released May 6, 2020

"(...) Mia Zabelka è una violinista, compositrice ed improvvisatrice austriaca, a cui molta stampa specializzata ha dato credito per via di alcune nuove definizioni: Zabelka ha parlato di “automatic playing” per indicare processi dell’improvvisazione di tipo organico, che sfruttano tutte le possibilità offerte dalle tecniche e dalle strutture (una sorta di improvvisazione totale che prende in considerazione capacità del musicista, impianti che usa e metodi di qualsiasi provenienza); lo scopo è ottenere l’equivalente di un discorso, considerando il corpo come un conduttore dell’espressione, quindi anche attraverso una gestualità pronunciata. Molto interessante è anche il concetto di “cellular resonance“, che ha curato tramite il violino elettrificato e l’elettronica. La Zabelka è una studiosa della materia, mentalmente molto vicina alla Oliveros o a Niblock da una parte e a Kowald dall’altra.
Myasmo, suo ultimo cd per Setola, la cattura in quattro esibizioni europee tra il 2018 e il 2019, dove si tenta di offrire una prospettiva della propria musica in solo violino acustico: ciò che si percepisce benissimo è che la Zabelka fornisce una personale forma di arte, apparentemente povera, costruita su una relazione fortissima del fraseggio, che deve ricomporre la dinamica del “discorso” umano; ci sono i suoni del violino che catturano la vivacità e l’esuberanza di una dissertazione, la vocalità scomposta e scenica che interpreta e rafforza le specificità del panegirico, c’è lo spazio circostante a cui si tenta di dare un valore secondo le possibilità conosciute nell’improvvisazione libera. Ogni città delle 4 in cui l’austriaca si è esibita (London, Le Havre, Vienna, Tonsberg), fa parte di un puzzle che si compone per ottenere un risultato complessivo: completamenti di tecniche e visuali che ribadiscono un concetto fondamentale e paradossalmente anacronistico in questo momento storico, ossia quello della promozione delle libertà creative come strumento indispensabile di continuazione dei percorsi della musica e di un linguaggio simbolico della vita, attempata o aggressiva che sia. Legno intarsiato, scavi della materia vivente." Ettore Garzia, Percorsi Musicali, 2020.

"(...) Austrian artist Mia Zabelka works as a violinist, improviser and composer. With a background in classical music from an early age, she developed interests in experimental and improvised music, leading up to very different musical practices. Overviewing her collaborations it is remarkable how diverse they are. She did duo work with Zahra Mani, Conny Zenk and Nicola L.Hein. In trio-format, she worked with Maggie Nicols and John Russell as Trio Blurb and very recent in a collaboration with James Plotkin and Benjamin Finger. Her collaborations don’t give the feeling she works within a limited and obvious circle of musicians. I suppose she is an artist who very much on her own decides what to do, with whom to work, etc. Offered here are four live improvisations, recorded during concerts in London, Le Havre, Vienna and Tønsberg in 2018-2019. Four solo live recordings (2018-2019) of concerts in London, Le Havre, Vienna and Tønsberg. The first improvisation starts very pronounced and develops narratively as if she is telling a story. This phase dissolves in a playful episode starts that has her playing and non-verbal singing simultaneously. Followed by a more reflective section that grows in power and dynamics. Also, the second improvisation starts with strong solo, before it is followed by a second phase supplemented again with vocals. During this section, she creates a fascinating slightly distorted sound ending up in a fantastic finale of noisy and aggressive playing. On the edge! All four improvisations suggest she loosely works from a certain framework. First two improvisations, for example, have very traceable influences of classical music in the opening sections. In all improvisations, the second part is the most dynamic and powerful one. Zabelka proves once more to be a very expressive and self-conscious performer. She likes to keep things a bit rough but is also technically very skilled. So her improvisations have much to offer, often reaching strongly vibrating and glowing moments. All her ideas and skills are in function of a strong focus and sense of direction. A very solid and convincing work!" Dolf Mulder, Vital Weekly, 2020.

