MYL Trio: Parallel Universes

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 Maggie Nicols and guitarist John Russell (1954-2021), the sad death of the latter ending the trio. Of the trios Miura and Casserley have played in, the most relevant here is Sverdrup Balance which included both of them alongside Belgian vocalist Jean-Michel Van Schwouburg and issued three albums between 2019 and 2022. So, MYL trio combines three players who were previously successful in other groups, meaning it is the type of ensemble that would have been labelled a "super group" several decades ago, ELP being a notorious example.

Parallel Universe is a live album that was recorded during September 2023. On 6th September at Brötz Jazz Club in Göteborg, Sweden, four of the album tracks, including the nearly sixteen-minute "Conflux in Göteborg," were recorded. The next day, "Strata in Stockholm," the album's longest track at twenty-two minutes, was recorded at Fylkingen arts venue, Stockholm. On 14th, "Encore in Ostrava" was recorded at Antikvariát a klub Fiducia in Ostrava in the Czech Republic. Other venues are thanked in the album's sleeve notes, suggesting that the tracks here were recorded on tour, even though no audience applause or noise is heard.

All tracks were recorded, mixed and mastered by Casserley, an obvious choice as his contribution to the trio (and to other ensembles, notably Evan Parker's Electro-Acoustic Ensemble) is real-time manipulation of the music played by his bandmates. The strength of this is that the music of the piano and violin can be clearly hear for most of the time, with the manipulated version of their music being heard as a third strand which does not mask or override them. In Casserley's hands, the manipulated version of the violin and piano complements and fits in well with their acoustic versions. The end results are easy on the ear and make relaxing listening. It feels as if MYL trio are here to stay.

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