Always fun and complete with a cap, Derek Bishop’s latest video is for “Why Hold On”, a bluesy honky tonk tumble through the leaves from his album Resistance is Beautiful.
Archive for piano
Kara McGraw – A Christmas Song for Hurricane Irene Recoveree’s
Kara McGraw is a lovely singer / songwriter from Berlin, Vermont, USA and she has penned and released a beautiful track for the farmers recovering from Hurricane Irene. The song is available to download and keep on bandcamp’s wonderful name your price and that money will then go towards their recovery.
The song is available to listen to below.
Amos Releases “Sin Palabras”
In a lovely twist, Tori Amos has released in digital format only an instrumental version of “Night of Hunters”. Removing all the voice, all that’s left is piano and orchestration. It was released without fanfare today in America but strangely holds an April 2012 release for us in the UK. I think that may jump forward however. Samples are available on amazon and iTunes.
Atra Aeterna – “November” Review
Sometimes ad’s on facebook do work! I came across Atra Aeterna by clicking on something that told me it was right up my musical alley and by Jove they were right! “November” is not Atra Aeterna’s most recent piece but it the first I’d like to review because as a whole piece of music its utter beautiful.
Each of the nine tracks on the album are named their numbers in order and each is piano based. A thick, syrupy piano that is heavy in a subtle but thick haze that gives a feel of morning fog or a new dusk. Each track starts off with a simple piano riff that is then build upon with an underscoring of keyboard synths. Those synths stay very ethereal throughout and veer towards mimicking string arrangements. Sometimes they sound like water string arrangements for real, but others are more plucky and rely on ambient decay to swirl around you.
As for the tunes themselves, they are all melodic yet not entirely something you’d call a hook. Instead they become a hypnotic texture palette that swirls and dips colours of echoing piano shrills or soothing keyboard samples. Placed over melodies that are dark, full of minor notes and an underlying tension in the beauty and you have something artistic yet wholesome.
That’s as far as I’ll take you as I don’t want to spoil the rest. It reminds me of a Frou Frou lyric: “beauty in the breakdown”. The piano melodies are downtrodden but wise beyond their years. Dilapidated but with clear grandeur about them. It’s a work of art and has immediately become one of my favourite discoveries of 2011.
Kate Bush – “50 Words for Snow” Review
65 Minutes, 7 songs. That’s a whole lot of epic going on. “50 Words for Snow” in many ways is anything but epic because it’s such a quiet and intimate album as a whole. Effectively a winter album, the songs weave their own patterns of weather.
“Snowflakes” is equally hypnotic as it is touching with a specific piano riff and hushed, muted and warm percussion lightly fumbles around the background. Interestingly it features (and opens with) her son Bertie singing beautifully. You can hear her nuances in his vocals and it fits together beautifully as a duet. Veering off to a jazz edge is the dischordant “Lake Tohoe” which seems to thrive in the opening few minutes with off-key moments and clashing vocals over soft piano and light dustings of electronics simmering away in the background. When the string ensemble arrives is when the song really comes together for me however with a perfect blend of humming and strings. Kate’s vocal’s have deepened and now feel quite sultry here. “Misty” completes the piano heavy jazzier trio that open the album with a simple melody, hushed vocals and as with the previous two, a lack of urgency and a take-my-hand warmth feels yours ears and heart. It’s strange how sometimes doing less makes everything feel like much more. The strings are used sparingly, as are the electronics in the background but you’re aware they’re there. Finally the track breaks into a more climactic ending with subtle guitar and Kate finally breaking out of her hushed tones to release her full voice upon us. It’s a wonderful section.
“Wild Man” is the most commercial track on the album (which is saying a lot about the rest) and in its seven minute entirety the infectious guitar riff is just as powerful and hypnotic but the single is bookended by an atmospheric opening and an additional verse at the end. “Snowed in at Wheeler Street” has a background almost tampura like chord which instantly harks me back to Aerial’s Disc 2. Add to this Elton John popping up playing the part of a lover in what is almost like a conversation in music. It’s typically unique and as anti song structure as possible – yet it makes perfect sense. This is the first track on the album that seems particularly downcast and blue.
Going into the more wilder side of Kate is the title track “50 Words for Snow”. Kate’s vocal’s count 1 through to 50 through a filter that sucks the life out it while Stephen Fry lists off the words! Think Aerial’s title track’s song structure and you’re part way there. It’s the most upbeat of the tracks and most interesting arrangement with lots of wind samples and weird warping whooping sounds. For the chorus Kate then tells us all how many words are left to be told! It’s by far my favourite track on the album. “Among Angels” closes the album in a beautiful way almost like the closing of a season with some delicate piano and vocal travels.
