Here are several fascinating instances of one of the oldest and most iconic instruments in conventional music making purposeful appearances in abstract soundscapes. Whether the piano is sighing gorgeous melodic resolutions, atonal chords, or simply being softly plinked every once in a while, these tracks all communicate a sense of loneliness and withdrawal.
00:00. Marc Baron – “Un lac” from Un Salon Au Fond d’Un Lac (Potlatch, 2016)
07:32. Pedestrian Deposit – “You Can’t Help Me” from Fatale (Hospital, 2006)
09:44. Graham Lambkin & Áine O’Dwyer – “One and One Is Three” from Green Ways (Erstwhile, 2018)
13:25. Paco Rossique – “Snow at Niigata” from The Visit of the Stranger (2017-2018) (Linear Obsessional, 2019)
18:07. Matthew Atkins – part 5 of Porous Inner Montage (Minimal Resource Manipulation, 2018)
22:24. barn sour – side B of horses fucked over the head with bricks (Careful Catalog, 2019)
26:08. Graham Lambkin & Jason Lescalleet – “Lucy Song” from The Breadwinner (Erstwhile, 2008)
32:09. Ljudvägg – “Tids nog” from Varande (Purlieu, 2018)
34:24. clipping. – “Piano Burning” (comp. Annea Lockwood, 1968) from There Existed an Addiction to Blood (Sub Pop, 2019)
