Mario Rom's INTERZONE

If you are looking for a description for Mario Rom's INTERZONE, you will inevitably encounter superlatives. "Mario Rom plays solos unmatched in Europe - calm, persistent, full of ideas, virtuoso," the German newspaper Die Zeit wrote. The Süddeutsche Zeitung even took it a step further: "Rom plays trumpet as if his life depended on it. The wealth of ideas and inspirations that Interzone packs into a single piece is what other instrumentalists feed an entire career on." Such euphoric reactions from some of the most important representatives of German-speaking arts journalism are certainly not the rule for an Austrian band with an age average just over 30 years. And indeed, the trio consisting of Mario Rom, Lukas Kranzelbinder and Herbert Pirker received extraordinary attention from audiences and media all around the globe very rapidly. For example, the main critic of the renowned Rochester Jazz Festival in New York wrote after one of the trio's concerts that it was "one of the most entertaining and exciting acts of this year's festival" and even went so far as to claim that he had "never, no matter where in the world, heard a group of musicians who - in the truest sense of the word - 'play' together as incredibly as this trio." In the at first glance rather unusual constellation of trumpet - bass - drums, the three succeed at "swirling virtuosity and humor into an entertaining unity" (FAZ) and "sometimes give the impression that there are four, five or more musicians present" (Jazzthing). For almost 10 years now Interzone has been following its motto "Anything goes" and spreading its exceptional live energy from Europe to Mexico, Argentina, Canada, the USA, China, South Africa and Morocco. Whoever feels now that the statements made so far are a bit over the top should read a press report about a concert at the INNtöne-Festival 2014: "Their flawless interplay breathes a vitality that makes the audience beg for encores until the repertoire runs out. That must be how immortality begins."

Of course one can say now that enormously high expectations are being raised. But one can also see it like this: here we have three young musicians playing jazz at 180 percent with a conviction as if every evening their lives depended on it. Their 10-year anniversary album Eternal Fiction, after Nothing is True (2012), Everything is Permitted (2015) and Truth is Simple to Consume (2017), now ushers in a new decade and lets the trio shift up another gear. So just sit back and enjoy. Come into the INTERZONE, you won’t regret it!

Eternal Fiction

After three albums revolving around the topic "truth", Interzone is now beginning a decade of "fiction" with this anniversary album. What might seem contradictory at first, on closer inspection reveals a well-tried band concept: "The nice thing about the title is that it is very openly interpretable. It allows for any individual interpretation, and that's how it should be," Mario Rom explains, and Lukas Kranzelbinder adds: "On our previous albums, we already created a sense of mysticism around the term 'truth' (note: Nothing is True - 2012, Everything is Permitted - 2015 and Truth is Simple to Consume - 2017) and let the thoughts wander from there - this now continues with Eternal Fiction. Drummer Herbert Pirker elaborates: "We are all fans of art that doesn't explain everything right away, but rather leaves plenty of room for your own imagination. And this aura of the mysterious and unclear has always played a major role for Interzone."

Right from the start Mario Rom's INTERZONE distinguished itself with their very own band sound like no other young European trio, and that clarity, intensity and uncompromising nature also characterizes Eternal Fiction. But what particularly stands out on this anniversary album is the enormous flexibility of the three musicians. Pieces in the familiar hot-tempered Interzone style constantly alternate with moments of fragility and tenderness, in which intense moods seem to completely surrender to the image of Eternal Fiction. The virtuosity of Mario Rome's trumpet playing shines in all facets without ever being in the foreground. The same is true about Lukas Kranzelbinder and Herbert Pirker, who, together with Rom, conjure up numerous sound walls - almost unreal for this instrumentation - to let the listeners forget at times that there are only three people at work here.

Only few bands work together so continuously over 10 years as Mario Rom's INTERZONE and you can hear this clearly on Eternal Fiction. While Rome was considered more of an insider tip in these past years, causing sensations especially as the protagonist in Erwin Wagenhofer's film But Beautiful and as soloist with Shake Stew, he now steps into the spotlight with Interzone and this new album, confirming this trumpet-bass-drum trio’s unique status in Europe. This band's decade has just begun!