Alto sax player Ilia Belorukov left Saint Petersburg after Russia began its war with Ukraine and since 2022 he has lived in Novi Sad in Serbia. He focuses on free improvisation and experimental electro-acoustic techniques with the alto sax, using modular synths and other devices, and is the founder of the Intonema label. Serbian pianist-educator Marina Džukljev is based in Novi Sad and plays free improvised music, classical and contemporary music and is the curator and the organizer of Improstor – an improvised music concert series in Novi Sad.
Belorukov and Džukljev began to work together as a duo in November 2022, immediately after Belorukov moved there. Everything Changes, Nothing Disappears is their debut duo album and it was recorded at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Novi Sad during seven performances during the winter months of 2022, 2023 and 2024. The album is released by the label of experimental musician Hans Tammen.
The title reflects, obviously, the turmoils in Belorukov’s personal life but at the same time reaffirms Belorukov and Džukljev’s like-minded improvisation ideas and strategies. Both musicians have been deeply immersed in the European free improvised music scene for over a decade, performing extensively across the continent and collaborating with a diverse array of musicians – Belorukov with the Catalan trio Phicus, Swiss sax player Bertrand Denzler and American sound artist Jason Kahn among many others, and Džukljev with Viennese turntables wizard dieb13 (aka Dieter Kovačič), Danish sax player Mia Dyberg, fellow Serbian violinist Szilárd Mezei and Catalan percussionist Vasco Trilla.
Belorukov and Džukljev experiment with the subtle, resonant timbres of the alto sax and the piano. Both musicians use extended techniques and preparations while enjoying and employing the great acoustics of the Museum of Contemporary Art. Everything Changes, Nothing Disappears becomes an arresting and poetic journey in sound art, free improvisation and delicate, meditative-hypnotic drones. The sax often turns into an abstract, ethereal wind instrument and the piano into a tangible, reverberating-percussive entity. It is clear that Belorukov and Džukljev have established a deep rapport and their dynamics can shift instantly and organically from serene and reserved into stormy and brutal. Nothing disappeared in this uncompromising journey of exploration and discovery, or «The Taming of Probability» as one of the pieces is titled. Precious experiences and insights were gained.
Eyal Hareuveni
Ilia Belorukov (alto saxophone, objects), Marina Džukljev (piano, preparations)
