The Manual Stop (première)

by Sander De Keere

Sander De Keere breathes music. In addition to his work as a radio presenter and podcast maker at Klara (VRT), he has steadily built a path as a composer of contemporary classical music in recent years. Following his debut EP Primitive Structures (W.E.R.F. Records, 2022) and the piano composition For Ruth Crawford—a tribute to the American composer Ruth Crawford Seeger—Sander deliberately stepped back for several years to further develop his musical language.

In October 2026, he returns with the release of his new album The Manual Stop: the result of countless nights spent with a newly built replica of a Baroque Contius organ in the St. Catherine’s Church. Its 1,765 pipes and 27 stops breathe, click, swell, and pulse like analogue electronics, transforming the organ into an acoustic synthesizer from the pre-electric age.

With The Manual Stop, De Keere presents both a bold homage to the craftsmanship of the instrument and an adventurous sonic experiment. The result is a captivating and distinctive listening experience in which ancient resonances meet forward-thinking sound design. The album bridges the sacred and the synthetic, with repetitive patterns, drones, and ethereal soundscapes that radically reshape our expectations of the pipe organ.

In Leuven, De Keere will present his new album live for the first time. He will adapt his compositions to the impressive Contius organ of St. Michael’s Church and will also be joined by cellist Nina Vanhoenacker.

Tickets

Available via STUK