Banausoi - Imagines (2021) Hi Res

Banausoi is a Czech-Slavok trio with Petr Vrba (trumpet, clarinet, electronics), Vaclav Safka (drums, percussions, objects) and Ondrej Zajac (guitar, voice), which may seem a traditional line-up, their music is at times rocking out and at other times fairly traditional free jazz. Here is where rock meets (free) jazz, but also there are some interesting sustaining moments here. In the opening piece 'Aeneas Tacticus', for instance, the wind instruments, feeding through some lengthy delay modules, offering an additional layer of space, until the drums start to play wilder patterns, signalling the end of the piece. 'Gorgoeion' is an example of their heavy rock meets total free improvisation. But they also know to control the chaos, engage in a playful discussion between their instruments and leaving space in between notes (in 'Periegesis' for instance). It is pieces like that made me enjoy this more traditional free play. I tend to think, alright, we know this free play all too well, let's move on to something we don't know and then Banausoi seems to have heard me and comply with my request. I didn't keep an exact tally of what is what here, but I would think the total free pieces are in a minority here, which is ultimately good news for me. (FdW, www.vitalweekly.net/1283.html)

You would think otherwise, but Banausoi is not a band with decades of experience, and instead a rather fairly young trio. Petr Vrba, Václav Šafka and Ondrej Zajac describe themselves as a »Czechoslovak musical think tank« and in addition to a number of concerts had only one release to their name so far.

However, their debut album »Imagines« completed during lockdown(s), shows the three of them as a well-rehearsed team and masters of free improvisation. Whether heated noise rock borrowings, screeching free jazz or gentle sounds that take on ambient character here and sound like imaginary folk tunes there: across these six pieces, the interplay between the musicians is as elegant and to the point as the result is stylistically wide-ranging and open-ended. »Imagines« achieves the rare feat of sounding thoroughly composed down to the last detail and yet as if played out of the moment. There is probably no better surrogate for live concerts to be had, at least in this season.