Filera Filera, n. Slang word used at Mexican border cities such as Tijuana, Ensenada or Mexicali, for knife. Having met in different contemporary music and free improv ensembles, Carmina, Natalia and Wilfrido first got together as a trio in 2013 to play temA, the groundbreaking work written by German composer Helmut Lachenmann in 1968. From then, we have collaborated with composers like Ignacio Baca Lobera and Carola Bauckholt, besides creating our own pieces. The other side of Filera’s work is free improvisation. One thing that the three of us have in common is that we equally enjoy playing notated music and improvisation. When we decided to start a trio together, we took it upon ourselves to balance these two worlds that interest us, and so we always try to do a bit of both wherever we go. Both sides inform and nurture each other in our work and we feel both are indispensable. However, it’s fair to say that it is in our improv sessions where we can explore more freely our interest in sound and interaction, they are both a vehicle to new discoveries and a goal in themselves, ever rewarding and mysterious at the same time. The connection between us while playing has always been an excellent one, and there have been many moments of pure magic. Improvising not only strengthens that connection, but makes it grow, in unpredictable ways. While improvising, Filera is more than ever a sharp tool for experimentation, an all-around sonic blade. As a trio, we have toured intensely in Mexico since 2014, and, in 2016, we played a few concerts in Los Angeles. We have played in several new music festivals and series in Mexico, such as Foro Internacional de Música Nueva Manuel Enríquez, tonalÁtonal, Interfaz and Festival de Música Nueva de Monterrey.