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Where Helge Lien's Hello Troll illustrated the use of space and time in music on Hello Troll, Trichotomy, on Variations, adds the element of mass to the equation, turning velocity into momentum. Trichotomy is an Australian trio and Variations is its first international release. Made up of pianist Sean Foran, bassist Pat Marchisella and drummer John Parker, Trichotomy tests the boundaries of musical inertia with inventive rhythmic and percussive methods.
The disc opens with Foran's "Island In The Sun." Drummer Parker sets up forward motion with a rim-shot figure that is picked up by Foran and bassist Marchisella. The trio pulls back, slowing down and opening up during the middle section, where an ebb and flow is established. Parker solos percussively, a trend that will continue throughout the disc where the bassist extends his playing from tautly muscular to throbbing abandon. At times Parker's bass sound like an electric guitar, at others buzzing bullets (hear the violent, propulsive blues "Chunk," and think of Flea meeting pianist Cecil Taylor).
Ballads "At The Right Moment," "Please" and "Ascent" display Foran's smooth and light touch and the sympathetic leadership of the rest of the rhythm section. The trio is joined by a strings: violinist Christa Powell and violist Bernard Hoey and alto saxophonist John Babbage on "Start," a reflective morning shower of a chamber piece. "Ascent" extends this chamber sound with trumpeter Peter Knight and electronicist Lawrence English providing assorted effects, giving the piece a space music ambience. More so than Hello Troll, Variations requires greater listening attention that is well paid off in the end.