SMOLIKAS SAYS:

A tree walks into a bar
Demanding a storm of water
No way, says the waiter,
Ask Aeolus,
I’m not serving you
Or your ancestors
Not after last night
Trees aren’t allowed anymore
You are all the same
With your delusions of grandeur
Yeah right, says the tree,
Listen
Take a deep
Listen
Don’t say things
You don’t mean:
Rocks can float!
Believe it
Feel it
My best friend is a mountain
And his little rocks are already floating
Without any assistance
A true mountain is free, you know,
Free in mind and spirit
A little bit introvert, perhaps,
With lots of secrets,
But always truthful
There are strange sonic objects
Only Yuri-Ita can pick up its trail
Gold
Gold
Gold
A golden Titan
At Last
Rumor in the West

ABOUT THIJS TROCH:

“Painting is nice, because I don't have to do it,” Steve Lacy once said. Without involvement in the process (the practice, struggles and insecurity), he could see it more clearly. It could also be interpreted as sticking to what you know. Lacy limited himself to playing the soprano saxophone. Thijs Troch is doing the reverse here, by exploring unknown territory and letting his go to-instrument (the piano) take a backseat.

It’s a choice that comes with some disadvantages, which can easily be turned into assets. To dispense with the known means losing confidence and expertise, but perhaps you will have fresher ideas and you will no longer have to rely on muscle memory or a book of tricks that has already paid off. The music becomes more exploratory and rooted in the moment. By focusing on guitar, banjo and percussion, these intimate and open-ended musings retain an unpolished, perhaps even unfinished aura.

Layered solo recordings usually involve meticulously crafted details that fit like a puzzle. You get no resolution here. These are spontaneous reveries that combine a hushed, private folk music with a fragile openness, as risky as it is soothing. And while the pay-off might not be as instantaneous, you (the listener) become a participant - or a co-pilot, if you will - in a subtle quest. A soft, hesitant whisper can also be full of surprises.