Gauthier Toux

Not so long ago, Gauthier Toux was a young, promising artist. And here he is, at just 28, knocking on the door of the big league, quietly joining the small circle of those who will matter going forward. After an impressive detour through the worlds of electric and electronic music in the form of a profound, judicious sidestep (For a Word), he’s back in the acoustic business with a formation that has fascinated him ever since his teens, and one that he reinvents here: The trio. By paying extreme attention to the meaning of the form and by cultivating the obsession of a collective sound that stretches far beyond individual expression, with his new album, the French-Swiss pianist explores a territory close to For a Word. This time, he digs into the acoustic sound with the same enthusiasm that previously drove him when he was wowing electronic webs to adorn his melodies with unfathomable mystery. Spurred by the same strength, moved by the same desire to shape the sonic material, he pilots a triangular ship that reaches just as far. Freed from classical forms, each instrument snuggles up to the others, its sole functional role no longer prioritized. As dynamic as Gauthier Toux may be, he’s also a thinking man and an artist sensitive to the world’s clamor and the ways of his soul. An unremitting seeker, he has hereby found his own path, one that will undoubtedly see him go places.