johan arrias
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Ausculto Fonogram establishes itself as a label of precision and exploration - an auscultation is by definition an act of listening, a close up listening of circulation and murmurs of the body, it can be mediated with an instrument (such as the stethoscope) or immediate with the ears alone.
This close attention that listens to the details is what Johan Arrias and his newly founded label proposes. A microscopy of music. It begins with Arrias’ own musical exploration through his three established projects, the first one in 2011 with Jurmo, a group that makes music for wind quartet and percussion, at times a voice appears. Then JAAS which is a group that comprises some of the best of the Swedish scene of improvisers, the album here presents a well established relationship between the players, a selection of recordings that balances between composed improvisations and improvised compositions. The third iteration of this exploration is .Punkt a trio which continues to explore the line of written music and interpretation.
It’s tonal and sonic, improvised and thoughtful, composed and considered. Ausculto Fonogram, in the first three discs it releases presents us with the beginning of a beautiful exploration of music with whispers of jazz, murmurs of contemporary music and a continuous circulation of detailed sound.
- Tisha Mukarji, 2016