Outstanding musician on the experimental scene in the Basque Country today, Mikel Vega has left the mark of his talent on such fundamental rock bands as Loan, Orbain Unit, Conteiner and, above all, Killerkume. Not in vain, since the artist from Sestao embarked on his solo career, he has become a reference point for the improvised music scene. With hours of experience on stages all over Europe and a list of collaborations that includes, among others, Black Earth, Imbernon, Jörg A. Schneider, Garazi Gorostiaga, Wolkokrots, Xabi Strubell and of course Miguel A. García (who introduced him into the scene), great moments of contemporary experimental guitar have passed through Mikel Vega’s hands.
Since he debuted with «Powndak Improv» in 2021, Vega’s discography has not stopped adding references. Well, if we discount the striking trio he forms with Joseba Agirrezabalaga and Izaskun Simón, or his duo with Xabi Strubell (called Bidai), that makes a total of seven albums includinf this, his latest and most ambitious studio work to date, «Tresneria».
With the guitar as the fundamental instrument, ‘Tresneria’ combines sampling, as well as electronic and electro-acoustic elements in a kind of timbral processing that is effectively the result of improvisation, yes, but also the result of previous compositional work. And therein lies its key factor, as each of the pieces on the album is articulated according to a very clear narrative structure, which develops little by little, progressively, weaving hypnotic transitions -with some tonal moments- until it gives shape to a sort of idea-song that is highly personal. Mikel Vega’s music not only transcends the terrain of free music, thanks to a masterful use of the concept of tension-rest, but even goes so far as to shake hands with morphologies typical of drone or ambient, so distant from the classical language.
