Label: Self released, 2026

Personnel - Gon Muruaga: electric guitar; Camila Nebbia: tenor saxophone; Jonathan Bäckström: double bass; Teemu Mustonen: drums.

Gon Muruaga is an Argentinian guitarist and composer based in Helsinki, Finland. Unafraid of taking risks, Muruaga plays with open forms and fragmentation in a mix of aural explosions and quietly composed atmospheres, joining forces with fellow countrywoman Camila Nebbia on saxophone (a prominent figure in the free-improvisation scene) and the Finnish rhythm section of bassist Jonathan Bäckström and drummer Teemu Mustonen.

Freefalling Latitude opens with “Latifall”, where Nebbia’s tenor descriptions trace geometric figures and sharp angles. Loose drums and bold guitar accompaniment support her unconditionally, while the bass enters late yet confidently. Muruaga pushes the electronic side of his instrument to the fore, employing delay effects while exploring skronky, clustered sounds.

“Fogradient” has ethereal guitar waves contributing to the initial ambient texture, yet we can hear Bäckström’s bass lines pulsating in the background. There’s uncertainty within a spatial mist and formless void, but things gradually build toward a roaring climax. This alternation between rumination and eruption is a constant throughout. If “Gyroslip” features jarring, rusty guitar attacks, swift saxophone runs, and a lumpy, tribal-like groove underneath, “Paralaxial” and “Isoplex” investigate balmy sonic possibilities, whether through finespun percussion and unyielding yet mysterious harmonic contours or saxophone overtones and non-abrasive atmospheric friction.

These are musicians who listen closely to one another, and “Nebulode” brings them together to unearth new sounds as part of the quartet’s exploratory aesthetic. Out of a maze of fragmentation, the band finds a raw connection through clattering percussion and inharmonic collisions. Its wry experimental vision remains engaging, keeping our ears wide open. Curiously, there’s something invigorating about this quartet, but also the lingering feeling that it is capable of achieving even more.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Latifall ► 04 - Gyroslip ► 05 - Nebulode

Label: Defkaz Records, 2025

Personnel - Camila Nebbia; tenor saxophone; Gonçalo Almeida: double bass; Sylvain Darrifourcq: drums.

The explorative trio of Argentine tenor saxophonist Camila Nebbia, Portuguese bassist Gonçalo Almeida (Rodrigo Amado’s The Attic), and French drummer Sylvain Darrifourcq (Joachim Kühn, Eve Risser) provides a raw, immersive experience rooted in ingenious improvisation and a remarkable sense of connectedness. Helmed by Nebbia—who has steadily built a reputation through numerous standout collaborations—the trio behaves as a single organism, favoring heavy, incantatory gestures over mere displays of shifting or chaotic dynamics. Recorded live at Thessaloniki’s Mikri Skini during the Greek label Defkaz’s Take 2 Festival, the four long improvisations are titled after their durations, but every minute proves essential as the trio’s structural intuition and deep chemistry steer the music toward something singular.

“19:45” thrives on Almeida’s distortion-saturated bass plucks, which hint at heavy-rock contours throughout. Darrifourcq’s loose yet unwavering drumming sprinkles spiky fills into the texture, while Nebbia’s astonishing vocabulary and distinctive timbre affirm her as one of the most compelling new voices on the free scene. The trio gradually fortifies the intensity, shaping textures that grow fleshy and dense before transitioning halfway into an arresting blend of saxophone multiphonics (later sharpening into trenchant shrills), long-pedaled bowed bass tones, and misty hi-hat dispersions. It all concludes on a mystical note, with cymbal intensification guiding the piece into hypnotic ecstasy.

Emphasizing mood over sheer force, “8:17” unfolds with a raw, industrial-like pulse and ringing metallic resonances that evoke machine work. Nebbia ventures through odd overtones and trilling vibratos, heightening the track’s stark, tactile atmosphere. The third piece, “8:59”, sustains that dark and mysterious aura, transmitting sensations of apprehension and restless suspension. It inhabits a musical limbo spanning references from Roscoe Mitchell to Bill Laswell, with passing nods to Wadada Leo Smith’s otherworldly explorations.

The fourth track, “11:30”, begins as an asymmetric three-way conversation: fragmented tenor phrasing, a harmonic bass line that is steady yet whimsically shaped, and active, muscular drumming that supports both movement and grounding. At one point, the rhythm section delves into a fuzzy, math-like abstraction before Nebbia returns in full angular force, pushing the trio toward a thrilling climax.

Hypomaniac emerges as an irresistibly compelling strain of free jazz, capturing Nebbia, Almeida, and Darrifourcq in their rawest forms and at their highest level of mutual trust. In the process, they forge a triumphant identity all their own.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - “19:45” ► 04 - “11:30”