By Paul Acquaro
Two duo recordings from saxophonist Mia Dyberg from the tail of 2025...
Mia Dyberg and Axel Filip - HobbyHouse (Relative Pitch Records, 2025)
Danish saxophonist Mia Dyberg and Argentinian percussionist Axel Filip both
currently call Berlin home and work together in a trio they've named
"HobbyHouse." Avant-garde and experimental, their debut as a duo seems to
focus on the intersection and overlay of timbre and textures as much, if not
more, than the melodic and rhythmic sensibilities that also permeate their
playing.
HobbyHouse starts with 'Feet in the water,' where long, hushed tones and
gentle percussive vibrations intermingle gingerly, making for an expectant
atmosphere. Then, they light off some small fireworks on 'Running horses,'
spryly skipping rhythmically about. Next, 'Snow plow racer' combines the two
approaches as a slowly unfolding, intervallic melody emerges over the splash
of cymbals and taught figures.
A stand out track is the very short 'When they jump,' just slightly under two
minutes of indeed jumping intensity. Here Dyberg's thoughtful playing bounces
delightfully off Filip's agile figures for a fun romp. Skipping to the end,
the closer, 'Swimming in the air' exudes a cool calmness, a gentle wrap up to
a rich recording, which throughout the duo seems to be able to say quite a bit
in the short duration of the tracks.
Mia Dyberg & Rieko Okuda - Glasscut (Kassiani Records, 2025)
Dyberg's duo with Japanese pianist and also current Berlin resident Reiko Okuda
marks the debut not of their recorded work but of the Kassiani Records
label, which has released Glasscut digitally and as a very limited edition LP.
The album fits quite well sonically alongside Okuda and Dyberg's previous
releases, Nigatsu 二月 from 2019 and Naboer from 2020. At times
pensive and other times exuberant, the duo artfully follow their intuition.
The opening track's reservation is nerve wracking. The tension is
palpable, first introduced by gentle breathiness from Dyberg and followed by a building of austere notes from Okuda that stretch a dissonant filament
between the two instruments. It only gets more intense, suddenly breaking only when the next track begins. 'No Cut' is uptempo, starting with a curlicue
melody from Dyberg, adorned with trills from Okuda. Here, one can hear the
pianist's modern classical roots, which were long ago the focus of her studies before
being drawn into the experimental fold, in the harmonic accompaniment. The
track is both dense and light, moments of wildness tempered with more
deliberate passages.
The final track, 'Jikan' begins with Dyberg with long solo introduction,
demonstrating her jazz sensibilities and fragmented approach to melody. When
Okuda joins, it is with single note lines that interject and intertwine
for short stints. The piece develops in fits and starts, mixing restraint and
eruptive play.
Glasscuts is an enjoyable and diverse recording from a two dynamic musicians in the contemporary improvisation scene.
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