"(...) Mia Zabelka is an Austrian contemporary violinist, improviser, and composer of Czech, Jewish and French familiar background. Comprehensively educated in classical music from early age on she opened up the traditional understanding of the violin as solo and ensemble instrument towards improvisation, experimental music, and sound art.
Mia just released her solo album ‘Myasmo’ with four long improvised pieces, recorded in four different cities. Each piece is titled after the city it was recorded in. It’s a pure solo recording with only Mia’s violin and (wordless) vocals.
Fifty minutes of solo "out of the box" violin is not the kind of album you play at a candlelight dinner! That being said, 'Myismo' is nevertheless fascinating stuff by a creative artist that turns abstract improvisations into intriguing auditive stories with passages that swing from the poetic to the bizarre, from sweetness to harshness, from thoughtfulness to ecstasy. But it never gets chaotic in a directionless way. There’s always a purpose, always a lead that fits everything together. It’s the kind of record that becomes more and more like “easy to listen to” with every spin. Music to really get into and to go along with the journey. ‘Myasmo’ is released on the Setola Di Maiale label in Italy." Geert Ryssen, Full Circle Music, 2020.

"(...) Mia Zabelka is an Austrian violinist (worth mentioning her truly international background - French, Jewish, Czech) with multiple releases and multiple universes that she is travelling through.
Classically trained in violin both solo and and in ensemble, she explores possibility of her instrument both in acoustic and electronic context - sonorous, more melodic, and elsewhere.
MYASMO, her new album released as a cd and download brings to our attention four places and four sets she has been playing - London, Le Havre, Vienna and Tønsberg. Four different places and four different sets that are connected through acoustic vibe and her vocal improvisations.
Quite dynamic if not frenetic - improvised sets laid out in fully improvised manner but full of discipline and tension.
Mastered by invaluable Lasse Marhaug this fine cd is a nice introduction to Mia's musical world - but only partly - it's definitely an evidence of her surehand skills and mastery of violin. It shows how much you can get out of the instrument and create a lot of emotive themes through improvisation.
Highly recommended taster to her work." Felthat, 2020.

"(...) Although her first album was released in 1987, Austrian violinist and vocalist Mia Zabelka has not released many recordings, Myasmo being the twenty-sixth. Despite impressive albums by groupings such as Trio Blurb, those featuring Zabelka solo stand out; so it is a pleasure to report that Myasmo is the latest addition to that select collection. For Zabelka herself it is the development of her solo album Monday Sessions (Creative Sources, 2015). Whereas that album was recorded on four Mondays in January and February 2015, at Klanghaus Untergreith, the international centre for sound art founded by Zabelka and co-director Zahra Mani in 2008, Myasmo features four tracks recorded live at gigs between November 2018 and August 2019, each in a different European location—London, Le Havre, Vienna, and Tønsberg. The tracks vary in length from eight-and-a-half minutes to eighteen-and-a-half.
Although Zabelka is credited with "compositions," she is actually a free improviser, one who describes what she does as "automatic playing"; she elaborates on that by saying, "The gestures and phrasing which are intrinsically ever-present when playing the instrument are inflated, exaggerated, transformed, de-constructed, and I succeed in finding new musical formulations through this, reaching beyond most stereotypes and clichés." The last part of that quote highlights an important difference between Zabelka and some classically-trained improvisers who can too easily fall into well-trodden pathways. By comparison, Zabelka's playing is fluid and fluent, flowing easily without any awkward pauses or jump cuts, sounding as natural as breathing. Yes, there are changes of mood but these are integrated rather than catching the listener unawares. So, one instant Zabelka can be conjuring up a low-key, mournful mood, the next soaring like a bird on the wing, carefree. Zabelka again: "Various musical genres that interest me, from classical music to free improvisation and sound art, noise, drone, ambient, punk, jazz to heavy metal, are filtered by me, through my body." Again, she walks it as she talks it, with her playing feeling eclectic and varied, but always personal to her. Free improvisation has often been referred to as spontaneous composition; in Zabelka's hands, it undoubtedly is.
The same is as true of Zabelka's vocals as of her violin playing. Being a member of Trio Blurb and, hence, having gigged and recorded with improvising vocalist Maggie Nicols, has undoubtedly affected Zabelka, as it would anyone. But, let us not forget that Zabelka has also recorded with Lydia Lunch, also a strong stylist. Nonetheless, the violinist remains her own person, not a copyist, able to go where her own musical instincts take her. In her case, the most remarkable feature of her music is that she can improvise on violin and voice simultaneously, being able to sound like two distinct individuals interacting and reacting to one another. Impressive.
In a nutshell, Myasmo is recommended to anyone with a penchant for improv, particularly on violin or voice. Those who have yet to hear Zabelka can confidently start here, as this may prove to be her best album to date." John Eyles, All About Jazz, 2020.

