Awichas
AWICHAS is a band initiated by Bolivian-Brazilian artist Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti that blends ancient Andean ritual music, and electronics with jazz-inflected percussion and club-inspired rhythms.
In 2024, Guardia Ferragutti and sound artist Jochem van Tol travelled through Bolivia's mystical environments, recording sounds and collecting experiences that became the foundation of the project. Back in the studio, these field recordings were transformed through the use of vintage electronic instruments, including the Buchla 100 and 200 synthesizers, which form the project's sonic backbone.
Joined by an all-star ensemble—including Frank Rosaly, Jacob Maskell-Key, Lida Brouskari, Julia Werner, and van Tol—the project blossoms into a hypnotic live performance of layered, jazz-inflected rhythms, psychedelic textures, and devotional songs. The result is the immersive and exhilarating performance that is AWICHAS.
PRESS:
"The blend of what you might call "folklore" and "hi-tech" elements is exciting and thrilling. It borders on ritual, but ultimately, it's a true "concert." These are all top-notch musicians who don't tolerate any "messiness." It also takes some getting used to: Latin music without strings or wind instruments. And the combination of vocals, electronics, and drums often has a somewhat understated quality. But at the same time, the result, thanks in part to Ferragutti's own performance, is exhilarating. And the wealth of musical discoveries captivates the audience on stage. Take, for example, the aforementioned Bolivian flute harmonies, which initially emerge from the sampler but reappear later in the concert in the singers' voices. In the finale, the rhythms become more asymmetrical and the movements more exuberant. When it's over, time seems to have flown by."
Live Performance Cinetol - 6 September 2025 | Peter Bruyn - GONZOcircus Magazine
Read more about AWICHAS in this
interview with Jasper Willems >
T’iju T’iju
Liner NotesIt’s quite miraculous that the dragon is still alive contains the first recordings Jochem van Tol
has done by his lonesome, given that he has a body of work that dates all the way back to
2007.
If there is one common denominator in Jochem’s work, it is that it always has a giddy
‘what’s next?’ - energy to it, each note bending in anticipation to the next. Usually, he has
done that in a reciprocal environment with like-minded musical peers. Even in more
song-oriented groups like SOON and Silverbones, you never felt the music was cast-iron in
its composition, and more like a pile of leaves that could be swept away any minute by a
gust of wind.
Jochem’s work with the renowned The Paper Ensemble has shown audiences that music is always simmering beneath sounds of everyday life, like a phantom appendage waiting to be revealed. T’iju T’iju, meanwhile, explores the relationship between sound and time in a more playful way. It’s significant to note that in many of his bands, Jochem performs the drums, which I reckon has played a part in him avidly debunking the act of keeping time; the myriad ways humankind has developed all kinds of metrics to capture our perception of it.
It feels playful to name the project after his spirit animal, the grasshopper, a creature who keeps time instinctively without being aware of time’s existence. Though the dragon is still alive consists of just two tracks, the music itself feels non-linear, like a fully realized environment to endlessly explore and get lost in. It’s a place where modern electronic sounds can descend into the primordial, and organic melodies rouse into blissful sentience. The possibilities are, indeed, endless.
– Jasper Willems
Portrait by
Isolde Woudstra
Jochem’s work with the renowned The Paper Ensemble has shown audiences that music is always simmering beneath sounds of everyday life, like a phantom appendage waiting to be revealed. T’iju T’iju, meanwhile, explores the relationship between sound and time in a more playful way. It’s significant to note that in many of his bands, Jochem performs the drums, which I reckon has played a part in him avidly debunking the act of keeping time; the myriad ways humankind has developed all kinds of metrics to capture our perception of it.
It feels playful to name the project after his spirit animal, the grasshopper, a creature who keeps time instinctively without being aware of time’s existence. Though the dragon is still alive consists of just two tracks, the music itself feels non-linear, like a fully realized environment to endlessly explore and get lost in. It’s a place where modern electronic sounds can descend into the primordial, and organic melodies rouse into blissful sentience. The possibilities are, indeed, endless.
– Jasper Willems
Portrait by
Isolde Woudstra
2023 - 2024
Pacifica.
by Jan Willem van EwijkDaniel is on a road trip through the American West with his teenage daughter Artis. They live in a golden bubble: camping and enjoying the landscape. But whenever people approach them, Artis runs od, leaving Daniel anxiously searching for her. As they cross the Great Plains and head into the Rocky Mountains, Artis starts disappearing more and more, slowly turning Daniel’s dream bubble into a nightmare.
More info here:
director
Jan-Willem van Ewijk
producer
The Film Kitchen
screenplay
Jan-Willem van Ewijk
Claytie Mason
co-producers
Savage Film
NTR
Propellor Film
T’iju T’iju
1: the dragon is still alive2024
Molk Records
esc.rec
Available on Vinyl 12”
You can order the album here!
Pacifica.
Original Motion Picture Score2024
Digital Release
In collaboration with
Michelino Bisceglia and Liú Mottes
You can listen to the music here: ︎
CONFETTI FOR THE BLIND - 2025
JOCHEM VAN TOL AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS.
JOCHEM VAN TOL