Julian Calv
Julian Calv is an American composer, singer, and trimbist. Born February 18 1999 in New Brunswick, NJ, Julian grew up in Bethlehem Township, NJ. He graduated from Moravian University in 2021 with a Bachelor’s of Music focusing on composition, education, and classical piano. While there he studied piano with Barbara Thompson and Dan DeChellis, and composition with Larry Lipkis and Scott Watson. In 2021 he completed an independent study of 20th c. American composer Louis T. Hardin, AKA Moondog's, creative life. Throughout the course of this impactful project he established an apprenticeship with Stefan Lakatos.
Self proclaimed as Moondog’s grand-student, Julian is the sole prodigy of Stefan Lakatos– who, to quote Moondog himself, is “the leading [and only] exponent of the Moondog method of drumming.”1 Through both this mentorship and dedicated study of Moondog's creative life, he upholds his grand-teacher's dying wish to “please take care of my music.” Learning to build and play the trimba, Moondog's invented percussion instrument, Julian has sculpted a unique soundscape by preserving the sonic tradition of his mentors. He re-imagines that same tradition in his original compositions.
1 . Quote from Louis T. Hardin AKA Moondog from the liner notes of Bracelli und Moondog– released on CD in 1986.
Recordings
In early 2023 both “Route 4” and “Thorn and Roots” were released. These place-based percussion compositions were conceived following the start of Julian's street performances in Burlington, VT. "Route 4” combines samples of the US Interstate Route 4 with a drum collage defined by the trimba's repetitive groove. "Thorn and Roots” is a fast paced musical impression based on an improvised melody performed in front of a juice bar having the same name. The trimba and balafon play in tandem with one another, creating a percussive flurry in perpetual motion.
Recorded in late 2023, Calv's first album Nonstop Motion debuted November 9 2024. It features Ava Bloomfield on piano and the vocal sextet Non Prophets– led by Calv. Comprising both original and Moondog music, some of which was never previously recorded, the album's nine song track list is unified by the nonstop trimba present throughout.
Live Performance
Non Prophets is a vocal sextet established for a selection of concerts in 2024. They performed at the Southern State Correctional Facility, Springfield, VT, for a private concert of inmates and guards. The show, titled "On Mortality, Life and Death" acted as a memorial in honor of men who've passed at the facility. The hour-long act featured a selection of vocal rounds by Calv and Hardin. The cyclical nature of the rounds and their lyricism unified the concepts of life, mortality, and death. They performed publicly at Silver Lake State Park, Barnard, VT, and for Calv's concert "MOONDOG: Contemporary Reflections" at Epsilon Spires, Brattleboro, VT. Contemporary Reflections featured an instrumental trio and Non Prophets, and was recorded by Brattleboro Community TV:
He's performed with his project MOONDOG: On The Keys in November 2024 and June 2025. This piano trio, featuring Alex Stewart on piano and Sarah Penna on vocals, performs vocal rounds and piano compositions/arrangements by Louis Hardin and Julian Calv. The group often incorporates guest musicians for the rounds, which are a staple song form in Calv's performances. Their performance at Epsilon Spires, Brattleboro, VT, was recorded by Brattleboro Community TV:
They will be performing again in September 2025.
Actively, Calv is preparing for September concerts and an October concert debuting his sax and rhythm quartet called Trimbtych. On the recording side, he is releasing Solid Gold Timepiece from his duo project with Derwood Andrews, Shagbarn, in the Fall of 2025. Their debut single "I'm on My Way to a Better Place" released August 22, 2025. Timepiece is a genre bending album incorporating elements from Andrews' (Generation X, Westworld, Speedtwinn) and Calv's musical backgrounds and networks.
The Trimba
A trimba can be thought of as both an instrument and a term for a specific form of percussion kit. A pair of two attached horizontal laying trums traditionally played using a maraca and clave as mallets. An attachment containing a woodblock and dragon’s teeth is fixed on top of the smaller trum. Both trums have a cymbal fixed to them to create a metallic-sounding reverb during performance, the big trum having two. Trums are triangular drums.
Calv originally learned to play the trimba using a pair of bongos with a maraca and clave. He built his first trimba in June of 2021. Later in August 2022 he met Stefan Lakatos at his home in Stockholm, Sweden. Here he studied Hardin and Lakatos' design for the instrument. Provided here are pictures of Julian's trimba. This trimba is not the same dimensions as the original trimba.
Stefan Lakatos
Stefan Lakatos is a Swedish trimbist, percussionist, and singer. He is "the leading exponent of the Moondog method of drumming”, said Louis Thomas Hardin, a.k.a. Moondog. He has built trimbas, dragon’s teeth, and other percussion instruments according to the traditions taught to him by Moondog. For over 40 years of his life he performed the music of Moondog in both small and large groups and has collaborated with artists like Dominique Ponty, Andreas Heuser, Javanese gamelan composer Iwan Gunawan, Transorient Orchestra, Sebastian Åberg, Stephan Eicher, and Moondog himself.
He was born in Katrineholm, Sweden, on Dec. 21, 1955 and passed away on Feb. 10, 2023.