"(...) Dans le courant de l’année 2019, Mia Zabelka, violoniste et viennoise, a donné plusieurs concerts solos à I’Klectic à Londres, à PiedNu au Havre, au Café Korb à Vienne lors du Wien Modern Festival (en 2018) et à Tønsberg au NonFigurativ Festival. Elle a rassemblé ici les compositions instantanées les plus convaincantes dans ce beau recueil étalant les intervalles dissonants, les glissandi et soubresauts pointillistes, les étendant avec une belle suite dans les idées ou se laissant conquérir par les audaces de son imagination. Une musique intrigante, pure, volontaire faite de logique instrumentale et d’accidents, gestuelles des pulsions du corps et des impressions de l’âme. Si son jeu peut se révéler aussi vif que les bonds acrobatiques d’un écureuil roux dans les branches d’arbre en arbre, elle a le chic de poser l’archet en douceur faisant vibrer et chanter un croquis dodécaphonique en suspension ou gratter nerveusement les cordes sur le chevalet pour faire crier les tripes de la table d’harmonie. De temps en temps, sa voix interpelle son action percussive sur les cordes avec des phonèmes, comme au début de Tønsberg, sans doute, avec ses dix-huit minutes concentrées, la pièce maîtresse de cet opus. Sous ses doigts le violon dévoile sa voix, sa consistance. Sa pensée musicale et son sens de la narration lui fait accentuer les notes hautes de ses gammes hasardeuses, ses coups de griffes ou les contorsions de frottements compulsifs comme si elle voulait toujours atteindre cette autre dimension inconnue où son esprit et sa volonté la guide. Après maints efforts à la recherche de sa proie imaginaire, elle assume le retour d’un air grave confronté au silence pour le faire monter en graine dans un crescendo minutieux d’énergie libérée, concluant son long périple solitaire de manière irrévocable. Saluons l’audace de Mia Zabelka face aux éléments et au violon seul, livré à lui-même dans l’espace sonore. NB: nouvelles pochettes cartonnées et colorées chez Setola di Maiale." Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg, Orynx-Improv and Sounds, 2020.

"(...) Im Mai veröffentlichte die in der Südsteiermark lebende Violinistin MIA ZABELKA ihr neuestes Werk, welches live in vier verschiedenen Städten Europas aufgenommen wurde. Die Königin der „Noise-Violin“ präsentiert uns mit „MYASMO“ (Setola di Maiale) ein überaus spannendes und Grenzen auslotendes Album und bleibt damit ihrer kreativen Herangehensweise treu.
Mia Zabelka war schon früh von kreativen und experimentellen Ansätzen in der Musik bzw. Kunst begeistert. So arbeitete sie bereits in den 1990er Jahren mit elektronischen Elementen und deren breit gefächerten Möglichkeiten. Seither kann die Ausnahmekünstlerin unzählige außergewöhnliche Projekte, inklusive hochkarätiger Kollaborationen (u.a. mit John Zorn und David Moss), verbuchen und entwickelt ihre kreative Kraft dabei stets weiter.
Kunst und Innovation. London, Le Havre, Wien und Tønsberg. In diesen vier Städten wurden die vier Sets vor Publikum live improvisiert und aufgenommen. Instrumentiert „nur“ durch die Violine und Mia Zabelkas Stimme ermöglicht dieses interessante Setting, sich auf das Wesentliche zu reduzieren und den künstlerischen Ausdruck ungefiltert nach außen zu tragen. Dies geschieht hörbar eindrucksvoll. Der Soundkünstlerin geht es dabei um eine Auslotung des Verhältnisses von Körper, Gestik, Klang und Raum, welche sie durch ihre experimentellen Improvisationstechniken hervorragend demonstriert. Vielschichtig, komplex und doch eindeutig, gestaltet sich das Dargebotene. Eine derartige musikalische Arbeitsweise ist gewissermaßen auch ein Blick in die (kreative) Seele der Künstlerin bzw. auch die des Publikums, was diese Form des Ausdrucks ungemein interessant macht.
„MYASMO“ liefert eine spannende Sichtweise auf Musik bzw. Kunst im Allgemeinen, und die äußerst intime Interaktion zwischen Mia Zabelka und ihrem Instrument bzw. ihrer Stimme im Speziellen. Interessierte einer freien musikalischen Zugangsweise werden sicherlich beeindruckt sein!" Alexander Kochman, Music Austria, 2020.

