Madis Muul presents String Quartet No. 1: Echoes of Layers, a new work for the Muul Ensemble that advances his synthesis of European contemporary practice and the discreet pulse of South Indian Carnatic music. Conceived after a walk in the woods, the quartet charts a passage from clarity to complexity and invites a concentrated, inward listening. The release date will be announced.
The three movements outline a continuous arc. “Horizon. Unfolding” opens with breadth that slowly discloses detail; “Growth. Time,” influenced by Percy Smith’s 1910 film The Birth of a Flower, traces processes of emergence and transformation; “Depths. Cells” turns to tampura-like resonance, moving toward the microscopic and the spiritual, where the ear becomes a mirror.
Muul’s trajectory—jazz piano studies at Siena Jazz University in Italy and composition at ArtEZ University of the Arts in the Netherlands—underpins the quartet’s clarity of form and timbre. His long engagement with Indian classical music, including collaboration with percussionist Giridhar Udupa, informs the work’s sense of rhythm and time. Recognition includes the Estonian Theater Award (2022) for original music, second place at the International Songwriting Awards, and citations at the Estonian Jazz Awards. All About Jazz has described his music as “cosmic, tender, and deeply immersive.”
The release will be supported by a WAV master, videos, images, behind-the-scenes features, and live presentations, with potential festival appearances at Tallinn Music Week and Jazzkaar. A companion String Quartet No. 2 is planned for spring 2026, with both works to appear together on a special vinyl edition. “Echoes of Layers is not only an external journey through landscapes but also an inward one,” Muul notes. “Each movement peels back another layer—of nature, of sound, and of ourselves.”