New Album & Art Project
CURRENT: An album & live performance project recorded on a 1951 sailboat
Dutch/New York-based artist and Berklee professor Vivienne Aerts presents her new album Current, captured aboard a 1951 Dutch sailboat, built from original songs, layered vocals, synths and field recordings. Not just an album with a concert, but an experience of the visual and sonic world created on the water by Vivienne with an international ensemble, blending “nature, jazz, and ambient electronic music, capturing songs, layers of voice, and the sounds of water itself, shaped by themes of empathy, listening, and the quiet power of movement.” we love to bring part of the album release tour to you.
Current - Solo Concert
As a solo act, I use voice, electronics, Osmoses and other synths, blending lyrics with improvisational textures, atmospheric and environmental sounds, so the set feels both personal and cinematic. Recently Vivienne was featured by Make Music Day New York in the Greenway Botanical Garden at the Naval Cemetery – see video.
Current - Full Band Concert
Optional is full band with Fima Chupakhin on additional synths, Eric Hoegemeyer on 4-track cassette and samples and Walker McSween on Electro Trumpet and EVI.
They recently did a sold-out show at the historic Clipper City tall ship from Manhattan by Sail, bringing the music back to the water with ‘New Amsterdam Sounds’. As they floated through New York Harbor at golden hour, surrounded by skyline views, water, wind, and projections on the sails, the music from Current returned to the environment that inspired it. A floating concert for a floating album. See a snapshot below. Coming up are shows on July 25 in Baltimore aboard the USS Constellation, and August 28th in the Netherlands.
Press
“As a Dutch artist, I carry a deep connection to water, we live with it, not against it. CURRENT lets water steer the sound, capturing the movement, reflection, and resilience that define our culture.”
More press, photos, and program notes are available in the >> press page <<
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“Sound on the water is unlike any studio; full of resonance and mystery.” – 3voor12 Leiden, >> Read full article <<
“Coolest Album Project of 2026” – Chris Hedden, On the Back edge of the Beat
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“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.” – Simon Defty, SimplyJazzTalk
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“It’s glorious music…an album that takes the listener on a captivating and mesmerising musical journey.” – George Cole, Jazz Views
Ultimately, this logbook of a journey along the water invites you to breathe, feel, and move to the rhythm of a tranquil and introspective ebb and flow. Imagine an ambient-jazz album by Diana Krall produced by Laurie Anderson – Patrick
DALLONGEVILLE, PARIS-MOVE
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A cool strain of Brooklyn Loungecore, steeped in introspection and emotional desolation. – Aidmoozic Album of the Day
I came to Current on CD late one evening with the headphones on, and cast off without quite meaning to. By the time the closing track had slipped beneath the surface, I found myself doing a double-take at the counter: had I really drifted the whole way through? I had, and in what felt like a single held breath. That is the first lovely thing about this record — it has a way of carrying you off, and you only notice the distance once you are back on dry land.- Steve Williams, Ukvibe
The show
Best for: Clubs, festivals, art spaces, universities, retreats & boats
Format: Solo to full ensemble, scalable to your stage and budget
Location: Based in New York City, available internationally
On stage, Vivienne Aerts (voice, keys, and electronics) blends intimate melody with improvisational texture, synth atmosphere, and environmental sound so the room can feel both personal and cinematic. The set can be presented as a full concert, concert plus a short talk on the on-water recording process and deep listening, or a special version for boats and waterfront venues, all scalable from solo to full ensemble. Optional visuals and documentary excerpts can expand the experience into an immersive event, with collaborators such as Dutch artist Susanne Alt (sax), Hermine Deurloo (harmonica), and Adinda Meertins (bass) as well as US-based artists such as Fima Chupakhin on additional synths, Eric Hoegemeyer on 4-track cassette and samples and Walker McSween on Electro Trumpet and EVI, bringing the sound world to life.
In other words, CURRENT offers a distinct visual and narrative universe that is easy to communicate, but the listening experience itself is what carries the room, creating deep connection without ever feeling niche.
Click for the full story of current
In the summer of 2025, vocalist and composer Vivienne Aerts set sail across the Dutch waterways aboard her 1951 mahogany sailboat 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.
What began as an experiment in site-specific recording soon became a collective voyage. Aerts invited fellow Dutch musicians: Hermine Deurloo (harmonica), Susanne Alt (saxophone), and Adinda Meertins (double bass) to join her on different lakes and canals, each session shaped by the elements. Ted Steinebach documented the journey for a short film that will accompany the album’s release with help of NYC based Producer Art Jones. The resulting work blends documentary realism and sonic poetry, balancing spontaneity with deep listening, a continuation of Aerts’s long-term dialogue between mindfulness, sound, and community.
Set for release on Spring 2026, Current invites audiences to reflect on the movement of water as both metaphor and environment. The album will launch with floating concerts in the Netherlands and the United States, alongside workshops and talks on creativity and sustainability. Building on Aerts’s acclaimed collaborative album Typuhthâng, Current marks her most intimate project yet, one that flows between continents, generations, and disciplines, reminding us that music, like water, is always in motion.
Click here for bio
The staggeringly versatile skill-set of NYC-based Dutch Singer, Educator, Psychologist and Artist-preneur Vivienne Aerts busts myths around the ‘Jill of all trades’ paradigm with a nonchalance that leaves even the most skeptical purist taking a bow. A Fulbright scholar and Suma Cum Laude Berklee alumna, she’s collaborated with jazz icons like Lee Konitz, Kenny Werner, Dave Liebman, and Chris Potter. Her third award-winning album, Typuhthâng (2023), features 100 female musicians and comes with a bar of chocolate supporting Congolese female cacao farmers through a partnership with Original Beans. Known for her eclectic "Vervool" experience events with her husband, renowned pastry chef Ted Steinebach, Aerts’ interdisciplinary approach bridges music, psychology, and social impact. Since 2015, she has worked at Berklee College of Music, where she teaches a new wave of artists focused on mental well-being, addressing core issues that affect the arts ecosystem. Her innovative work spans mental health, education, and entrepreneurial artistry, challenging the status quo for creators and audiences alike. Up next is a new album 'Current' that she produced on a tiny sailboat, blending jazz, electronics, and vocal loops with water-inspired soundscapes.
Booking
For bookings and presenter inquiries:
Theodoor Steinebach – bookings@vivienneaerts.com
Please include your venue type, preferred date range, and whether you are interested in a boat or waterfront presentation.