petak, 15. ožujka 2013.

Carlos Cipa - The Monarch And The Viceroy (2012)


CARLOS CIPA - The Monarch And The Viceroy image


Zašto bi netko slušao novu solo-klavirsku muziku nadahnutu Satieom i Debussyem kad već i klasične ima u izobilju? Ne znam, zapravo. Možda zato što je sve to fraktalno, pneumatično, anoreksično i historicidno.

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Carlos discovered his passion for music very early in his life. At the age of 6 he began taking classical piano lessons with various renowned teachers.
Ten years later after he started playing drums he became more and more interested in composition and improvisation. In the following years he made lots of experiences in many music styles like jazz, hardcore/punk, indie rock and orchestral music.
Influenced by Eric Satie and Claude Debussy his piano music impresses particularly because of its intensity and great attention to detail. It's not only enhanced by his classical background and symphonic film music works, but also by the experiences he made as drummer in different bands. Besides the piano he is interested in all different kinds of instruments, as experimenting takes an important role in his work.
Not playing just traditional concert rooms Carlos so far shared the stage with marvelous acts like Moritz Von Oswald Trio, Murcof, Blueneck, Kammerflimmer Kollektief, Philip Jeck, A Winged Victory For The Sullen, This Will Destroy You, Poppy Ackroyd or Valgeir Sigurdsson.


"Carlos Cipa is a 22 year old composer/musician residing in Munich (Germany) where he is currently studying composition. Carlos discovered his passion for music very early in his life. At the age of 6 he began taking classical piano lessons with various renowned teachers. Ten years later after he started playing drums he became more and more interested in composition and improvisation. In the following years he made lots of experiences in many music styles like jazz, hardcore/punk, indie rock and orchestral music. Influenced by Eric Satie and Claude Debussy his piano music impresses particularly because of its intensity and great attention to detail. It's not only enhanced by his classical background and symphonic film music works, but also by the experiences he made as drummer in different bands. Besides the piano he is interested in all different kinds of instruments, as experimenting takes an important role in his work." - boomkat
 
Today's contrived attempt at "neo-classical" music is admirable, but flawed at best.  Any musician with some strings and piano is slapped with the tag, sometimes without the slightest bit of effort.  Music that flows and moves beautifully because of the aformentioned instruements is seen as some transcended classical movement, even when thoughtful composition takes a back seat to style.  Today, many of the hype surrounds more minimalistic artists with ambient overtones.  As beautiful as this music may be, it lacks the intensity of what true classical music has.  Famous composers of the past imbued their brilliantly crafted music with a fiery passion most musicians can scarcly muster.  Carlos Cipa, on the other hand, does so masterfully.
Carlos Cipa is merely 22 years old.  From Germany, Cipa has been playing the piano for quite sometime, as evident by his masterful presentation.  The Monarch and the Viceroy, Cipa's debut, is a piano album that has all of the above traits: beauty, intensity and intelligence.  Cipa does not use floaty and insubstantial tricks to lull the listener into feeling false complexity, but rather, he hits the music head on with a wonderful tenacity.  The Monarch and the Viceroy is piano music through and through; an intimate outing with the instrument of which Cipa has a glorious understanding.  The lovely production ensures that the piano is the only thing effecting the music, as the bare bones sound allows for only the keys. Piano offerings in today's music scene are simple and light, overall a very digestible album for most listeners.  Cipa very lovingly has crafted the songs present, so that each stands as a challenging and interesting piece of music.
The album opens with the staggeringly strong one-two punch of "Perfect Circles" and "The Whole Truth."  True, these songs are densely layered and very emotive, but they have a "catchiness" that is nigh impossible to describe.  These songs--as well as the others--stick with you long after the music has stopped, and that is a testment to excellent songwriting.
The Monarch and the Viceroy is the sound of an instrumental musician making a statement, and one well worth hearing. -

I’m going to be honest here: I don’t listen to a lot of instrumental piano music.  Like, almost none at all. It’s not that I don’t like it. Really, on the rare occasion that I do listen to it, I really like it. A lot. That said, I couldn’t tell you who composed what, or whose piano style is new or inventive or anything like that. I am a layman.
So take this all into consideration when I say that Carlos Cipa’s “The Monarch and the Viceroy” is pretty fantastic.  I can’t really speak for his technique, or for his songwriting ability, but Carlos Cipa manages to take feelings, not just moods, but the whole range of things that come with an emotional landscape, and play them on his piano.
For instance, the opening track, ‘Perfect Circles’, evokes a cold winter day. The wind is blowing, and the “narrator” so to speak, is alone. He or she isn’t unnecessarily distraught or anything, just mildly sad, yet hopeful. And that’s just track one.
‘Human Stain’ has a warmer sound, yet it still makes me think of winter. I don’t know if years of watching the “Charlie Brown Christmas Special” have cemented the piano as a wintery instrument, or if Cipa intended this to be a cold album. On this track, the mood goes from hopeful to conflicted, from content to agitated, and back again.
As I said, I don’t have much experience with piano music, so it’s hard for me to compare it to anything else, though the aforementioned ‘Perfect Circles’ as well as ‘Morning Love’, kind of remind me of Bear McCreary’s work on the “Battlestar Galactica” score. in other words, it’s great.
So, I may not know too much about instrumental piano music, but I know enough to say that Carlos Cipa’s “The Monarch and the Viceroy” is pretty good stuff, and even if you’re not into this kind of thing, you might want to give it a try. -

Carlos Cipa – The Monarch and the Viceroy

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