Frustrations - Stone Upon Stone Festival, Nis

Sultanic Jasmin - Drums

As the tickertape of another Eurovision Song Contest is slowly shovelled into the black bin liners of tastelessness Vienna awakens to the real bands and musicians that capture the spirit of this time. Austrian three piece Frustrations are one such band that sit on the cusp of this artistic expression. It was their honour to kick off the inaugural Stone Upon Stone festival in Nis, Serbia last month (15/04/2015).

Rogelio Agustin Pereyra - Piano

Frustrations set was a collection of curios, it was as though we wandered upon a cabinet of found objects in the Pitt Rivers Museum. Songs packed full of thematically arranged nuggets rather than adhering to genres. Steady earthy rhythms sat next to Latin breakdowns, carefree sounds next to tight high-paced throws of the dice.

The three men on stage were Sultanic Jasmin (Drums), Joachim Huber (Bass) and Rogelio Agustin Pereyra (Piano). More often than not compositions started with the driving and boyish piano of Pereyra on the left with an equally matched energy on drums to the right, leaving the bass as the central stump. There was much ado about pace and this cast the top knotted Huber as the rabbit in the headlights of his two full beamed companions.

Joachim Huber - Bass

It was a rollercoaster of a performance, rattling tram tracks that clattered under duress, it was the spinning wheels of Pereyra's piano that punched through. The stage was stolen by Sultanic Jasmin's Cheshire Cat grin that spread like the warming sun in the streets of Nis. A wet spring had at last found it's fresh heat and Frustrations cast it out into the audience at the Symphony Orchestra Hall. Jasmin's drums captured a genuine spirit of abandon that took root amongst us and Anywhere is the tune that released the genie in their bottle.

Frustrations released their self titled debut album on 4th April 2015.
Listen/Buy it on Bandcamp HERE.

See them at
Ethnofest (Vienna) - June 19th 2015
Bürgerhaus Glockenbachwerkstatt (Munich) - 27th June 2015
Kaleidoskop Festival (Tuzla) - 27th July 2015
Szene (Vienna) 19th September 2015

AL.