DOUBLE BILL: Love Unfold the Moon & DaDaDaLi

## Experimental...Jazz, Acoustic, Electric, Tribal

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Love Unfold The Moon:

Mustafa Stefan Dill (guitar, oud,compositions) is acclaimed for his fiery amalgam of Middle Eastern, free jazz, rock, and experimental elements on guitar and oud. His reputation for boundary-pushing improvisation dates back to 1988, when Guitar Player hailed his early electric work as “a maniacal tour de force of outside extremism.”

Shaped by a cross-cultural upbringing with Lebanese relatives in Mexico and formative years in Montpellier, France, Dill earned his Master’s in composition from the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Joe Maneri. He went on to perform extensively across Europe, appearing at FMP’s Total Music Meeting, Nickelsdorf, Wirral Guitar Festival, Zuid Nederlands Jazz Festival, and more. He has collaborated with artists such as Cecil Taylor, Guus Janssen, J.A. Deane, former students Ava Mendoza and John Dikeman, Brahim Fribgane, and Jack Wright.

Dill’s early recordings, including Warning Clothed in Bright Robes of Dawn (1994) and *Sangre Del Rio (*1997), won critical praise for its unique convergence of early flamenco elements and modern free improvisation, establishing a continuing methodology of fusing post-modern improvisation with the traditional musical vocabularies from his cultural roots.

His work also spans film and theater, with commissions for documentaries, stage productions, and collaborations with artists from jazz to metal — including a 2022 oud feature on Nile guitarist Karl Sanders’ Saurian Apocalypse.

Currently, Dill leads the metal/free jazz /Middle Eastern mashup group Love Unfold The Sun , whose 2025 release Explode Yourself and accompanying concert short film (captured at Paradiso) continue to draw acclaim worldwide. He also performs with the jazz-funk collective Present Moment and is revisiting the post-flamenco acoustic explorations that first launched his career, in both solo performances and with the new group Love Unfold The Moon.

Ash Mattia (violin) is from Santa Fe, NM, and is currently studying his first year at Berklee College of Music in Boston MA, majoring in Jazz Performance. Being classically trained at a young age, he took these influences and went on to pursue jazz and rock styles with a new perspective. He uses guitar pedals and amps to create otherworldly sounds, lush soundscapes, and screaming distorted melodies that push the boundaries of what the violin is capable of producing.

Ash is a member of the 2-time NMMA award winning jazz-rock group Zaphica, with whom he has recorded and played live shows across New Mexico.

Ben Wright (bass) is from Dixon, New Mexico and plays double bass and sousaphone/tuba. He cut his teeth in Philadelphia punk rock, and has since been working the bass end for 40 odd years bolstered by unbridled sonic curiosity and intense spats of incidental formal training. A lover of the lowest frequencies, Ben has explored many disparate forms of music through the bass instruments, yet always returns to the wellspring of improvisation.

Currently, Ben plays with Glass Key Trio,Radio Free Bassanda, Rhyton, Irksome Trio, Jack Wright, and assorted eclectic partners locally and nationally.

**Thor Rodriguez *(drums) ***is currently based in Santa Clarita, California, pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Jazz Drums at California Institute of the Arts. Known for his energy and versatility behind the kit, he blends musical influences from jazz, rock, and experimental music.

As a founding member of the award-winning progressive jazz-rock group Zaphica, Thor has performed and recorded all across New Mexico and contributed drumming and music to many acts all around the Southwest.