Jeroen Dirrix | Call the Flood
Rotterdam composer’s longing for nature birthed a hypnotic piano loop that slowly builds into multilayered ambient perfection, mastered by Taylor Deupree in 2021.
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Story Behind “Call the Flood”
The Single Piano Loop That Became Something More
“Call the Flood” began with simplicity. Just one piano loop. But for Rotterdam-based composer Jeroen Dirrix, that single repeating phrase contained everything he needed to escape the industrial concrete surrounding his urban studio. As he explained to Apple Music, “I love the build, how it slowly develops from a single piano loop to a multi layered piece.”[1]
The track emerged from what Dirrix describes as a longing for nature experienced from the trappings of Rotterdam’s concrete landscapes.[2] Working in his professional production studio in Soundport, surrounded by analogue synthesizers and equipped with twenty years of Ableton Live expertise,[3] Dirrix crafted an imaginary escape route. The piano became his vehicle, with analog synths and field recordings weaving through the soundscape like water finding its way through stone.
From Classical Drummer to Neo-Classical Visionary
Dirrix’s path to “Call the Flood” traced an unlikely route. He started as a classically trained drummer at the Utrechts Conservatorium, playing in jazz ensembles, symphony orchestras, and hard rock bands.[3] But everything changed at age eight when he attended a modern dance performance with his mother and heard Philip Glass’s minimal piano music for the first time. “As a young kid I was amazed and wanted to write music like that ever since,” he recalled.[1]
By the time he composed “Call the Flood” for his debut EP A Hidden Place, Dirrix had studied composition at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels and established himself as a multi-instrumentalist who moved freely through neo-classical, experimental, and electronic music.[3] The track represents the convergence of all these influences—the minimalist repetition of Glass, the atmospheric depth of his heroes Nils Frahm and Thom Yorke, and his own intuitive approach to organic and synthetic textures.[1]
“Call the Flood” Recording and Production Details
Self-Produced in Rotterdam’s Industrial Heart
Dirrix wrote, produced, played, and mixed “Call the Flood” entirely himself in his Rotterdam studio.[4] The production approach reflects his dual expertise in acoustic and electronic sound design—the track centers on acoustic piano but wraps it in what he describes as “soothing sounds of analog synthesizers and field recordings.”[2]
The recording process emphasized meditative patience. Rather than constructing the track through traditional arrangement, Dirrix allowed the single piano loop to establish its hypnotic foundation before gradually introducing layers. Each addition—synth pads, subtle percussion, atmospheric textures—arrives organically, as if the piece is growing rather than being built.
Taylor Deupree’s Mastering Touch
The final piece of “Call the Flood” came from Taylor Deupree at 12k Mastering.[4] Deupree, himself a renowned ambient artist and the founder of the influential 12k label, brought his distinctive aesthetic to the track’s mastering. His approach preserved the delicate balance between the acoustic piano’s natural resonance and the electronic elements, ensuring that each layer retained its clarity while contributing to the track’s cumulative emotional impact.
The production work on “Call the Flood” demonstrates Dirrix’s philosophy of allowing music to speak through deep intuition rather than predetermined formulas. The result is a piece that sounds simultaneously composed and improvised, structured and free-flowing.
Notes About “Call the Flood” by Jeroen Dirrix
Release Date: October 22, 2021
Duration: 5:25
Genre: Ambient / Neo-Classical / Electronic / Modern Classical
Album: A Hidden Place (debut EP, track 3 of 4)
Producer: Jeroen Dirrix
Mixing: Jeroen Dirrix
Mastering: Taylor Deupree at 12k Mastering
Label: Moderna Records
Catalog Number: MR 041
Jeroen Dirrix “Call the Flood” Era Details
EP Details
EP: A Hidden Place
Release Date: October 22, 2021
Label: Moderna Records (Montreal-based)
Producer: Jeroen Dirrix
Recording Location: Soundport Studio, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
EP Concept: Longing for nature from urban industrial landscapes
Track Listing: 1. Merging Landscapes (6:24), 2. Under (2:49), 3. Call the Flood (5:25), 4. A Hidden Place (4:32)
Total Length: 19:10
Artwork: Bruce Roberts
Personnel
Jeroen Dirrix - Piano, Synthesizers, Electronics, Composer, Producer, Mixing
Taylor Deupree - Mastering (12k Mastering)
Bruce Roberts - Artwork
Production Notes
All music written, produced, and played entirely by Jeroen Dirrix
Recorded using acoustic piano, analog synthesizers, and field recordings
Production emphasizes blend of organic and synthetic textures
Mastered for high-resolution audio (available in 24-bit/48kHz)
Debut EP for Moderna Records
Part of Moderna’s mission to trace a line from electronic sound designers to classical composers
Featured on Bandcamp New & Notable, October 2021
Available in multiple formats: MP3, WAV, FLAC, AIFF
Interesting Facts About “Call the Flood”
The Philip Glass Revelation That Started Everything
At eight years old, Jeroen Dirrix attended a modern dance performance with his mother and experienced what would become his compositional north star. Hearing Philip Glass’s minimal piano music for the first time left him “amazed” and determined to “write music like that ever since.”[1] That childhood revelation echoes through “Call the Flood”—the track’s hypnotic piano loop and gradual development mirror Glass’s approach to minimalism, but filtered through Dirrix’s own electronic and neo-classical sensibilities.
