A meeting between the East and West Coasts by figures with a rich and expansive collective CV, this American duo, created by composer, experimentalist, and electronic music pioneer Elori Saxl and composer, producer, and saxophonist Henry Solomon, opens up avenues for a blessed harmony between Saxl’s analog synthesizers and Solomon’s baritone saxophone and bass clarinet. With equally fascinating and distinctive solo careers, both Saxl and Solomon have been designing a multi-faceted body of work that ranges from the most daring experimentation to flirting with pop music, with the former composing ensemble pieces for giants such as PBS, the New York Times, and Google, and the latter appearing on albums by Paramore, HAIM, and Miley Cyrus, while also breaking new ground in their more personal visions. Together, they trace a watery environment between environmentalism, American minimalism, and a certain idea of jazz not completely disconnected from some of ECM’s dreams, particularly focused and capable of pop’s power of engagement. The ambiences, textures, and pulsations of Saxl’s analog synthesizer in a plot as melodic as it is open to dialogue with Solomon’s sometimes sinuous, sometimes contemplative lines, evoke a dreamlike aura with blurred contours, so that we can deposit our own visions there.
BS

Vicente Mateus lives and works in Porto. He has a background in visual and sound arts, and his work mainly covers fields related to sound and design, where drums and percussion play a central role. He is interested in collaborative and sharing movements, using repetition and error as tools for constructing objects, sounds, and images. Since 2022, he has been part of the Sonoscopia team, a structure for creation, experimentation, and reflection based on sound.