Ask Gonzalo

When everything is simple
Sometimes things just fall into place. Like coming up with three gift ideas at a moment’s notice, finding trains that run on time, or writing a song that flows effortlessly.

It was something like that for us, five musicians from Berlin, when we thought in autumn 2022: Let’s make music together! To our amazement, we discovered that we, our music, our crazy lives, and our passions fit perfectly together.

What has emerged since then is music with the power to make people happy: Beautiful & wild. Familiar & unsettling. Complex & straightforward. Fine instrumentalists & virtuosic show-offs. Jazz.

Although: Is it even jazz? Or indie? Or both? Or perhaps just a highly improvisational, undogmatic approach that blends diverse musical styles like jazz, dub, krautrock, and funk. Sometimes danceable, sometimes melancholic, sometimes like the soundtrack to a film, and at other times like a journey into the weightlessness of outer space.

Who’s behind it?
The Spaniard Armando Carillo Zanuy can do anything with a trumpet and, as an experienced big band leader, stays calm no matter what.
Kota Maeda from Japan hails from the blues. Quiet during rehearsals but a guitar whirlwind on stage.
Peter Herzau listens, lays down soundscapes with his Fender Rhodes, and crafts deconstructive solos based on the principles of Gestalt psychology.
Francisco P. Riccheri from Argentina is the young wild card, drumming with such ease that you’d think he’s floating on a magic carpet.
Florian Scheffler, like Peter Herzau from Germany, is a musical multitalent. He’s the driving force behind projects like this one, delivering inspiring bass lines and momentum.

And Ask Gonzalo?
Why the name? We’re happy to explain that at a concert. Here’s a hint: it has something to do with one of the band projects connecting 4/5 of the musicians.

Albums:

LP: Ask Gonzalo (2023)
EP: Ask Gonzalo Remixed (2024)
LP: ?! (tba, 2025)
Important links:
https://linktr.ee/askgonzalo