TRIO SOWARI: FURTHER REFLECTIONS - REVIEWS
They seem to be one of the oldest EAI bands today: Burkhard Beins, Phil Durrant, and Bertrand Denzler have been working together since 2004. Their first two albums were released on Potlatch in 2005 and 2008, which I don't remember well, but the third on Mikroton in 2018 was definitely one of my favorites of that year. Last year, an archival live album was released on Scatter, and the new album was recorded in 2024.
They play masterfully, unhurriedly and with weight. Denzler and Beins are generally clear; they continue to refine the details. Durrant, however, is constantly searching for new materials and resources, and following his setups is very interesting to me, both from an electronic music perspective and because of how the band's music evolves. Nothing changes dramatically, but the cut is different precisely because of Phil.
- Ilja Belarukov, Musicworm -
Trio Sowari returns with Further Reflections - recorded in France in January 2024 - adding here to the recent series of trio albums featuring synth. Indeed Durrant returns on synth (& electronics in general again) with Bertrand Denzler (tenor sax) & Burkhard Beins (percussion), their first two albums together having been recorded back in 2004 & 2006. (There was another recording from that period as well, released by Scatter Archive late last year, LMC 2005...) This was actually prior to my project here, and so my acquaintance with Trio Sowari was from Third Issue (recorded in July 2016 & reviewed here July 2018), generally a much smoother tapestry than the preliminary investigations of (already) a decade prior. With Further Reflections, the trio's sound immediately suggests a bent metal fusion of gongs & synth, sometimes-keening sax often suggesting further a ritualistic vibe. "Electronic weirdness" is palpable & sometimes exposed, as the trio adopts a more open texture where the different instrumental timbres can be clearly audible. (As far as I can make out, the "point" of Trio Sowari was for Durrant to work on developing his semi-modular analog synth in an interactive setting... The title continues to appear in his composed work too.) Beins had then appeared in this space most recently with Black Current (reviewed July 2023), from an electronic version of trio Sawt Out - having also appeared e.g. on Induction (recorded in 2019) with John Butcher, perhaps a suitable acoustic comparison for Trio Sowari, albeit there with less presence, almost a study in pacing... And Denzler was actually last noted here with Trio Sowari, although his Bandcamp site includes not only those earlier releases, but e.g. other recent collaborations I'd failed to notice until now... So Further Reflections takes up this longstanding activity, i.e. as a rare ongoing trio (for more than 20 years...) versus e.g. the ongoing duo collaborations underlying the new (synth) trios of the previous two entries. The "ingredients" seemed to come together with Third Issue then, but Further Reflections soon projects a more melodic sense, and maybe a broader humanistic sweep. (This latest album was released by Shrike Records, most recently noted here for jazzy clarinet trio Hazard Calls, reviewed October 2024...) An industrial vibe is still conjured at times too, but it can soon sound transformed & humanized (or mystified...). And as the previous two entries had already suggested, developing a personal style on synth isn't straightforward, at least if one isn't trying to be the center of attention, sorting a myriad sonic possibilities... or perhaps I should say, rather developing a synth style fitting a post-Cage orientation on quiet emergence. (Trio Sowari even conjures some "UFO sound" that I've associated with Cage performances in the past, i.e. senses of pulsing resonant layers... But they do return to a burbling pointillism for the middle track.) The result can be haunting & substantial, solemn human-intentional articulations moving seamlessly into acoustic-spatial impossibility & physical disorientation, again developing a sort of gripping melodic austerity from smaller or straightforward acoustic materials, sometimes subtly (or not) warped or bent.
- Todd McComb's Jazz Thoughts -