“50 Words For Snow” did not hit me on first listen aside from the single and the title track. Everything else is very long-winded and although it’s full of wisdom and emotion, it lacks the immediate punch to hook you. My interest was more than piqued however and I wanted to go back and rediscover the songs again that I didn’t immediately want to place on repeat. Suddenly like sections in the songs made sense, they formed songs within songs. Then it clicks. Like Aerial, its one that you need to sit through from start to finish to completely appreciate. On their own, the tracks are beautiful, together, they weave a season of winter chills, hearty spills and the warmth of music and language combined in one of the best examples I’ve heard for a winter album.
Tori Amos Live At the Royal Albert Hall Review
Last night was my first trip to the Royal Albert Hall and despite having a giant pillar right to the right hand side of me, the venue was absolutely beautiful – a perfect setting for Tori Amos and the Apollon Musacete Quartet to cause an absolute riot on stage.
From the opener “Shattering Sea” we were treated to some of the most sumptuous versions of Tori’s catalogue to date. As with the last tour, things have suddenly tightened up onto an on rails approach but this time it’s amplified because the quartet are providing a stunning backdrop. “Shattering Sea” along with “Precious Things” were the two big screamers amongst what was a relatively ballad heavy set list although with it just being strings and piano that was to be expected. Other surprises were fantastically dark renditions of “Suede” and “Cruel” where the quartet turned the strings to percussive plucks to provide some excellent backing. As a personal highlight I got a simmering version of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, a unique version of “Hey Jupiter” and one of my very favourites “Siren”. I say unique for “Hey Jupiter” as sadly during “Way Down” the previous track Tori’s piano suddenly became very distorted through the speakers making that song sound like it was coming through a dodgy bootleg. The problem persisted into Jupiter and so they turned the piano off to sort the problem so the first part was just the strings and vocals!
Another snippet I’d like to mention was that “Star Whisperer” in its full glory live was sensational.
All in all, despite the random technical problem, I was blown away. I always have been entranced with her live and she continues to do so even when she isn’t grabbing her crotch, screaming at high volume and straddling benches.
Live Vault – Tori Amos
In anticipation of my attendance to see her live in concert tomorrow – here’s a unique (and possibly one time only) version of Seven Sisters followed by Pretty Good Year.
Tori Amos – “Night of the Hunters” Review
Tori Amos never sits still. This latest album see’s her drop band instrumentation altogether and produce an absolutely sublime orchestrated album. Underpinned by the trusty piano, vocal cameo’s from family members and some lovely interpretations of classical themes, it’s a cracking album.
Opener “Shattered Sea” is growling and dark. The low rumbles of piano thunder against the crashing string and wind instruments as they build and roll like waves of power over the speakers. What’s great about this and every other track is that they are variations of classical themes of the 16th to 18th century. I’m not one to be able to pick out the themes but then going and finding the original tracks after, it’s interesting to see how they’re woven into the track. After the fierce opener “Snowblind” introduces Tori’s daughter Natashya Hawley as a vocal where the two interplay off each other. Natashya’s vocals have a real husk to them and convey a lot of soul. Should she want to, she could have an interesting musical career from the voice alone. The two voices sit very well together as the bluesy and sprawling piano floats in and out.
“Battle of Trees” in a near nine minute epic. The strings in this song are beautifully arranged are they pluck the main melody. Tori’s vocal’s also shine here too with a lot of different ranges hit. It’s not the catchiest song on the album at all but it still has a knack of standing out and staying with you longer afterwards as a general feeling. “Fearlessness” is another track that emotes a feeling as they piano and oboes flow effortlessly. What I will say about both tracks is that upon each listen I find new instrument flourishes and appreciate them ten times more each play through.
“Cactus Practice” is a song that reminds me of Fantasia for some reason. It’s heavily wind instrument based and of all the songs, this is the one that sounds like it still is in the 1800′s. Natashya’s vocals really suit the oboes and bassoons. “Star Whisperer” is the longest track at just under ten minutes. Slow and deliberate, the track slowly evolves and has some beautiful transitions, particularly the “I heard you scream from the other side of the mountain” where Tori is able to flex her piano chops and sound utterly adorable. Tori’s vocals are on top form throughout but the instrumentation often takes the limelight. Here in this track there’s a lovely instrumental section where the track creates a frenzy before it moves into its final few minutes and it’s some of the best music I’ve heard all year.
