SAMPLES & DOWNLOAD
01 - brkl

04 - eilp

11 - qzzl

15 - zrzr

» Download play while answering email
(click-through, then right-click the MP3s and save the music!)
 

COVER ART

 

STORY BEHIND THE SONGS
This is my latest set of solo piano improvisations that'd I'd like to share with you! I've literally titled it play while answering email. The story behind this is: while engaging my inbox during the week, I found a connection between two of my recent gladdictions, pandas and the music of Ryuichi Sakamoto. It turns out that they were both mentioned in an article about healing in a time of hectic urban stress, some 7 years ago. While not old enough to cycle back into fashion, I think relaxation is universal to just about all cultures, especially when we have so much technology and gadgets that continually ping and beep us. (It's for this reason I wish I could shut down my Second Life IMs like a cellphone, so I could focus on my immediate surroundings!)

Without any great plan, but feeling an urge to make something that would calm me while going through my email, I sat down and performed these 15 compositions. They're simple, for the most part slow-tempo'ed, and a little Impressionistic in their flavor. Jazzy interludes and broad chords are in attendance. This group isn't tied to any one time period, but another visual which inspired me was sitting in a grand hotel lobby with a coffee and the newspaper, watching lives go by. Or even playing a piano in that hotel for all to hear, mellowing the workers who sat down to chill out, have a snack (or even a full meal), and suches.

Should they appear too enigmatic, no, the 4-character titles aren't acronyms. They're literally characters for characters' sake, pseudo-like typos you might make while writing email. Composing a letter, composing a song, therein is another parallel!

As the music itself reaches outward and helps you feel a new sense of space, it soothes you if you're tense. At least that is my hope. I also used some additional reverberation effecting — meaning each of these piano pieces is placed in a different type of "room". Some are bigger than others, but in all, there's a common theme of space that runs through, tranquility admist the rushes.

If I may suggest: be more with loved ones. Even if it's on a computer.

May this add to the peace you feel.