Tom Avgenicos, Delay 45, Ensemble Apex String - Ghosts Between Streams
Released 14 March 2025, on digital and CD
Tom Avgenicos, trumpet & electronics, Roshan Kumarage, piano & synths, Dave Quinn, bass & synths, Ashley Stoneham, drums & guitar, Ensemble Apex String Quartet
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Tom Avgenicos featuring Delay 45 and Ensemble Apex String Quartet boldly explore the intersection of nature and urbanisation on Ghosts Between Streams
Acclaimed trumpeter-composer Tom Avgenicos releases his latest album, Ghosts Between Streams, a bold exploration of the interplay between nature and urbanisation, performed by his innovative ensemble Delay 45, alongside the Ensemble Apex String Quartet. The album, available through Earshift Music, is a cinematic convergence of chamber music, jazz, and electronic soundscapes, offering a rich and evocative listening experience. The live audiovisual work (a collaboration with Japanese-Australian contemporary dancer Reina Takeuchi & Filo-Australian Breaker Gerard ‘Kid Tek’ Cabellon) was awarded Best in Music and Best in Dance at the 2024 Sydney Fringe Festival.
"once in a generation" - Loudmouth
Avgenicos, based between Gadigal/Sydney and Muloobinba/Newcastle, is known for his exploratory and emotive creative practice. His distinctive improvisational style has made him a vital presence on Australia’s creative music scene. In Ghosts Between Streams, Avgenicos delves into the complexities of community identity through the lens of his daily walks in Stringybark Creek, a nature reserve amidst high-density urban development on Cammerygal Country.
Ghosts Between Streams is an auditory journey, juxtaposing light and dark, consonance and dissonance, acoustic and electronic elements. The album features contributions from Avgenicos’ long-time collaborators in Delay 45—Roshan Kumarage (piano & synths), Dave Quinn (bass & synths), and Ashley Stoneham (drums & guitar)—as well as the Ensemble Apex String Quartet. Together, they create a lush, immersive sound that bridges genres and seamlessly blurs the lines of composition and improvisation.
Avgenicos cites the Freedman Fellowship and his ongoing collaboration with Australian-Japanese contemporary dancer Reina Takeuchi as integral to the development of this project. A highlight during the album’s creation was the first full rehearsal with the entire ensemble, a moment that brought the project’s vision to life beyond expectations.
The tracks on Ghosts Between Streams range from the haunting opener “Underpass (Part 1),” featuring samples collected from the underpass of Stringybark Creek, to the epic climax of “Before We Part,” which represents the coexistence of nature and urbanisation. Each composition is meticulously crafted, with Avgenicos’ trumpet soaring above lush string arrangements, complex rhythms, and electronic textures.
Delay 45, formed in 2018, is an acclaimed quartet known for their seamless interplay between structure and spontaneity. Their sophomore release Flux and their multidisciplinary music-dance work Ghosts Between Streams expands yet refines their innovative and individual approach to performance with remarkable agility, musicality and finesse, demonstrating how they are one of the most exciting ensembles to emerge in recent years from Australia’s jazz and improvised music scene. Their music, characterised by recurring motifs and textural dynamism, has been praised as “a bold new chapter in Australian jazz” (Sydney Morning Herald). They have performed at some of Australia's most prestigious concert venues and festivals including Sydney Opera House, Phoenix Central Park, The Melbourne International Jazz Festival, Melbourne Recital Centre and MONA.
With Ghosts Between Streams, Avgenicos hopes to remind audiences of the importance of nurturing and enjoying our shared spaces, offering a sonic experience that is both thought-provoking and emotionally resonant.
Ensemble Apex String Quartet are: Ben Adler, violin, Beatrice Colombis, violin, Phoebe Gilbert, viola, Noah Oshiro, violoncello, Reena Oh, violoncello (track 2 only)
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Underpass (Part 1): Cars driving across a busy bridge, rain, cicadas and other audio samples collected from the underpass of Stringybark Creek overlay an ominous sounding bass drone. A haunting melody from the trumpet, cello and piano sets the scene for an eerie opening before the rest of the strings enter, bringing the piece to life.
Underpass (Part 2): subtle layers of synths provide the foundation for long, flowing improvised trumpet lines. This builds into a huge collective beat before breaking down. In the audiovisual work, this point signifies the first meeting of nature (Reina Takeuchi) and urbanisation (Tom Kentta).
Interlude I: a pastiche of extended string techniques creates a textural bed for pianist Roshan Kumarage to take the lead. Demonstrating sensitivity, patience and guile, he seamlessly transitions into the next piece.
Epione: is the goddess of soothing pain and giver of health. I wrote it after the extreme bushfire summer of 2019-2020 upon seeing signs of vegetation regrowth in the reserve. Lush harmonies are provided by the strings and trumpet before a contrasting free improvised section from Delay 45. Everyone has their moment to symbolise the regrowth.
Magic Rock: dedicated to a rock where I would often sit and ponder with my dog Soomi as we watched the world go by. The string section pass around a gentle melody, accompanied by the piano. As the jazz quartet enter towards the end of the piece, an ascending figure segues to the next piece 'Rise'.
Rise: inspired by early morning runs through the creek. A medium tempo with a repeating off-beat figure gives this track impetus, making it the "jazziest" track so far. Reverb, delays and tremolo trumpet fx mimic the early morning fauna. Brief improvised moments interspersed with melodies from the trumpet are later joined by the string section. A collective ascending passage is interrupted by a dramatic pause before an explosive drum fill leads into a triumphant final section.
Interlude II (Trumpet Solo): an intimate moment in this work. With a breathy, open sound, Avgenicos demonstrates remarkable agility and finesse as he weaves his way through freely improvised melodic figures. Use of ornaments, wide leaps and contrasting array of colours recall echoes of Ibrahim Maalouf, Ambrose Akinmuse and Tomasz Stanko.
Stroll: the improvised trumpet solo continues in this track. A steady yet driving pulse from the bass accompanies the trumpet and the rest of the ensemble gradually joins in. The strings join in to ratchet up the intensity and the tempo gradually increases. The tempo spirals and a mosaic of ascending string melodies send the piece into chaos before coming back together for a satisfying ending.
Running Through The Night: inspired by a panicked experience where I had to run through Stringybark Creek through the night. The string quartet are tight in this complex composition. Fast, angular runs and extended techniques are executed through changing time signatures before the band enters with full force. Virtuosic trumpet lines further highlight the chaos.
Interlude III: The sun rises; a brief moment of relief from the preceding chaos. Kumarage and Avgenicos are gentle in their exchanges.Ghosts: placards along the trail of Stringybark Creek tell stories of a place where children would swim and playing amongst the rich flora and fauna. This description suggests it is a ghost of itself, hence the enigmatic title. Samples of children playing in a river are heard in this innocent track, featuring violin soloist Beatrice Colombis.
Before We Part: my attempt at writing in the singer-songwriter style, designed to represent the peace and harmony of nature and urbanisation in coexistence. Cellist Noah Oshiro is featured soloist in duet with the guitar (played by drummer Ashley Stoneham in a first ever public performance and/or recording of him playing the guitar). A simple riff follows, allowing for the trumpet fx to build layers. An epic climax ensues which is worth the wait (in my opinion).