From the first notes of Numbers Maker, the third album by Desertion Trio, it is clear that the band is leaning into a new direction. While the band has always been a three-piece, Desertion Trio have brought along friends on their previous records — making Numbers Maker their first true trio release and giving the album a distilled and darker edge that hits a little differently.
Although Desertion Trio is following a new musical path, the sound of the band — described by the Philadelphia Inquirer as “exploratory, distorted, and warped” — is still recognizable, using angular riffage, tumbling grooves and a debt to the darker side of Miles Davis’ electric bands, Funkadelic guitar-maestro Eddie Hazel, and oblique fisheye references to 1960s spy and surf guitar themes, while the collective always is shooting for the stars with sprawling and effected tones.
In order to celebrate the spirit of a power trio in its natural state, Desertion Trio recorded Numbers Maker in front of a live audience at New Haven, CT’s Firehouse 12 studio. The result is a detailed studio recording that finds the band all-in with no overdubs and no re-takes, capturing the energy of a great live ensemble.
"Numbers Maker is intense and unrelenting. Its single-minded focus summarizes where the trio has been, albeit with a new vocabulary, and lurches forward to embrace a more direct method of communication that adds a prominent place for surprise to their already prodigious improvisational acumen and visceral power." – AllMusic
“[Desertion Trio] hits the sweet spot between Neil Young's exploratory Crazy Horse jams and a spaghetti western soundtrack." – NPR
“...the band’s tunefulness and delicate touch—even during its most punishing passages—have a universal profundity that I’ve been unable to resist." – Chicago Reader
"One of the finest new releases on Cuneiform. An excellent album by a highly creative experimental fusion trio, somewhat recalling the innovative jazz & rock albums of 1980s ECM." – Audion
credits
released April 23, 2021
Nick Millevoi – guitar
Johnny DeBlase – bass
Jason Nazary – drums
Recorded live at Firehouse 12 on October 18, 2019 by Greg DiCrosta.
Mixed and mastered at Menegroth by Colin Marston.
All songs by Nick Millevoi, copyright 2020 Circlesperanto ASCAP, except “Ta-boo” by Margrita Lecuona and Al Stillman.
supported by 9 fans who also own “Numbers Maker [HD 24/96]”
Every track is a stunning expression of creativity. Voltaic just (*cough*) sparked something extra...
Gorgeous production - work that's incredibly dense, musically, comes through fantastically clearly. Peter Jones
supported by 9 fans who also own “Numbers Maker [HD 24/96]”
I cannot fail to mention Asaf Sirkis. Without him, I wouldn't be listening to this. And the drumming - intense, driven, utterly in the moment. As are Wingfield and Reuter. It could be overwhelming - it certainly moves you. Peter Jones
supported by 9 fans who also own “Numbers Maker [HD 24/96]”
Well, Tarasque is a bit, innit? But the whole album just has its own ... space ... universe? ... that it defines and owns. If you thought these musicians knew what the word "boundary" meant, think again. This is well outside.
Experimental jams. Gorgeous production. Peter Jones
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