This Musical Collaboration Have ‘Uncertainties’

Tristan, a Belgian electronic/downtempo artist based in LA, writes and produces under several monikers, including Thoma (duo with Benjamin Hill) and Tethys (post-classical experiments with a changing cast of string musicians). He has previously contributed ambient music to the indie game Faeria and released three albums (two as Thoma) on Emancipator’s Loci Records. A fourth Thoma album, Ikiru, which showcases playful, cinematic strings and woodwind arrangements, was released via Audio Network in 2021. Thoma's fifth album, Pictures of Infinity, was released via Asta Hiroki's imprint Folded Music in early 2023. Continuing his neoclassical experiments he created a collaborative album with violinist Gregory Allison entitled A Light for Dark Moments. He has earned the support of numerous publications, including Stereofox, Faeton Music, The Sights and Sounds, River Beats Dance, The Fox Magazine, and Trip Hop Nation, and appeared on the Youtube channel DLoaw. His music has aired on BBC Radio, KCRW, Worldwide FM, NTS, Dublab, and Soho Radio.

Jambal is a jazz Quartet from Luxembourg but based in Amsterdam and Dresden. The young outfit is comprised of Ben Bley (Trumpet, Flugelhorn), Arthur Clees (Vibes, Keys), Maxime Igisch (Bass, Double Bass), and Luca Garofalo (Drums). Together, these four players work their magic to compose works that exude a sophisticated air of rare freshness, influenced by ethno-jazz. Between Tristan De Liège’s electronica and Jambal’s Jazz, the record has elements of trip-hop beats, jazzy grooves and warm bass. Thank you for joining us today Tristan.

We’d love to hear about some of your career highlights Tristan-

My career highlights include releasing 9 solo albums with several on Emancipator’s Loci Records and my work has amassed millions of streams on Spotify. I have also shared the stage with the likes of Emancipator, Tor, Frameworks, Wax Tailor and Com Truise.

Greatest inspirations or influences?

Eberhard Weber, Badbadnotgood, Alfa Mist, Portico Quartet, Miles Davis, Sun Ra, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, Ralph Towner, Arthur Verocai.

Tell us about this new collaboration, how did it come to be - how did you meet? 

We met while Maxime was studying viola da gamba in Tuscany.

We discussed music and I loved Jambal's sound and offered to collaborate on some tracks, which eventually became a full album. 

Is trip-hop alive? and is this collaboration a modern take on the trip-hop genre? 

This isn't really trip-hop that we're making, but we do think the genre persists in new forms and ways, and more importantly, the production aesthetics and textural approaches of trip-hop definitely inform my sound and production style.  

What does well-being mean to you Tristan? 

Well-being is the state resulting from living in accordance with one's nature as a human being and successfully pursuing an integrated set of personal values. 

Anything you would like to share with us? 

This album is really special to us because it's the first full-length album from Jambal and Tristan's first jazz album, and we're very excited to share it.

Follow Tristan De Liège:

Website - Soundcloud - Youtube - Instagram - Spotify

Follow Jambal:

Youtube - Instagram - Spotify