Super Seaweed Duo at Eszerweria (19.05)

Muzykoterapia (I think it doesn't need translation) concert series presents experimental music of any sort and delivers underground live experience that is usually even more alternative than free-jazz. Super Seaweed Duo comes from the New York and that is almost a recommendation in itself so that's already two reasons to show up this evening at Eszeweria . During the period of students' festival and all kind of big, open-air, mass events, this served as a great antidote to the popular culture (if anyone wants one).

With a small drums set, guitar and array of loops and effects this mini-group can play both minimal and expansive. They start with a drone motive on drums, repetition inside repetition, hipnotic, trans-inducing and  slowly evolving. The communication is apparent and beyond the verbal. Within spontaneous structure of sine wave moments of destruction would bring new drones, new ambiental landscapes, new loops, echoes, feedbacks and distortions. With minimal movement and maximum focus this duo creates music that is engaging, quite mellow even while mantaining its experimental edge . And somewhere within this shapeshifting magma sonic reality moments of volatile beauty manifest.  

Still not sure what it was (let's call it experimental, minimalistic, post-rock, post-jazz, post-punk free improvisation) but I thouroughly enjoed it.

Super Seaweed Duo
Justin Veloso - drums
Paul Wheeler - guitar / effects

Eszeweria. Krakow. 19.05.2011

You can listen to almost entire material of  their EP on http://soundcloud.com/superseaweedsexscandal/ (no.s 3 and 4 could be the closest to the music they played during this gig, but it's all good)

as well as part of the material of EP by Super Seaweed Sex Scandal which this duo is a core of.

The group nears the end of it european tour but you can still catch them in Krakow (tonight again with a noise evening, different place and additional musicians, I hope to catch the last set), Wroclaw, Moers and Ghent in the next few days.


EDIT:

I only catched two last pieces of the next day concert (the music was still dense, minimalistic - guys played a whole piece on just a couple of notes, much darker) - while there's no sense in posting a separate review I just had to mention the place the concert was in - Cellar Gallery is just a regular old, dusty, dark basement space. With art objects exhibited on the brick naked walls. One of the most underground and surprising spaces I've ever been to and the most underground space I've ever witnessed a concert in. Hope more is coming.

The Trumps at Eszeweria (27.01)

The Trumps:

Ian Smith - trumpet
Ricardo Tejero - tenor sax, slide flute
Katarzyna Kuchnicka - trombone

guest: Adam Golicki - drums (2nd set only)

Eszeweria 27.01.2010

Although they all met each other playing in London Improvisers Orchestra, The Trumps are an international band  - with Ricardo coming originally from Portugal and Katarzyna from Poland. Free improv - connecting people :)

With an unusal line-up they obviously bring an uncommon palette of sounds to the table. First long piece   is mellow, merging all three horns together, sometimes, especially when extended techniques are involved and sonic experiments, making it hard to distinguish one from another. Nice flow of ideas, sounds coming from the distance, from some hidden space, players complementing one another. The new, or at least not so common in so often dead-serious free-improv music, is the sense of humour. At their most searching, probing strange sound territory, the trio sounds light, cartoonish even. Quite often when hearing a spirited sound-games I think of some Tom & Jerry fight sound fxs, swishes, swooshes, clicks and clacks and all kinds of those, the toyish sound of slide flute enhances that entertaining effect. (as John Cage said once - laughter is preferrable to tears; and it's funny looking around at the faces, audience members hiding their smile, not sure whethere it is ok to laugh or maybe this is supposed to be taken seriously)

The second track of the first set was supposed to be "short and loud", but, after initial fanfaric shouts, it turns deeply harmonic and melodic. Nice touch before the short pause.

The second set adds a drummer to the mix (snare drum, hi-hat, cowbell, couple of plates) and it changes drastically the sound texture of the music, allowing for some more conventional, more "jazz" playing with trombone providing often the bone bass structure to the proceedings - sometimes with a robust, expansive shouts of the New Orleans traditional jazz (joined once by great, joyfull solo statement by Ian Smith). The music has more traditional, but no less inspiring feel to it and all players can establish more clearly their solo personality - with a jazz solo by Ricardo being my personal favourite - at one point he introduces a charming melody (during the concert I was sure it was a Monk's tune but now my mind is playing tricks on me and I can't find it) - and he plays it with gently, warm timbre, slowly building up, breaking loose, finishing up with muscular and vibrating tone.

That was a good, imaginative, and surprisingly accessible free-improv, played in front of 20 something strong audience, in a small room of Eszeweria. Maybe not an earth-shattering, mind-blowing or awe-inspiring but this was a very solid improvising performance - an achievement that could get easily undervalued. While I definitely invite you to look up and see those musicians if you have a chance, the most important thing I want to say is - there's no music like live music. Get up and go see some concerts this weekend! I know I'm going to :)