Category: other-music

More Piano!!

A seemingly random collection of albums with the piano as the main instrument…

OTTO A. TOTLAND – PINÔ
Half of Deaf Center. Also half of Nest. More introduction to the intricate piano sounds of Otto A. Totland should hardly be needed.
“Pinô” is his first full featured solo-album, packed in a beautiful gold-embossed hardcover sleeve that perfectly matches the music it contains: atmospheric, calm, intimate.

The music was recorded in Nils Frahm’s (Durton) studio on a squeaky piano with a soft, velvety sound. The intimacy is enhanced by bringing the environmental sounds up front in the recording.

Origamibiro – Odham’s Standard + Collection

Since it was founded in 2005, the Denovali label has grown into one of the most important European independent labels, exploring different (mostly experimental) genres.
Apart from releasing new music, they also have a fine taste in finding albums worth re-releasing. Often, the re-releases are paired to the release of a new album by the same artist.

In the case of Origamibiro (an audio-visual collective consisting of Tom Hill, Andy Tytherleigh and visual artist Jim Boxall aka The Joy of Box), the new album “Odham’s Standard” is accompanied by the release of a 3CD/4LP package called“Collection“, presenting their previous albums “Cracked Mirrors and Stopped Clocks“ (2007), “Shakkei“ (2011), and “Shakkei Remixed“ (2012).

Michel Banabila – More Research from the Same Department

With “The Latest Research from the Department of Electrical Engineering“ (2011), Michel Banabila dived deeper into more experimental electronic territory he started exploring on releases like “Spherics” (2001, 2003) and “Signals from Krakrot” (2008).
The sounds on this album are radically different from his more romantic, more acoustic ethno-jazz releases, but they never lost the characteristic ‘human touch’.

On “More Research from the Same Department“, Banabila is vigorously searching for the heart and soul of electrical machinery, like an explorer presenting his discoveries.

Incidental Memories (Mix)

If one of the criteria for ‘ambient’ music is that you can comfortably fall asleep to it, I guess you’d better skip this particular mix. Although it starts quiet and reassuring with soothing vocal chords from Silvestrov’s “The Lord’s Prayer”, the mood disintegrates and sometimes can become rather unsettling – depending on your own personal ‘incidental memories’, of course.

For reasons I can’t really explain, this mix works better if you listen on speakers instead of headphones – just let the airwaves flow for maximum immersion.

Benoit Pioulard – Hymnal Remixes

In March 2013 and the months following, Benoit Pioulard (Thomas Meluch) caused quite a stir with “Hymnal“, his fourth release for the Kranky label. Inspired by ‘the ubiquity of religious iconography and grandiose cathedrals’ he had encountered throughout a year spent in southeastern England and on the European mainland, he presented a unique mix of hazy psych-folk songs and ambient instrumental tracks, with the aid of labelmates Felix (Lucinda Chua and Chris Summerlin) and Kyle Bobby Dunn.

Almost one full year later, the 12 tracks from ‘Hymnal’ get extensive re-workings on “Hymnal Remixed“ – a 19-track double album released on the Lost Tribe Sound label.

Steven M. Halliday – A Relation of a Journey

Now there’s a cute little package: a 3″ CD packed in a transparent geographical map, packed in a foldout postcard, packed in a beautiful black embossed paper envelope. Oh, the joys of holding a handmade DiY-artwork packages that is obviously created with love..!

Until now I had not heard of Steven M. Halliday in any way, and not much information can be found about him online, although he has “worn many hats throughout his career from producer to sound designer, musicologist to occasional film composer and consultant”.
Also, I did not know anything about “A Relation of a Journey” – it was just someone’s online recommendation that triggered my interest.

All the greater was my surprise when listening to this little gem: within the short timespan of just sixteen minutes, classical music, ambient drones, field recordings and experimental soundscapes merge into an adventurous musical journey.

"Piano Acts"

Nils Frahm - Spaces

NILS FRAHM – SPACES
Possibly the most well-known artist mentioned here is keyboard wizard Nils Frahm. Whoever has seen him perform live will definitely remember that performance clearly. His music can be extremely melodic, making it accessible to a wide audience, yet he’s not afraid to search for some extremes during the process.
After each performance, people often asked him which of his albums best represented what they had just witnessed. Since such an album did not really exist, “Spaces“ was specifically assembled with that question in mind. And indeed it perfectly captures a Nils Frahm performance.

Michel Banabila – Float

Beginning his career in the early 80’s, Michel Banabila‘s albums covered many different styles.
So many, in fact, that his place in music was a bit difficult to pinpoint which sometimes seemed to confuse critics as well as potential audiences.

His albums presented world music, jazz, theatre play soundtracks as well as electronic music of the abstract or ambient kind – all kinds of genres which Banabila seems to be able to cross over with ease.

Various Artists – Liquified Sky

There’s a big different between ‘just music’ and ‘sound art’ – the latter requiring active participation of the listener/visitor.
A release on Richard Chartier’s Line Imprint label is not something you just take for granted, consuming it playing in the background while being distracted by many other things.
So, it may take some time and serious effort investigating the works presented on “Liquified Sky” before these audio-visual works can be fully appreciated. But it’s worth the effort!