Catalan, Barcelona-based drummer Vasco Trilla, and double bass player Àlex Reviriego have collaborated in countless projects, and are members of the experimental Phicus trio (with guitarist Ferran Fages), of the Liba Villavecchia Trio (with sax player Villavecchia), and The Devil, Probably trio (with Japanese-American sax player Patrik Shiroishi).
Jiuweihu is Trilla and Reviriego’s sophomore duo album, following Bi Cong (Self-Released, 2020). The first album was inspired by ancestral Chinese fortune-telling methods. Jiuweihu is inspired by mythical creatures from ancient Chinese mythology capable of shapeshifting. A perfect analogy to the sonic, alchemical wizardry of the ever-resourceful, imaginative Trilla and Reviriego. They always keep you curious about what kind of sonic magic they would pull from their endless bag of sonic tricks.
The format is even more austere and minimalist than that of Bi Cong. Trilla plays only a ride cymbal and snare drum, with a bow, and Reviriego plays the double bass with a bow. But Trilla and Reviriego see beyond their instruments’ conventional sonic palettes, and more as otherworldly, infinite generators of sounds. They produce almost industrial, mysterious layers of hyper-reduced metallic resonance and vibrating strings on the opening piece, «Hushen». Reviriego’s delicate harmonics and bowed, minimalist multiphonics float and mirror Trilla’s pulsating, noisy low rumble on «Huwang». Trilla and Reviriego complete the shapeshifting transformation and are lost in a deep sea of enigmatic vibrations on the last piece, «Huxian».
Eyal Hareuveni
Vasco Trilla (snare drum, cymbal), Àlex Reviriego (double bass)
