Gus Garside and Hervé Perez
The Unexpected Visitor

Gus Garside  - Double bass
Hervé Perez -  Saxophone

Recorded by Hervé Perez & Gus Garside
March-May 2020 

Photo by Hervé Perez

Album design by Mark Smith

TRACKS

1- The Guide                 (1:36)
2- The Seeker               (10:01)
3- The Cook                  (4:50)
4- The Lover                  (7:30)
5- The Gardener            (4:54)
6- The Dancer               (3:03)
7- The Maker                (8:39)
8- The Teacher              (5:58)
9- The Keeper               (7:00)
10- The Poet                 (12:53)

Release February 20, 2021

Listen & buy from Bandcamp

ABOUT THE ALBUM

Meeting for the first time as an acoustic duo in their collaborative album, The Unexpected Visitor, UK-based musicians Gus Garside and Hervé Perez explore the musical interpretations of a 13th Century Poem, “The Guest House” by Rumi. The album captures a series of improvisations played between March and May 2020, before and during the official UK lockdowns, some recorded in the same room together, some individually by each musician at home. This album is a selection of music from their original session and their telematic at-home improvisations, woven together by Rumi’s naturally evolving poetic narrative. Informed by the practice of deep listening, the musicians composed the album with angular melodic lines and abstract passages, exploring the resonant qualities and structural design of the saxophone and double bass. The tracks offer reflective and inviting duets, embodying the transient curiosity and sincere openness of the poem they’re inspired by, “This being human is a guest house / Every morning a new arrival.”