music is shaped by an insistence on control over sound itself. Glass-sharp intonation, purity of tone, and the physical presence of the instruments carry the music’s power. Long, expansive tracks gradually unfold — layers joining, intertwining, and settling into fragile yet resonant harmonies.The effect is both sacral and trance-like, imbued with a quiet modal mysticism. Van der Harst’s use of a wide array of rare and historical instruments — including erhu, tromba marina, Javanese kacapi, harmonium and foot bass — introduces unfamiliar timbres that spark curiosity and deepen the album’s sense of a ‘meeting of worlds’.
ABOUT RAZEN
Razen is, at its core the duo project of Brecht Ameel and Kim Delcour. Starting sometime in 2010, their deep diving into the outer limit of Early Music has unearthed a rich bounty of spectral timbres and tonal wonders, putting string and wind instruments from all of their world at play with electronics and silence.
Their rotating cast of members has infused a particular hue into every single release, which over the years have been championed by labels such as Hands in the Dark, TAL, Meakusma, Important Records, Kraak and others.
ABOUT DICK VAN DER HARST
Dick Van der Harst (1959) is a Dutch composer, arranger and musician whose work brings together a wide range of influences, including jazz, classical music and folk traditions from across the world. From 1989 to 2013 he was composer-in-residence at LOD Muziektheater in Ghent.
Over the years he created numerous music theatre productions, collaborating with actors and directors such as Koen De Sutter and with Alain Platel of Les Ballets C de la B. In projects such as his own folk-inspired brass ensemble Banda Azufaifo and the widely acclaimed theatre cycle Huis der Verborgen
Muziekjes I & II, Van der Harst brings together a remarkable range of musical styles, from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to Camarón de la Isla. In 2001 he received the Louis Paul Boon Prize for his social engagement and the strong human connection present throughout his work. Three years later he was awarded the Theatre Festival Prize. In 2007 and 2008 he served as city composer of Ghent.