Margaux Oswald
is a pianist of French-Filipina origin, born in Geneva, and currently based in Copenhagen. Margaux has played the piano since the age of 5, and is now committed to the art of free improvisation. She is an active member of the European improvised music community performing in Germany, Sweden, Slovakia, Spain.
She currently performs with leading musicians and ensembles e.g. Jesper Zeuthen, Frank Gratkowski, Michael Griener, Lotte Anker, Alex Zethson, Albert Cirrera and Sture Ericson.
Margaux Oswald - Dysphotic Zone
(Clean Feed)
The solo debut from this Copenhagen-based French-Filipino pianist clocks in at just over 32 minutes, but it’s hard not to feel drained by the time this bruising, intensely physical performance comes to an end. Recorded live in the fall of 2021 at the Monopiano Festival in Stockholm, Margaux Oswald builds almost monolithic blocks of sound from her instrument—as if she’s carving tones from huge slabs of granite—summoning up thunderous left hand figures that rumble ominously, filling up space while she embroiders surprisingly elaborate, almost delicate patterns with her right hand
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Margaux Oswald - Dysphotic Zone
(Clean Feed)
The solo debut from this Copenhagen-based French-Filipino pianist clocks in at just over 32 minutes, but it’s hard not to feel drained by the time this bruising, intensely physical performance comes to an end. Recorded live in the fall of 2021 at the Monopiano Festival in Stockholm, Margaux Oswald builds almost monolithic blocks of sound from her instrument—as if she’s carving tones from huge slabs of granite—summoning up thunderous left hand figures that rumble ominously, filling up space while she embroiders surprisingly elaborate, almost delicate patterns with her right hand. When a musician pushes her audience into submission with ferocious sound it can feel fascistic, but Oswald’s approach is different. Indeed, her post-Cecil Taylor fury, which does open up at times, letting silence in like bright rays of sun, is inviting in some strange way, a humanistic sound sculpture marbled with exquisite detail and guided by a remarkable sense of dynamic range. The album title refers to underwater depths, where light quickly dissipates, and the two tracks – '237m’ and ‘951m’ – reflect different levels of submersion, neatly applying a sonic quality to the clarity and strength of light. The music represents just one side of Oswald’s approach, and I’m looking forward to experience other facets.
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