Paul Beaudoin – Cease/Remain
Excerpts from a 3 hour sonic installation for Carla Castiajo's Cease/Remain exhibition at the Pirita Kloosteri outside of Tallinn, Estonia. - with Carla Castiajo and Maria Tegzes. 2015 Play this…
Daigo Hanada – Ichiru
Daigo Hanada's links with Moderna records to come up with an artful masterpiece, Ichiru. This is expected because the label is known to nurture talents from artists with unique voices…
Nathan Shubert – Folds
There comes a time in many musicians’ careers when they decide to step out of the shadows of working as a side-man and announce themselves, and for Nathan Shubert, that time came last March on Piano Day 2016. That was the day the Vancouver pianist released Saga Norén, Länskrim, Malmö, and it immediately caught the attention of Nils Frahm, who added it to his Piano Day playlist and made sure his fans were aware of this new talent on the scene.
SVVN Arnarstapi
SVVN's E.P," Arnarstapi" is a carefully crafted selection of ambient tracks that are beautifully haunting and characterised by a melancholy undertone that stays with you long after the music has…
Lights and Motion – Dear Avalanche
Multi-instrumentalist Christoffer Franzen's outfit Lights and Motion is not so much a band as an all-terrain vehicle for the Swedish musician and producer's relentless, insomnia-bating work ethic.
Lights and Motion have released a steady stream of full-length albums since their formation in 2012 (basically an outlet for Franzen's musical perambulations as he battled with insomnia) and their tracks have been featured in scores of TV spots and trailers (ranging from Furious 7 to The Vampire Diaries), as well as ads and promos (Budweiser, Rip Curl, Google, The Guardian, the list goes on).
Blake Ewing – The Scenery Of Somewhere Else
American composer Blake Ewing has been quietly producing ambient and classical works for years, getting his incredible music supported by the likes of Ford, Netflix and AMC. His website states he 'believes in music - and in its wonderful power to support and elevate storytelling.' His latest offering 'The Scenery Of Somewhere Else', not only supports and elevates storytelling, but brings its own magical story to life.
The fading opening of 'You took the first breath' brings the listener to a lakeside, shimmering under the golden rays of sun that beam down in the evening sunset. From the opening of the track, we feel a juxtaposition of warm, sweeping pads, and the gentle piano notes that pierce the texture, bringing cooling shivers from the breeze, above the suns gentle warmth. Ewing uses each and every chord change to walk us around the lake, bringing us ever closer to the 'somewhere else' suggested in the title.
Steve Gibbs – Adrift
Post-classical composer Steve Gibbs's debut solo EP, Adrift, is an ethereal piece of work which gorgeously brings together piano and strings with ambient electronic textures. Released in 2014, this solemn five-track EP sounds positively cinematic. It is not difficult to understand why Gibbs' work has been used in movies and ad campaigns. The general lack of prominent melody throughout the album makes it perfect as soundtrack music as well as, of course, being ideal listening material when in a reflective and open mood.
The opening track 'Adrift' begins with an ambient soundscape that is astral and recalls Brian Eno's Apollo in its expansiveness. The sounds of reversed guitars steadily filter into the mix. Soon there enters the muffled sound of piano chords which light up this tapestry of sound. We are certainly 'adrift' now: there is a sense of hanging in the ether to this track which sets the atmosphere for the rest of the EP. This sense of intedeterminacy is not a troubling one, but a feeling of liberation from constraints, a cool and calm lack of focus which is perfect for this sombre time of year. Softly dancing, arpeggio-like treble piano figurations come in out of this abstraction and are given warmth and depth by the prominent, swelling baseline.
An Interview with Stray Theories
We had the privilege of interviewing "Micah. A Musician/Composer. I release most of my music under the name 'Stray Theories'." Here's what else he had to say.
Leah Kardos – Three Preludes EP
Leah Kardos & Ben Dawson - Three Preludes
A fascinating presentation, Three Preludes contrasts the natural with the artificial, juxtaposing a trio of hand played piano pieces with derivative electronic-based abstract interpretations, commenting on music’s changing states by showing it’s progression and origins. The final recordings of Leah Kardos’s three original compositions are informed by recordings of the process that preceded them, from the first sight read with all it’s mistakes to ambient noise from the rehearsals. By considering this the listener becomes acutely aware of not only the process that is behind a recording but also the human element of the pieces; one can imagine Ben Dawson sitting down at the piano to play, warming up his hands and adjusting his seat before putting his fingers to the keys and beginning to navigate the bars in front of him, his understanding of what he is performing growing with each note played.
The longest of the three piano pieces, Draw, plays on moments of intense sadness and passages of uplifting hopefulness echoing the idea of process that underpins the Ep. It begins somewhere in between the two extremes with a strong nostalgia that casts a rose tinted lens over ones memories, summoning happy moments from the past. Then rather suddenly the melody lifts, rising and cascading with all the flurry of activity and aspiration, no longer looking back but carving a path into what is to come. Before long it settles once again but now the joyful sense of retrospect has been lost and the listener is left in the cold, unforgiving preset. The music starts to drag and falter like aspirations that have been crushed.
Ronnie Minder – The Composer
Ronnie Minder is a Swiss born, Australian based composer who started his music career over a decade ago. He signed his first record contract in 2001 for the single "Tha-P-Anthem"…