“Job’s Coffin” is an excellent track. A simple piano riff embellished with horns and clarinets. Natashya takes the lead vocals here with Tori playing backup. It’s just a simple song that sticks in your head for a long time after and it was after Shattered Sea, the next track I stuck straight on repeat. “Nautical Twilight” is very classical with thick arpeggios and a theatrical turn of vocal display. I love how the verses build up to a specific climax which she fades away to reflection straight after. “Your Ghost” is another track that’s got a strong melody and it actually feels very Christmas orientated for some reason and sounds like it sound be on Midwinter Graces! Beautiful and quaint.
“Edge of the Moon” is a song of two halves. The first half is a downbeat and careful and the second half is a full free-flowing burst of energy. I actually thought it was two separate tracks at first but they go so well together with some great dueling vocals. “The Chase” is fantastic track that has an underlying tension throughout as Tori and Natashya dual each other with some fantastic lyrical parries. It’s just something completely different to anything Amos has done before and so refreshing. “Night of the Hunters” introduces for just one track Kelsey Dobyns as a third voice and her vocals are sublime and angelic. A song of many faces and moods, it shapeshifts around between nostalgia, freeform and some beautiful interplaying and overlaying vocals.
“Seven Sisters” is a gorgeous instrumental between the piano and the clarinet. It really showcases Amos’ power as a composer, a performer and an emotive musician. This is also captured in the album closer “Carry” which is about as close to a single as you could get on this album. A ballad of sorts, it’s the most conventional song alongside Nautical Twilight and Jobs Coffin but holds a completely different emotion. By the time you’ve finished you feel almost like you’ve been reborn by how the previous track feels light an enlightening and Carry feels like a walking away from the wreckage piece.
I’ll make no bones about it, Tori Amos is one of, if not the favourite artist of mine musically but I can absolutely see why others wouldn’t appreciate or like her music. Night of the Hunters will not bring back old fans who want Little Earthquakes part 1,000,000 but this is generally like nothing she’s done before and deserves to be listened with fresh ears and classical lovers will find a new album that they can enthuse over. I for one am bowled over yet again.
Laura DiStasi – Laura DiStasi EP Review
Laura DiStasi’s music is fragile and broken yet somehow manages to feel so much more than the sum of its parts. Across the four tracks on this EP I felt like I’d been let into a window of so much more than I had heard. That’s the mark of a great musical artist.
“Colours and Shapes” opens with a simple piano/guitar riff with Laura’s hushed vocals washing against the echo brushed percussion. It’s production echofades across the speakers and warms your ears although the song is a meloncholy one. “Humming Along” reminds me of the debut album Bat for Lashes crossed with Julia Marcell’s album. A catchy minimalist track with just piano, percussion and vocals to fill the speakers. If I were to be critical, it sounds slightly wooden but then that’s part of the appeal – like everythings about to collapse. “Go On” is a very slow waltz which feels slightly too long for my liking but it does hold a certain emotional space. Maybe I’ve not been in the mood for slow ballads lately! “Covered in Snow” closes the EP with a beautiful piano /vocal track which highlights Laura’s vocal techniques and more fluid piano playing.
I must say, reading back over the review I’ve not been particularly heaping the praise on this EP but as I mentioned at the beginning, there’s just something. Maybe its the weighty voice, the minimal production, the weariness across every note played. Something elevates it much higher than what’s really there… and that is Laura DiStasi.
Live Vault – Kyle Landry and Sherry Kim
“At Zanarkand” for many, myself included, is one of the quintessential pieces of video game music. Here is an absolutely mesmorising rendition from pianists Kyle Landry and Sherry Kim. Epic is not the word! Check out their other videos including a fantastic “Dearly Beloved” too.
Kate Bush – “Hounds of Love” DVD Available Online
While details of a rerelease of reworkings from The Sensual World and The Red Shoes are slowly trickling through, a great documentary about Kate Bush entitled “Hounds of Love” is now available to watch in its completion on YouTube. Very informative, if slightly bias towards following what was commercially successful, its a great insight into the career and diacotomy of Bush’s music. Enjoy!!
Noriko Matsueda & Takahito Eguchi – “Final Fantasy X-2 Eternity Memory of Lightwaves” Review
Final Fantasy X-2′s single takes the unique route of actually being a non-vocal single at all! The three tracks on the CD are all taken from the FFX-2 OST, with the tracks being arranged slightly differently with a minimalist orchestration feel to it.
