Julian Calv is a musical artist/composer based out of the New England area, known for his entrancing street performances, intimate concerts, and eclectic musical sound. Commonly found accompanied by his instrument of choice the trimba, Julian’s performances are a jovial phenomena that entertains casual small talk while maintaining the focus of curious listeners. He draws inspiration from the music traditions of fellow American composer Louis T. Hardin, known professionally as Moondog. 

 

Calv has studied every aspect of the avant-garde musician’s creative life. In addition to composing and performing, Moondog’s life included the invention of several musical instruments, most famously the trimba (a sort of triangular drum). Calv has even built his own one-of-a-kind trimba, going to great lengths to travel to Sweden and Germany to meet with fellow Moondog aficionados, and study the design of the instrument. Moondog archivist Wolfgang Gnida states, “Julian Calv—The future of the trimba, that's what I called Julian some time ago. That may seem a bit of an exaggeration, but since the time I’ve been working at the Moondog Archive, I’ve yet to meet a musician who has been as intensely involved with the trimba as Julian. 

 

Stefan Lakatos, Moondog’s friend, student, and ‘the leading exponent of the Moondog method of drumming’ (as Moondog called him) accepted Julian as a trimba player. A recognition that Stefan never gave to any other musician." The trimba itself is a sideways laying percussion instrument played using a maraca and clave as drumsticks. This instrument, obscure in both appearance and sound, acts as a perpetual foreground of the hypnotic grooves present in his musical style, and is also utilized as a conducting tool in ensemble settings. It produces a wide range of percussion sounds in a free-flowing yet metronomic collage of rhythm. 

 

Currently Calv is working on a nine song EP featuring both original music and never before heard music by Moondog. With piano playing by Lehigh Valley based composer and pianist Ava Bloomfield, the EP will take on a more melodic quality in comparison to Calv's first release "Route 4/Thorn and Roots."