You won’t attain a true state of peacefulness on “Lawaii,” and that appears to be exactly how this trio wants it

The subtlety of the music from the trio LAWAAI extends far past the Dutch translation of their name to ‘noise.’  The expectation would be music that is loud and disruptive.  Their self-titled EP Lawaai meets only the latter half of that expectation.  The fabric of this recording is peacefulness.  The environment is one where tranquility would seem likely to thrive.  But the trio of pianist Kamil Piotrowicz, bassist Stan Callewaert and drummer Jeppe Høi Justesen spend the length of the recording creating tiny disturbances that ripple throughout the six pieces, instigating a sense of unease that never allows that tranquility to fully take hold.  Sometimes it’s the slow, steady droplets of melody of “Glacier” and sometimes it’s a brisk downpour, like on the hypnotic “#5,” and there is a moment on “#10” when the simmering tension threatens to boil over.

But it never does.  Maintaining a sense of peacefulness while utilizing dissonance as the main ingredient is walking a razor’s edge.  LAWAAI navigates that path with remarkable ease, and it’s a major reason for this album’s success.

A very compelling album.

Your album personnel:  Kamil Piotrowicz (piano), Stan Callewaert (bass) and Jeppe Høi Justesen (drums).

The album is Self-Produced.

Listen to more of the album on the artist’s Bandcamp page.

Music from Copenhagen, Denmark.

Available at:  Bandcamp

Also, it worth pointing out that the bassist, Stan Callewaert, put out an excellent recording with his Donder trio.  If you like Lawaai, you should definitely check out Still.