“Eternity~Memories Of Lightwaves” is the title track, which is piano based. It is to put it simply one of the best, most fluent and magical pieces of music around in VGM. It is a joy to listen to. For this arrangement, gone are the extra effects and in are a violin and cello. This gives it an orchestral feel, which although is only subtle, adds to the piece. It is a most worthy additional arrangement of the song.
“Besaid” is more laid back and the arrangement is given a real guitar. With the drums setting the scene the piano and guitar interact beautifully and make a lovely piece together. While it’s not quiet as stunning as the previous track, its still a great piece.
Finally, “Yuna’s Ballad” is an emotive piano, violin and cello piece. The arrangement is excellent and touching and reminds you that underneath all that techno-babble, great music lays the basis for a great soundtrack.
This single is some of the real meat in the FFX-2 OST, and if your put of by the mixed feeling towards the techno side of the music, and just want beautiful melodies, this single is completely made for you; its an excellent CD.
Live Vault – Charlotte Martin
As a return from my several week hideout writing and recording my own album (and not getting nearly as far as I’d like to have but being very happy with everything that went on) I present the amazing Charlotte Martin with “Animal”, possibly my favourite track from the new album.
Charlotte Martin New Album
Char Mar has a new album coming. Dancing on Needles is due 1st February 2011 and she’s already annouced a tour to go along with it. Charlotte Martin is one of those midas touch artists so I’m sure it’s going to be a killer album! Tour dates cover Chicago, New York and Los Angeles but I’m sure they’ll grow and expand.
Imogen Heap – “Everything Inbetween” DVD Review
It’s been a long time coming, I’d forgot I’d preordered it but when it arrived on my doorstep when I came home from work, it was the first thing I did – and wow what a DVD.
“Everything Inbetween” covers the making of the album “Ellipse” from the very first ambitious plans of travelling around Asia and the Pacific writing a song a week, to building her recording studio, glimpses into the recording process and plenty of fun homely stuff for good measure.
What comes across in this documentary is that Imogen is an artist through and through. Her creative processes soar and dive, she worries, she doesn’t always have full confidence and she is absolutely driven to create what’s spinning inside her head. When its working, she’s absolutely heleriously delerious and your busy getting excited with her as she discovers new sounds and harmonies. When its not working at all your also with her feeling her annoyance and solitude. It’s really captivating to go on such an epic journey with an artist you thought you know quite well and constantly discover new things.
It also makes you go back and appreciate Ellipse even more. I’ve been a massive Immi fan since 1998 when I saw Come Here Boy on the TV (actually I only saw the second half of the song and was so entranced I begged my mum to take me to the record store that week to buy the album with my pocket money) but I felt like now I really got to know her, and it was like hearing Ellipse for the first time again.
It also struck me that even the very first versions of the songs that you hear snippets of were phenominal before they recieved the Immi treatment. That’s the sign of a quality singer/songwriter.
“Everything Inbetween” is an emotional rollercoaster that any fan of Heap, music production or just documentaries in general would absolutely enjoy. It’s captivating from start to finish and as a struggling singer/songwriter myself its great to know someone else feels the same things I feel too.
Live Vault – Tori Amos
Everyone on this webpage knows I’m a massive fan of Tori and she gets plenty of dollops of love here but a new heart goes out for the Orchestral live shows she’s been doing. Here is a orchestrated version of “Precious Things“. Rumor has it after the show she returned to replay three songs so perhaps although there’s no DVD, we may well end up with an official bootleg release! Fingers crossed!
Gregory Douglass’ Cover Art Singles
Gregory Douglass is a giggle of a chap. Whilst campaigning for her 2011 album release (which is sounding all colours of awesome may I add), Greg has been also releasing cover version of select songs with music videos featuring art from Glen Nadeau and himself. So far three have been released.
Teenage Dream (originally Katy Perry)
Toxic (Originally Britney Spears)
Hallelujah (Originally Leonard Cohen)
All singles are available in MP3 format from iTunes, Amazon et al!
Vincent Diamante – “Flower OST” Review
To describe the Flower soundtrack is really quite difficult. It has eight tracks, most of which are in the same vein. It’s a gentle breeze of relaxation music that blends piano, strings and light brass into a hypnotic fusion.
“Life as a Flower” prances chirpily around the speakers with light keyboard plucks, a slow low string bass stride that marches the song forward. There’s no real melody as such that comes to the fore, its just a lot of lovely mixed in a pot of sound. “Splash of Color” follows the same route before “Sailing in the Wind” ups the drama a notch and comes across like a love child of Enya and Secret Garden! Needless to say its invigorating and inspiring to listen to.
