Tobias Volckaert Album release Ever Present

A bird flying over Brussels-North, an inflated nurse's glove dancing in the wind. Or pondering the concept of growing, the fascination for the power of mycelium. These are everyday scenes and thoughts that inspire Ever Present, the newest outlet of Tobias Volckaert. The ideas sprout from deceptively simple scenes in familiar environments and on the road, but are equally influenced by recurring reflections on our living world. Everyday thoughts that are sometimes light, funny, playful and hopeful, then again searching, reserved and doubting. With this project, Tobias hopes to share the interwovenness of impressions and thoughts in a wordless way with the people around him. Tobias’ compositions have a strong melodic character and consciously take the time to develop in an organic way. By analogy with the influence of daily impressions on our thoughts, melodies are always placed in a different light by changing harmony, tempo and dynamics. This creates a coherent but ever-changing repertoire that the listener feels evolve throughout the set from mysterious and questioning to cheerful and driving. Since Hoewel Tobias wrote all the music, there is a lot of room for interpretation and the band members are actively involved in the development of the songs and the sound of the band. Fully composed and arranged pieces alternate with (free) improvisation moments in which all musicians get the opportunity to color the music in a personal way. After a very successful try-out tour in the autumn of 2025, with concerts in, among others, the Hnita Jazz Club and STUK, the band recorded their debut album, which will be released in October 2026 on Off Records. Ever Present Tobias Volckaert (saxophone and compositions) Nicolas Van Belle (guitar, effects and voice) Emanuel Van Mieghem (double bass) Robbe Broeckx (drums)