The Polish-Catalan trio of Krakovian guitarist Michał Dymny, bass player Rafal Mazur and Barcelona-based drummer Vasco Trilla offers a new version of the power trio format. This trio echoes the iconic work of prog-fusion improvising outfits of Frank Zappa, Tony Williams’ Lifetime (with then young guitarist John McLaughlin) or Fred Frith’s Massacre (with bass player Bill Laswell), but it has a fresh, independent sound of its own. Dymny and Trilla began to work together already in 2012, released a duo album on 2015, «Cave Canem» (FMR), and in 2016 extended their duo with fretless acoustic bass guitarist Mazur. Their live performance from February 2016 at the local Krakovian club Alchemia is captured on «Tidal Heating».
The title describes this trio method of operation, a series of massive, explosive tidal waves separated by segments of lyrical reflection, sonic experiments and abstract searches. The first set, the 45-minutes of «First phaze», suggests the restless, fast-shifting dynamics and textures of this trio. The thorny, hyperactive guitar of Dymny clashes and collides with the snaky bass lines of Mazur and the fractured, rhythmic patterns of Trilla, who plays his drum-set as if it is a mini-orchestra. Still, the trio plays as a tight, organic unit, flowing with a power of a tsunami. The basic urge to experiment with sounds, extreme dynamics and new textures, as well as its constant exploration and investigation of its instruments’ sonorities and timbral range, within and between the eruptive tidal waves, charge and color its interplay and language with nuanced, surprising details. The second set, the 34 minutes of «Second phaze» begins with a more playful, even fusion-jazz mode, including acrobatic solos of Dymny. But later on the trio alternates its energetic interplay with contemplative and peaceful explorations of newer dynamics, highlighting this time the rich and unique palette of sounds of Mazur and Trilla.
Eyal Hareuveni
Michał Dymny (g), Rafał Mazur (b), Vasco Trilla (dr, perc)
Dymny / Mazur / Trilla – Live at Alchemia from Michał Dymny on Vimeo.
