Organizers:
L.A.S. Listening and Sounding Foundation
Centre for International Creative Initiatives ROZDROŻA
Phonomatic Studio
Centre for the Meeting of Cultures
An evening without ready-made answers
The organizers announced the event as a musical journey “here and now,” and that promise was fully delivered. Both duos presented distinct worlds, connected by a shared understanding of improvisation as an act of freedom and dialogue. Instead of a classic concert narrative, listeners were offered an experience of intense focus and constant discovery. It was an evening that demanded openness, but rewarded it with emotion and depth.
If improvisation is the art of trust—both between musicians and between the stage and the audience—then on this night at Phonomatic Studio, trust became a fully-fledged instrument. Everyone who was there left richer, carrying an intense and unrepeatable experience.
Vicente & Hughes: intensity, space, and echoes of tradition
The first to take the stage was an international duo: Luís Vicente (Portugal, trumpet) and John Hughes (Germany, double bass). Their performance felt like a journey through shifting landscapes—from nearly meditative, quiet tensions to sudden, violent bursts of energy. Hughes’s double bass pulsed with a deep, rough-edged sound, at times evoking an earthy, primal rhythm. Vicente’s trumpet responded with a tone that was both gentle and uncompromising—full of air, yet marked by strong, fractured phrases.
Echoes of tradition surfaced in their music—like fleeting glimpses of folk melodies or distant memories of South African jazz—but never as direct quotations. Rather, they appeared as far-off impressions, transformed through an improvised narrative.
The duo affirmed their experience and artistic awareness: this was a wordless conversation built on attentiveness, trust, and courage.
Lesiak & Michalec: a premiere encounter, a fresh language
The second part of the evening opened with a duo performance by Grzegorz Lesiak (guitar) and Jan Michalec (trumpet)—Lublin-based musicians appearing together as a duo for the very first time. From the opening sounds, it was clear that this collaboration would leave plenty of space for listening and mutual response. Lesiak shaped a dense, sometimes drone-like sonic fabric, interwoven with abstract chords and prepared guitar textures. Michalec built his narrative through long phrases and bold, daring bursts of air.
There was something raw and searching in this meeting, but also deeply sincere. The audience listened intently, as if witnessing the birth of a language—unfinished, yet fascinatingly fresh.
MUT#8 / 10.04.2025 / PHONOMATIC STUDIO / LUBLIN
An Intense Night of Improvisation
In the intimate spaces of Phonomatic Studio at the Centre for the Meeting of Cultures, an evening filled with musical adrenaline and sonic experimentation unfolded. The audience that packed the studio on Thursday night became witnesses to two stage encounters in which spontaneity and intuition mattered more than any written score.
From the very first minutes, the atmosphere suggested this would not be a concert for those seeking easy melodies or predictable structures. This was music born in real time—organic, alive, and untamed.
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