"(...) Dit soloalbum van de Oostenrijkse violiste Mia Zabelka bestaat uit 4 lange geïmproviseerde stukken, opgenomen in 4 verschillende steden. Elk stuk is getiteld naar de stad waarin het is opgenomen. Deze 50 minuten solo out of the box viool laat ons fascinerende exploraties horen van een creatieve kunstenaar die abstracte improvisaties verheft tot intrigerende auditieve verhalen met passages die balanceren tussen het poëtische en het bizarre, tussen zacht en hard, tussen bedachtzaamheid en extase. Nooit wordt het chaotisch op een richtingloze manier; er is altijd een doel, altijd een zin.
Het is het soort muziek dat bij elke beluistering toegankelijker wordt en je meeneemt op een auditieve reis." Geert Ryssen, Jazz & Mo, 2020.

"(...) Czas na ostatni epizod naszych pandemicznych solówek. Mia Zabelka na skrzypcach, z wykorzystaniem własnego głosu, w koncertowych ujawnieniach z lat 2018-19 – kolejno z Londynu, francuskiego Le Havre, Wiednia i norweskiego Tønsberg. Cztery swobodnie skomponowane improwizacje, łącznie 52 i pół minuty.
Zaczynamy w skąpych przestrzeniach londyńskiego Iklectik. Dźwięk wydaje się być zbierany jednym mikrofonem, brzmienie skrzypiec jest brudne, stłamszone, zatem niebywale intrygujące, mimo incydentalnie pojawiających się niemal basowych przesterów. Mia śle ostre, wysoko podwieszone frazy, czyniąc wszystko z minimalistycznym sznytem i odrobiną kameralnej zadumy. Wirtuozeria wykonania w punkowych okolicznościach brzmieniowych! Skrzypcom dość szybko towarzyszyć zaczyna głos artystki – improwizowany pół scat, szepty i kocie piski. W momentach, gdy osią dramaturgiczną staje się ów głos, strunowiec pięknie podkreśla wagę chwili akcentami post-perkusjonalnymi. Płyną do nas dźwięki pełne emocji, rzadko skoncentrowane na melodyce, pozbawione słodyczy, raczej bliższe agresji. Brzmienie całości sprawia, iż narracja momentami ociera się o akustyczny noise. Drugi koncert wprowadza więcej post-kameralnej powolności, samo brzmienie instrumentu zdaje się być czystsze i bardziej przestrzenne, choć nadal surowe. Faza wokalno-instrumentalna zaczyna się już w połowie czwartej minuty – zgrzyty na gryfie, pisk strun i wokalne całowanki, bliskie estetyki Billiany Voutchkovej. Czynione na dużej dynamice są doprawdy imponujące! Gdy Mia wchodzi w stan śpiewu, skrzypce kontrapunktują niemal z rockową ekspresją. Po 10 minucie możemy już mówić o małym hołdzie, składanym estetyce punk’s not dead!
Lądujemy w rodzinnym dla artystki Wiedniu. Na początku akcenty kreatywnego minimalizmu, wszakże nie bez ognia na gryfie i zadziornych fraz. Bogaty arsenał technik artykulacyjnych i improwizatorskiej wyobraźni. Przy okazji odnotowujemy najlepszą, jak dotąd jakość brzmienia skrzypiec. Faza gadulstwa przypomina salonowe pląsy i dworskie igraszki. Aura chamber wzmaga siłę śpiewu, który przypomina żałobny tren. Akcja zdaje się tu gonić akcję – szczególnie udana jest faza finałowa, stawiająca na bystre preparacje jakże czysto brzmiących w Wiedniu skrzypiec. Ostatni, norweski koncert - powraca brudny tembr strunowca. Trochę minimalizmu i na poły wokalnego zawodzenia. W tej fazie dużo zabawy – syczenie, miałczenie, charczenie i pokrzykiwanie. Tuż po niej – schemat dramaturgiczny zostaje zachowany – moment dłuższych, śpiewanych fraz. Bystre post-chamber do kielicha z czymś dobrze zmrożonym! W drugiej części utworu sporo nowych elementów – akcenty para taneczne, szorowanie strun w niemal industrialnej estetyce, a także faza minimalistyczna, poszukująca utraconej melodyki, poniekąd także brudnego brzmienia. Na samo zakończenie galopada myśli i dźwięków, nawet dość hałaśliwa, która kończy zbiór koncertowych epizodów na zadziorne skrzypce i zalotny głos damski." Spontaneous Music Tribune, 2020.