See you at The Market: Oscar Jan Hoogland

See you at The Market: Oscar Jan Hoogland

The enfant terrible of the new Dutch impro scene, Oscar Jan Hoogland sprung onto the Amsterdam landscape approximately a decade ago, at the forefront of the latest group of improvisers to arrive and simultaneously uphold the tradition of New Dutch Swing even while tearing it apart. He is currently on faculty for the composition department at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague and the Mime department for the Academie voor Theater en Dans in Amsterdam.

Oscar is possibly most notable for his ability to use any and every influence as stimuli for improvisation and experimentation. Piano may be his main instrument but he is often seen performing on a variety of old synths, a highly customized electric clavichord, guitar, turntable, voice, toys… For The Market, Oscar has composed a piece for homogeneous sound sources which utilizes a heap of wonderful instruments: balloons, bike bells, pans, etc.
As a leader, his projects show the diversity of his interests including anarcho-free improv trio Eke, the psychedelic Turkish dance band 69 Ay, the Phonograph Orchestra, the Bakfietsband which performs on the back of a bicycle, as well as ensembles that link him directly to the history of Dutch improvising, such as The Ambush Party or his duo with legendary drummer Han Bennink. He also works regularly with electro pop group Zea, from The Ex frontman Arnold de Boer, with whom he toured Ghana this January. In all these ensembles, one sees a Misha Mengelberg-like intellect which is just as focused on meta-music and discovering and challenging new ideas as it is on simply providing straight forward musical input. Oscar has also been crucial in helping this music reach new and different audiences, constantly finding unusual settings which draw together young artists, dancers, and just plain party folk.