Knowing the Oak Tree

Knowing the Oak Tree is a hybrid electro-acoustic duo with all music written and performed by Grace Macdonald and Phoenix Rousiamanis. With one foot in the club and one in the concert hall, KtOT’s music exists somewhere between hyperpop, folk and contemporary classical high drama. Our music draws inspiration from Celtic Folklore and mythology; their fantastical vivid nature and constant tension between reality and fantasy.

As a trans feminine person and a woman, we have both found empowerment in the magic and paganism that is so present in Celtic folklore. Both are practices that reclaim and celebrate historically persecuted female identities (such witches and trans-women) and offer nature-centered spirituality as an antidote to modern day alienation of both capitalist technocratic ideology and environmental crisis anxieties. This project looks towards a feminist/queer utopia where the fantasy and ecology of paganism and the power of technology can coexist harmoniously.

KtOT have toured Switzerland, Germany and the UK with support from Stiftung Stanely Thomas Johnson, Stiftung Erna und Curt Burgauer and Stadt Zürich and have received the ‘Francis Chagrin Award’ and the ZHdK ‘Music Förderpreis’. The duo are currently preparing for their second European tour and debut album release.

Photos by Rosie Trott