Alex Roth’s Cut The Sky
27.06.2024 - 22:00 / Museum of Engineering and Technology, ul. św. Wawrzyńca 15Formed as part of a residency at the Galicia Jewish Museum in Kraków, Cut The Sky brings together guitarist/composer Alex Roth with two of Poland’s foremost experimental musicians—saxophonist/clarinettist Mikołaj Trzaska and drummer Hubert Zemler. The trio dates back to 2018, when Alex relocated from the UK to Poland, reversing a migratory path trodden by his great-great-grandfather over a century earlier. The band’s performances centre around field recordings Alex made at sites where remnants of the country’s Jewish history can still be felt: neglected cemeteries, forgotten monuments, former ghetto districts reclaimed by ever-evolving cities. However, as followers of the individual musicians’ prior projects might expect, the group also references a rich array of contemporary experimental vernacular, from mesmeric trances to ecstatic overdriven drones and incantatory melodies, all woven together through exploratory improvisation.
Following the self-released single “RZZ1” (described as “beautifully expansive” on BBC Radio 3), Esz Kodesz is Cut The Sky’s long-awaited debut album, supported by a Creative Scholarship from the City of Kraków. The record was selected as Album Of The Week by The Quietus, who praised its “heady blast of electronics, field recording and wild collective improvisation summoning a rich seam of emotion and solidarity.”
Alex Roth – guitar, field recordings, effects
Mikołaj Trzaska – saxophones, clarinets
Hubert Zemler – drums
Tickets (N: 130 / U: 80 PLN) available at 33.jewsihfestival.pl and one hour before the concert at the entrance to the venue.
LOT Polish Airlines and Museum of Engineering and Technology are Partners of the 33rd JCF.