“Nighttime Excursion” is a bit more subdued, especially in the latter section where a small sniff of craftiness filters in with vibrating wind and brass instruments. “Solitary Wasteland” is very moody and desolate in its sound. It reminds me of the typical drought desert songs you get in RPG’s – only reduced to orchestrated mood music. At over 11 minutes, sometimes I’m not in the mood to listen to it all!
However at over twelve minutes, “Purification of the City” is outstanding. Dramatic strings, freeflowing rousing piano, long cymbal crashes and a general burst of happiness surrounds the magical piece. The woodwind reminds me of Viva Pinata too which is no bad thing! It’s a great emitional rollercoaster of a track and the standout of the soundtrack by far.
“Peaceful Repose” does what it says on the tin with a piano led audiotherapy track and then “Lazy Daydream” rounds off the soundtrack with a breezy melodic tune.
Vincent Diamante does a great job of not writing melodies, but writing enough score to point you to the mood and feeling he wants to evoke. It’s not very often you can listen to an hours music and think, I really enjoyed that but there wasn’t one hook in it all! Therein lies the beauty of Flower.
Myra Flynn – “Crooked Measures” Review
Myra Flynn’s debut album “Crooked Measures” is a diverse beast. It basks in the warm glow of Myra’s soulful vocals and a vast range of song styles from folk to jazz and leapfrogging many singer/songwriter genres inbetween.
“Feel Like the Sunshine” opens the album with a fuzzy warm funky folksy track with some beautiful vocal layering that breeze over you. Myra’s voice is something that really hits you square in the jaw. It’s sultry and silky smooth and lures you into false security. Sometimes, especially in other songs, you forget the lyrics aren’t exactly happy, but you don’t immediately feel that. This opener is a great finger clicker!
“Long Fall Down” is a slower soft rock ballad where all the instrumentation and vocals drip emotion through the speakers. The strings really add to the overall feel and depth of the song as it sways by. “Just Because” initially takes things down to an intimate level before drums and vocal layers aplenty flood in for a simple but effective melody and hook. It builds and builds into a low key finale and ends up being a real powerhouse of a song that displays Myra’s talent at some of its best. “So It Goes” slinks and shimmies along with plenty of soul and diva in its vocal delivery. This is the track where you want to stand up and shout the lyrics whilst shaking your fist at the audience surely!
“Bones”, like a lot of the album, is suited to a video montage in a rom-com film where the leads share a lovely day out together. It has a certain glow to it, a homeliness that invites you on, especially with the excellent vocal collage at the end. “Hold It Up” is more folk rock with some techie twists which effectively make what sounds like a string strum become the percussive beat to the track.
“Small Talk” takes the album into a different plain. The snazzy blues track with a fantastic chourus that instantly sticks in your head on the first listen, its a playful track and makes you smile while it deals with tons of issues. It’s a real standout in terms of style in the album and therefore sticks out as a favourite of mine.
“What Am I” is a rock ballad which again showcases a simple melody with strong vocals with splashes of jazz, soul and blues all rolled into your average acoustic singer/songwriter. “Where Do You Go” strips things back to a piano/vocal base and it takes its time to deliver each line, which makes things weigh so much more on you as a listener. Some of the songs on the album do feel like the words are flying by at 100mph, but here its refreshing to feel each nuance.
“Miss Independance” is a great track. Claps, hums and vocal tracks collide to give a track with attitude! This kind of daring arrangement of a track showcases Flynn’s future potential as it absolutely suits her sassy voice which has such a huge range, she could happily be the whole choir and here it shows. This is without doubt my favourite track from the album.
“Fragile” closes the album with an uptempo jazz-rock track which again throws a new genre at us. It’s an uplifting end to what is on the whole a warm album. It has a catchy chorus, simple chord and melody structure and features Myra’s vocals – it can’t really lose!
“Crooked Measures” took me a few listens to understand. Having come from seeing her play a piano/vocal track live – I was compelled to buy the album and the overall sound wasn’t really what I was expecting. As a listener, I really struggle with anything with a hint of Jazz and so its a testament to Flynn’s music that I came back and began to really enjoy the album as a whole! Its probably twice as hard too, to make an album that’s as much as warm glowy one as a miserable one and still have credibility. “Crooked Measures” succeeds with that. It’s catchy, fun, if a bit safe and samey in places, Myra’s vocals absolutely raise the music to a higher plain and when she breaks the mould from the usual soft rock, Flynn’s music really bursts into life.
