Xisco Rojo's music dropped into our inbox in the Autumn of last year, and we've been addicted since. Having cut teeth in the noise, jazz and improvisatory scenes of Berlin, Philadelphia and Madrid, he began his solo project in 2013, combining elements of Western and Eastern traditions to form a unique personal style, rich in counterpoints, mysticism and lyrical depth.
Axial Tilt is a single durational improvisation that meditates on the paradigm shift in everyday life since the start of the pandemic. Utilizing 12-string acoustic guitar with an e-bow and a slide, the natural environment sounds of the room and subtle guitar double tracking, he unfolds a raw and beguiling sound world, slowly gliding from rustic sustained high notes and glacial harmonies through to percussive motifs and soft atonal clusters. Each delicate pick, touch and rumble of his guitar is lifted into an open space without limits, with each gesture floating in and out of itself in a seemless motion. This is some of the most tactile, considered and singular guitar playing we've heard in some time. A real treat.
After some time involved in other projects and as backup musician, the eclectic guitarist and songwriter Xisco Rojo began in 2013 a solo project based on primitivism, chamber folk and psychedelia, with a strong experimental approach inherited from his past trajectory in the noise, jazz and improvisatory scenes of Berlin, Philadelphia and Madrid.
Combining elements of Western and Eastern traditions, he succeeds at creating a unique personal style, rich in counterpoints, mysticism and lyric depth.
Following the releases of the EP Moonlight in the fountain (Self-edited, 2013) and Ruina Montium (Holy Hoof Records / Envelope Collective, 2014), an impromptu electric guitar session, he released in 2015 his second album, focused on acoustic guitar, You Got To Walk That Lonesome Valley (Holy Hoof Records, 2015). 2016 saw the release of Live in Seoul & Kyoto (Pequeña Criatura, 2016), a cassette with material from his concerts on the Asian leg of the ‘Lonesome Tour’. His latest release is Resistance Ragas (Acuarela, 2018), a 7” single containing two evocative pagan invocations played on a Weissenborn, and Encomienda (Holy Hoof Records, 2018), an improvised session together with fellow guitarist Carnisaur.
Xisco Rojo has toured extensively in Europe, South Korea and Japan, sharing the stage with artists like Esmerine, Matt Elliott, Ryley Walker, Steve Gunn, Víctor Herrero, Rhys Chatham, Marc Ribot, Exquirla (Niño de Elche + Toundra), Raoul Vignal, DBH, Mute Swimmer, Taku Hayashi, Noveller, Raisa, Elle Belga, Esperit!, Pablo Und Destruktion, Fee Reega, Alberto Acinas, Negro, Alberto Montero or Carnisaur.
