Percussionist Julian Calv was a music major who recently graduated from Moravian University in Bethlehem, PA. He now resides in the art community of Windsor, VT. Calv can occasionally be seen on Church Street in Burlington, VT, busking much in the way Moondog, aka the Viking of Sixth Avenue, did in NYC during the 50’s and 60’s.
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 archives, I’ve yet to meet a musician who has been as intensely involved with the trimba as Julian.”
Calv had this to say about his latest release,
“‘Encore’ is written by Moondog and performed by Ava Bloomfield on piano and myself. The song was originally titled ‘Utsu’ and played on an instrument Moondog built having the same name. This reinterpretation of the song brings the utsu's melody to the piano keys. ‘Encore’ is one of nine songs from an upcoming album titled ‘Nonstop Motion,’ featuring the music of Moondog and Julian all wrapped up in one.”
Listen here: https://ada.lnk.to/JCEncore
In addition to covering Moondog material, Calv has now been creating his own percussion-based compositions in a style reminiscent of the late composer. His first release, “Route 4,” and follow up “Thorn and Roots” have been picked up on multiple Spotify playlists.
Listen to “Route 4” here: https://ada.lnk.to/Route4
Listen to “Thorn and Roots” here: https://ada.lnk.to/ThornandRoots
Order the limited edition (only 250 printed) 7”-single and limited bundles here: https://bit.ly/JulianCalv
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