Dutch composer and drummer Ruud Voesten achieves something truly profound with his latest single “Raw Beans” which marks a continuation of his remarkable journey through Dante’s Divine Comedy.
As the second single from his forthcoming album Ambrosia II (due November 7 via ZenneZ Records), the piece moves from the infernal turbulence of his debut Ambrosia into the fragileness of Purgatorio — Dante’s mountain of purification, where suffering is not punishment but a process.
This project which draws it’s inspiration from Dante’s Divine Comedy, a famous old poem looks up to Purgatorio (the place of cleansing and change.) It’s about the part of the journey where gluttons were sanctioned for eating too much. They were surrounded by Food and Water they couldn’t touch or drink. The pain of wanting something so close yet unreachably far.
Voesten captures this feeling perfectly in a beautifully simple duet using just a Piano and Clarinet. The song begins with the sound of the Piano, notes deep and slow like drops of water marking time in an empty room. Both instruments circle each other in what feels like a conversation at the edge of understanding. The rhythm of the Piano gains slight insistence, the harmonies grow denser, but resolution never arrives. Instead, we hear proximity without touch — the sonic embodiment of Dante’s vision of temptation just beyond reach. It’s music that aches, beautifully and deliberately.
This musical piece perfectly captures the essence of Dante’s vision: the agony of temptation perpetually close, yet salvation distant. The genius here is that the tension is not discharged and Voesten offers us not resolution but an enduring reflection.
Raw Beans was written in Florence, Italy where Dante lived. You can almost feel the sense of age and quiet reflection in the song. It’s powerful and carries emotional weight, showing that Jazz and Classical music can tell a deep, timeless story together. It feels like a lesson in musical humility: A proof that composition can reveal as much though absence reveals even more.
While Voesten’s first album, Ambrosia explored the Chaos, this new chapter looks towards Cleansing and Renewal. Each piece on the album reflects purification through virtue. A musical picture of longing and self-restraint.
Every pause and every shift in tone is intentional and if you let it gently unfold, it rewards your patience with a revelation of layers you don’t notice at first. He understands that there’s rhythm even in silence.
Raw Beans might seem simple on the surface, but it is one of those pieces that stay with you long after it ends. A reminder that sometimes, the most powerful thing an artist can do is whisper. It is the sound of a Composer who sees through Literature, faith and sonic artistry as inseperable elements of one continuous, vital pursuit.
Stream Raw Beans now on SPOTIFY and anticipate the full release of Ambrosia II this November.
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