How would the ancient sounds of Pompeii and Rome have resonated? AVA Trio attempted to reimagine this on their latest album Ash. Maqam melodies and precise trance-y grooves blend with these sounds from ancient history, creating what they call ‘Mediterranean avant-garde’. In their previous work, the trio has fused North African, Middle Eastern, and Southern European cultures into their sound. Giuseppe Doronzo and Esat Ekincioğlu co-founded the trio in 2015. Doronzo, an Italian baritone saxophonist, won the 2022 BUMA Music in Motion Awards for his composition for the short film GOYA. Ekincioğlu is a Turkish double bassist based in Groningen, known for his work in the successful band KUHN FU and leading Turkish Pumpkin, a band that improvises wedding and funeral music from the Near East. Ekincioğlu also started his own booking agency: Chilli Chilli Agency – for spicy music.