Marysia Osu - memento mori (Feat.YUIS) (Single)
Picture Credit: Ella Pavlides
Brownswood Recordings are proud to present their latest signing, the immensely talented harpist and composer Marysia Osu. A key member of Levitation Orchestra, and graduate of Brownswood’s heralded ‘Bubblers’ academy - Marysia now prepares to unveil her alluring and transcendent debut album ‘harp, beats & dreams. Coinciding with the release date, she will also perform at The ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts) supporting Fabiano do Nascimento for the EFG London Jazz festival on 17th November 2024 - tickets here. Hailing originally from Poland, Marysia discovered her love for music at a state funded music primary school, where she started learning the piano. Following her family’s immigration to London at age 10, she started attending Junior Trinity (at Trinity Laban) - a Saturday music school for young musicians. It was here that she was introduced to the harp, an instrument that went on to immeasurably change her life. Guided by a dynamic and inspiring harp teacher, Marysia was taken with the expressive and technical instrument, learning about its abilities to deliver music in the most beautiful and elegant way, and the emotive sounds it was capable of creating.
Composed as a collection of diary entries ‘harp, beats & dreams’ soundtracks experiences, feelings and reflections. Third single’s ‘memento mori’’s delay-soaked notes ripple through darkness - accentuated by the illuminating flute, which flourishes from collaborator YUIS, personifying the contemplative nature of the track. Marysia says “memento mori is inspired by the stoic quote, ‘remember you must die’. The direct translation sounds ominous, but the stoics meant for it to be a motivational mantra- a reminder to live in the present, fully and authentically. Remembering that life is finite puts our priorities into perspective.”
Marysia graduated from Trinity Laban with a degree in classical music, specialising in performance on the harp. During this four year course, she started experimenting and expanding the sound of the harp using fx pedals, lent to her from friends on the jazz course. Throughout her student years, she played/recorded with many artists, including Sawa Manga (D’vo + And Is Phi), Penya, Roxanne Tataei, Maxwell Owin, Puma Blue & Alabaster dePlume. She also started a long term collaboration with the spoken word artist and poet, Belinda Zhawi, and Levitation Orchestra was formed. Around this time she also started to experiment with electronic production, which opened new doors for her artistry: She says “I started using Ableton towards the end of my studies, wanting to try solo composition, without knowing what to expect. harp, beats & dreams is a documentation of this journey. The album is completely homemade, which allowed me to capture different emotional states and moments.” On how her educational journey influenced the creation of the album, Marysia explains : “My classical music upbringing taught me that music primarily expresses our inner worlds of feeling, and provides us with journeys through various experiences and emotions. Since my very first music lessons, out of the pieces I was learning on the piano or harp I always felt the most connected to ones that I considered extremely beautiful, and that included a feeling of sadness and felt reflective. I think this stayed with me, and my composition process was cathartic, and became a way to self-soothe and process different events happening in my life. All pieces were recorded intimately, sometimes you can hear the sound of my fingers squeaking on the harp strings (only u <3), or my breathing, and the piano stool creaking (despite being in love).”
Although the harp undoubtedly takes centre stage here, the album also served as an opportunity for Marysia to return to the piano after an extended period of absence, and also to spontaneously attempt the clarinet after the idea came to her in a dream. She expresses ‘’In the dream I was thinking about the symbolism of wind instruments being powered by the breath.. The breath represents life, we would die without it. It is a bridge between our body and mind, for example when we speak, or when we use it as a tool for meditation and somehow it also symbolises the wind. I remember waking up very suddenly, sitting up and saying out loud - “I need to learn the clarinet!”. A few days later we had a Levitation Orchestra gig, and I told the band about this funny dream. Plumm said “I have a clarinet from my childhood! I haven’t played it for years, you can take it”. & so my clarinet exploration began.”.
Journeying through long-forgotten love songs pulled from subconscious, and gentle conversations between the harp, cello and flute, Marysia’s debut full length is a truly absorbing and elevating listening experience, full of cascading motifs and peaceful, calming tones. A truly impressive and engulfing debut from an incredibly talented musician, a lasting piece of art which provides a sonic sanctuary in an uncertain world.