Between COVID-19 putting a stop to touring, and Bandcamp Fridays, there’s been a lot of music released in 2020. The following are the albums that settled deepest into my heart, imagination and/or gut this year. In the proverbial no particular order… – Ferran Besalduch“Argonauta”(call it anything records) “…a gloriously artificial natural world… a self-contained ecosystem…
So, in the spirit of been there, done it, got the t-shirt, I was fortunate enough to see one of Phicus’ early live performances* (maybe even the first – ooh!). And much as I like their recordings to date, it’s this one that best approximates the rush, the energy, the feeling of waves and eddies…
Ramon Prats – drums Oriol Roca – drums Juan Berbín – drums & objects Vasco Trilla – drums & objects Núria Andorrà – percussion & objects Ramon López – drums Iván González – conduction L’Automàtica, Barcelona Ah, Memoria Uno! A conduction project capable of endless reinvention – each performance a different line up, each performance…
Fernando Carrasco – acoustic and electric guitars, effects and objects Àlex Reviriego – double bass and prepared double bass Iván González – trumpet Vasco Trilla – percussion Valdái Samara Kalmukya Astrakhan (47.28) Multikulti Project Spontaneous Music Tribune series MPSMT001 Four Barcelona-based improvisers, all featured previously on aJN, and this is their… what to call it?……
The year in music? Hardly. My year in music? Closer (esp. if you ignore all that Bon Scott-era AC/DC I listen to). The 20 new recordings that have had most impact on me in 2017? That’ll do. Wait, 20?! Yes. I could’ve whittled it down to the usual 10 and placed the remainder in a…
Ferran Fages – electric guitar Àlex Reviriego – bass Vasco Trilla – drums, percussion + Joachim Badenhorst – saxophone Robadors 23, Barcelona Phicus return to Robadors 23, this time accompanied by Joachim Badenhorst on reeds. Last time, I burbled on about “matching and contrasting tones and textures… layered and discarded in an unstoppable kineticism,” and…
Agustí Fernández – piano Ramon Prats – drums Vasco Trilla – drums Àlex Reviriego – bass Ferran Besalduch – bass & sopranino saxophones Don Malfon – alto saxophone Sònia Sánchez – dance Iván González – conduction (& trumpet) This particular Memoria Uno performance was originally intended to be a launch performance for the new album…
Ferran Fages – electric guitar Àlex Reviriego – bass Vasco Trilla – drums, percussion Robadors 23, Barcelona Why “Phicus”? What is a phicus? Just a reference to the plant? Or is the explanation more elaborate? I suppose I’ll have to ask… but in a post-truth society, it’s more fun to guess or fabulate… #phikenews? Well,…
