David Helbock & Julia Hofer: Faces Of Night

Julia Hofer's artistic career has turned the usual order upside down. Musicians normally learn their craft, tour everywhere, perhaps become famous and only then do they settle down and start teaching. Hofer made a series of instructional videos for the online music retailer Thomann while she was still studying for her master's degree at the Popakademie Mannheim - she had completed her first degree in Vienna. The videos made an impact and were viewed millions of times. Today she teaches in Klagenfurt and Vienna and is part of the Vereinigte Bühnen team in Vienna. Julia Hofer is a sought-after bassist on the Austrian scene. Coming from a musical family and classically trained as a cellist, she is characterized above all by her stylistic versatility. In addition to her poetic cello playing, which melts hearts, her groove playing on the bass also demonstrates a wonderful lightness and energy. She covers the entire spectrum of pop, funk and fusion, with a repertoire ranging from Earth, Wind & Fire to Jamiroquai and the Yellowjackets. And her method of familiarizing herself with music has never been guided by the convenience of sheet music: she listens meticulously and makes her own transcriptions. Her approach brings her closer to the originals and at the same time enables her to make them her own. No wonder David Helbock is so enthusiastic about his new duo partner. After all, the pianist and composer from Vorarlberg cultivates a relationship with the piano that often drifts into the cheerful and acrobatic. With his trio Random Control, Helbock has established himself as a true border crosser with virtuosity - and humor. Albums such as "Playing John Williams" (2019) and "Austrian Syndicate" (2023) not only anchor him as a pianist in the chamber music context, but also demonstrate the jazz-rock power he brings to neo-fusion. David Helbock is one of the most versatile musicians in the Austrian music world. And he loves duos, especially "Playground" (2022) with singer Camille Bertault, which has taken them on triumphant tours of the European club and festival scene. On "Faces Of Night" with Julia Hofer, Helbock opens up an even broader stylistic range. The album repertoire includes songs by Prince as well as Thelonious Monk's "Round Midnight", a cello version of George Gurdjieff's "Woman's Dance", a soul-funk interpretation of Eddie Harris' "Freedom Jazz Dance" and a surprising adaptation of motifs from Robert Schumann's A minor Piano Concerto. "We started out experimenting with effects and electronics, but realized that we were using them less and less. It's now an almost exclusively acoustic album, apart from the electric bass. We rehearsed a lot and tried out a lot. It was a wonderful process." The duo was joined by a number of guests, including the soulful and lyrical trumpeter Lorenz Raab, with whom David Helbock has played for two decades, and singer Veronika Harcsa, also a long-time acquaintance, who scats on "Freedom Jazz Dance" and contributes something completely unexpected to "Monk": lyrics in Hungarian. "I've wanted to do something with Mahan Mirarab for a long time. He plays a double-necked guitar, one of them fretless, and that goes very well with Gurdjeff," says David Helbock about the second contributor to "Faces Of Night" - it's a new collaboration. And so on "Faces Of Night" we find a team, completed by producer Andreas Brandis, that is characterized by its energy, its dynamic communication and its sense of unbridled adventure - all of which came together in the studio. At the center is Julia Hofer, who plays with astonishing openness and precision, with the inspired David Helbock as an ideal counterweight. The guests - Harcsa, Mirarab, Raab - expand the foundation and lend the music new colors beyond this constellation. "Ultimately, everything fits well with the title 'Faces Of Night'. For me, the night is a border area in which opposites are possible and complement each other." These faces of the night open the doors for a new duo that is entering the world of music with a debut album full of enthusiasm and energy.