Suncuts emerged in 2023 from the earlier project Teufelskeller, originally founded by Anton Ponomarev in Moscow. Teufelskeller was invited to perform at the Xciting Festival in Stuttgart but due to various serious reasons the bass player and drummer were unable to go. Ponomarev brought in Swiss drummer Maxime Hänsenberger and Brazilian bassist Felipe Zenicola as replacement musicians. Both integrated quickly, and the new line-up performed the scheduled concerts. Although the three musicians had never played together before, a strong connection formed instantly and deepened with each show. They performed five concerts in Switzerland and on the festival in Germany. For Ponomarev, the new line-up fully realized the musical ideas initially envisioned for Teufelskeller.
The group’s strong live dynamic and shared artistic direction led to the formation of a new project: Suncuts. During Zenicola’s next visit to Switzerland, the trio recorded an album in early December 2023 staying two days at Hänsenberger’s studio in Biel. The trio plays at the intersections of free improvisation, noise, jazz, and extreme music. Their sound thrives on contrast: fragile textures meet pounding bass lines, industrial electronics wrap around expressive saxophone melodies, and rhythms form out of chaos, only to fall apart again.
What sets Suncuts apart is the intuitive musical chemistry among the members. Coming from backgrounds in experimental jazz, metal, noise, and avant-rock, they quickly found a shared language built on instinct, tension, and mutual trust. Their playing is direct and fearless, constantly evolving in real time. The shared experience of performing together during the initial tour was essential for developing this language. In the absence of written compositions, the repertoire took shape through live exploration, forming the basis for the material recorded later in the studio in Biel.
The trio avoids fixed formats. Each performance is a sonic ritual where genre boundaries are not just blurred but deliberately shattered. The music is intense and physical, but also shaped with care, attention to detail, and a deep sense of dynamics.
