christian moser

oud player | improviser




“i see the oud as an object that can be attended to, attuned to, in different ways that bring out strange hidden properties, that reveal something about the wood and the curvature of that instrument. I`d like to attend its inner structure, allowing myself to be taken over by it, bringing in perception what was imperceptible.”
Christian Moser (1980) is an oud  player and improviser. His particular interests concern the cultivation of musical mindsets that go beyond the dualism of tradition / presence, being / becoming, immanence / transcendence. With a curious attitude, he searches for multiplicities and simultaneities in culture, aesthetics and expression. He is working with the creative power of difference without representing a genre, principle or archetype. Instead, he wants to move, to grow, to leave his ancestral place, to jump between boundaries.

In his youth he studied the violin. At the age of 18 he discovered the oud and after a few years of taking private lessons in Switzerland and Germany he went to live in Istanbul. Between 2005-2010 he studied Turkish Music at the I.T.Ü. Conservatory with Abdi Coşkun, Mutlu Torun and Mehmet Bitmez. In 2020 he graduated with a Master of Arts in specialized performance / free improvisation. His mentors were Alfred Zimmerlin and Fred Frith.

Christian Moser lives and works in Basel, plays in various ensembles throughout Europe, composes music for film and dance. He has curated series of concerts for experimental music in Burgdorf, Thun and Basel. In 2015 he received the Thun Cultural Promotion Award, in 2016 he worked for 6 months in Berlin as an artist in residence. Current projects are „UMIAK“ (duo with saxophonist Eva- Maria Karbacher, improvisation), „the tongue is an eye“ (duo with cellist Paula Sanchez, improvisation), „minimal atmos oud bass duo“ (duo with multi-instrumentalist Thomas Jeker, ambient), collaborations with dancers Gianna Grünig, Maya Carroll, Bettina Neuhaus, Laura Imperiali and „Sere Serpe“ (trio with Gizem Şimşek, Lucio Marelli, avant folk).

︎ bandcamp
︎ soundcloud
︎ youtube