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MYL Trio: Parallel Universes
by John Eyles
Parallel Universes is the first album from the MYL trio, the group title incorporating the initials of the members' first names, Austrian violinist and vocalist Mia Zabelka, Japanese pianist and melodica player Yoko Miura, and British signal processing instrument player Lawrence Casserley. All three members have past experience of trio playing; Zabelka's own trio with bass and drums issued Weird Tales and Elegant Motion (Monotype, 2012) but she is probably better known for her membership of Trio Blurb with vocalist ...
Continue ReadingMia Zabelka: DUOS featuring Alain Joule / Tracy Lisk
by John Eyles
Although Austrian violinist, vocalist & composer Mia Zabelka's first album--a vinyl LP--was released in 1987, DUOS (Setola Di Maiale, 2023) is only her twenty-fifth album release, sixteen of which have been released since 2010. While that could be a negative sign for some musicians, for Zabelka it is an indication of the quality of her albums which do get released, every one of which is worth investigating. DUOS, her first album release of 2023, is no exception. True to the ...
Continue ReadingMia Zabelka & Glen Hall: The Quantum Violin
by John Eyles
The Covid period has been kind to the extraordinary Austrian violinist and vocalist Mia Zabelka. Not only did she record and issue the much-praised album Aftershock (Subcontinental, 2021) in the company of extreme metal bassist and guitarist Arun Natarajan (aka Icos Tech) from India, and guest US trumpeter Joshua Trinidad, she also recorded The Quantum Violin with the equally cosmopolitan collaborators, Canadian electroacoustic improviser Glen Hall and Japanese guest vocalist Kenji Siratori...Oh, and along the way, in 2021, she was ...
Continue ReadingMia Zabelka: Myasmo
by John Eyles
Although her first album was released in 1987, Austrian violinist and vocalist Mia Zabelka has not released many recordings, Myasmo being the twenty-sixth. Despite impressive albums by groupings such as Trio Blurb, those featuring Zabelka solo stand out; so it is a pleasure to report that Myasmo is the latest addition to that select collection. For Zabelka herself it is the development of her solo album Monday Sessions (Creative Sources, 2015). Whereas that album was recorded on four Mondays in ...
Continue ReadingTrio Blurb: W
by John Eyles
Trio Blurb--the combination of Maggie Nichols' voice, Mia Zabelka's violin and voice, and John Russell's guitar--first came together in 2010 at the Alpenglow II--Styria meets UK festival in London. In June 2011 they played together at The Vortex, where the guitarist hosts his long-running monthly improv music club, Mopomoso. The results of that Vortex performance were released in 2013 by the Austrian Extraplatte label. Prior to that release the trio was unnamed but when Zabelka asked for some info for ...
Continue ReadingMia Zabelka: Monday Sessions
by John Eyles
Live in concert, Austrian violinist Mia Zabelka is an electrifying performer, whether appearing solo or with others. In any context, she has the uncanny knack of commanding the stage and always being the centre of an audience's attention, achieved by the intensity and focus of her performances, rather than any gratuitous showmanship. (For a typical example, see the YouTube clip below of Zabelka in Trio Blurb with Maggie Nichols and John Russell, neither of whom is renowned as a shrinking ...
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