Years later, when listing his top three albums for Apple Music, Dirrix cited Glass’s Philip Glass Solo alongside Nils Frahm’s All Melody and Thom Yorke’s The Eraser.[1] These influences converge in “Call the Flood”: Glass’s repetitive structures, Frahm’s organic-meets-electronic aesthetic, and Yorke’s one-musician bedroom production ethos. The track proves that childhood artistic revelations can take decades to fully manifest, evolving from inspiration into personal voice.
The Escape from Industrial Rotterdam
“Call the Flood” represents a specific kind of yearning—what Dirrix calls “a longing for nature experienced from the trappings of the concrete landscapes in industrial Rotterdam.”[2] This wasn’t abstract inspiration; it was the daily reality of composing in an urban studio surrounded by the Netherlands’ industrial infrastructure. Rather than literally escaping, Dirrix created a sonic portal.
The track’s field recordings aren’t just atmospheric decoration—they’re fragments of the natural world smuggled into the city, sound memories that blur the boundary between Rotterdam’s industrial present and an imagined pastoral elsewhere. As Headphone Commute noted, the EP offers “a 20-minute glimpse into a place behind the space that occupies the concrete jungle of the cities where we dwell.”[5] For Dirrix and listeners alike, “Call the Flood” became proof that you don’t need to leave the city to find stillness—you just need to know how to build it, one piano loop at a time.
Common Questions
Q: What is “Call the Flood” by Jeroen Dirrix about? A: “Call the Flood” expresses a longing for nature experienced from the industrial concrete landscapes of Rotterdam. Dirrix created the track as an imaginary escape from his urban studio, using piano, analog synthesizers, and field recordings to craft a meditative soundscape. The piece represents his attempt to bring natural tranquility into the city through sound.
Q: How did Jeroen Dirrix create “Call the Flood”? A: Dirrix composed “Call the Flood” starting from a single piano loop that gradually develops into a multi-layered piece. He wrote, produced, played all instruments, and mixed the track entirely himself in his Rotterdam studio. The production centered on acoustic piano wrapped in analog synthesizers and field recordings, with mastering by Taylor Deupree at 12k Mastering.
Q: What genre is “Call the Flood” by Jeroen Dirrix? A: “Call the Flood” blends ambient, neo-classical, electronic, and modern classical genres. The track features acoustic piano at its core but incorporates analog synthesizers and atmospheric electronic textures, placing it within the contemporary post-classical movement alongside artists like Nils Frahm and Ólafur Arnalds.
Q: Who is Jeroen Dirrix? A: Jeroen Dirrix is a Dutch composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist based in Rotterdam. He started as a classically trained drummer before studying piano composition at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels. Influenced by Philip Glass, Nils Frahm, and Thom Yorke, Dirrix creates music that navigates the meeting point of organic and synthetic textures, neo-classical piano, and electronic production.
Q: What album is “Call the Flood” on? A: “Call the Flood” appears on A Hidden Place, Dirrix’s debut EP for Moderna Records released on October 22, 2021. The four-track EP runs 19 minutes total and features Dirrix on all instruments, with mastering by Taylor Deupree and artwork by Bruce Roberts.
References
Apple Music - Jeroen Dirrix Artist Interview
Moderna Records - A Hidden Place Official Page
School of Music - Jeroen Dirrix Teacher Profile
Moderna Records - A Hidden Place Bandcamp Page
Headphone Commute - Jeroen Dirrix - Call the Flood Review