Markus Gottschlich - Found Sounds (2020)

With Found Sounds, the US based, Austrian pianist, composer and Steinway Artist Markus Gottschlich presents a concept album that is aimed to re-examine and re-imagine people’s relationship to their environment. Recording and collecting ‘sounds’ for over four years from places such as Vienna, London, New York, Taipei and Miami, using a binaural microphone and a hand-held recording device, Gottschlich uses them to inspire his songwriting and improvisations. Themes for his musical explorations range from the sounds of hurricane Irma making landfall in Miami to a horse and carriage in Vienna to the Big Ben in London. “By keeping my ears wide open to my environment, my awareness of the world around me changed, and so did I, lastingly. With some creativity and an open mind, I found that there is more in my environment than I thought; Sounds, more than any other sensory stimulus, spark my imagination,” says Gottschlich.

With these ‘found sounds’ as a springboard for the pianist’s lush imagination and seemingly boundless pianistic ability, his compositions are primarily arranged for a piano trio with a number of notable guest appearances: legendary trumpeter Bobby Shew, alto saxophonist Bruce Williams, (Roy Hargrove’s Big Band / World Saxophone Quartet) and versatile drummer and percussionist Yogev Shetrit of Israel. Critics have described Gottschlich as “a lyrical, high-energy and risk-taking pianist” and “painter of emotions via music”.

Extreme circumstances pathed the way for Gottschlich’s third album as a leader. While the original trio recording was stolen mid-2018 along with its computer, they were surprisingly recovered two years later. Finishing the album during the intense Covid -19 lockdown months that Gottschlich spent on the hard-hit east coast of the US, Found Sounds is a testimony to his relentless creative desire.

Found Sounds allows a very intimate view into the composer’s world, as it becomes apparent how Gottschlich’s mind engages with his (aural) surroundings. Joining Gottschlich on the album are Bobby Shew, Bruce Williams, Yogey Shetrit, bassist Martin Kocian and drummer David Halasz. Gottschlich adds, “In this album you will hear my way of interpreting the environment, which might entice the listener to use his/her imagination as one goes through their day. Furthermore, it’s my desire to make this improvised artform we call “jazz” as accessible as possible, by relating it to sounds everyone knows.”