Markus Reuter (featuring Fabio Trentini and Asaf Sirkis) – Truce <3 (Unsung Records in collaboration with MoonJune Music, 2025)
On their third outing as a trio, guitarist Markus Reuter, bassist Fabio Trentini, and drummer Asaf Sirkis deliver Truce <3, a progressive rock project that bridges spontaneity with structure, and emotional directness and technical precision. The album captures the synergy of three seasoned improvisers recording without a script, just mutual trust and real-time intuition.
Unlike conventional studio sessions, Truce <3 emerged from two days of live, unrehearsed collaboration at Art Music Studio in Bassano del Grappa, Italy (December 11–12, 2024). No pre-written material was prepared in advance. Instead, the trio built their musical language right there, balancing intricate interplay with bold sonic gestures.
Throughout the album, Reuter’s expressive lead guitar work, sometimes echoing the fluid velocity of Allan Holdsworth, coexists with Trentini’s trance-inducing inventive bass grooves and Sirkis’s explosive, yet detail-rich drumming. These dynamic contrasts are evident in tracks such as “Not Alone,” “We Have Your Back,” and “Never Apart,” all of which emphasize the album’s central themes: connection, empathy, and collective exploration.
Significantly, Truce <3 also draws from a parallel creative process. During the recording sessions, Reuter developed a set of ambient electronic soundscape loop improvisations intended as harmonic reference points. Although not initially intended for release, these creations eventually evolved into a companion album, Thirteen Studies in Tender Collapse: Love Drones. Serving as a minimalist counterpart to Truce <3, the companion piece highlights the atmospheric undercurrents behind the trio’s more extroverted performances.
Musicians: Markus Reuter on Touch Guitars AU8, live looping; Fabio Trentini on Wal fretless bass, bass synthesizer; and Asaf Sirkis on acoustic drums.
Produced by Fabio Trentini and Markus Reuter. Executive producer: Markus Reuter. Recording engineer: Diego Piotto. Post-production and mix: Fabio Trentini and Markus Reuter. Mastering: Erik Emil Eskildsen.
Artwork and design by Ritxi Ostariz.
Buy Truce <3.