Recorded live at a little club in the artist's hometown, this modern album of original piano music is full of moving ballads, cinematic drama, futuristic textures, exotic harmonies, inspired improvisation, lightning-fast fingers and soulful musical poems.

16 MP3 Songs in this album (64:23) !
Related styles: Classical: Piano solo, New Age: Neo-Classical, Featuring Piano

People who are interested in Hans Zimmer Rick Wakeman Vangelis should consider this download.


Details:
We are all waiting to reach maturity - right until we realize we already came to that point long ago without fully embracing the opportunities. Vlado Bizik, the composer and performer behind this unusual collection of music, decided not to waste this opportunity. Before sitting down behind the piano to perform the music on this album, he had been writing and producing all kinds of music â experimental electronica, pop, low-key soundtracks, world music, new age and even progressive rock. But he ever dreamed to record a piano album â always his instrument of choice and the one he writes all his music on. After many recorded songs and attempts to put a cohesive whole together, he decided the only way to present the concept to the public as a single piece of work is to perform it live.

âAlthough this kind of music is very abstract, each song carries a very precise meaning for the listeners to discover and I wanted to bring the message to the people face-to-face, to tell them the story as I feel it at the moment, not to read them a book,â he says about his decision to capture his first piano collection in a live setting only. The right time to do this kind of event for the very first time came in May 2011 at a rather small musical club called B2 in his hometown. The music, although all based on a single instrument, is surprisingly varied. There are very dark atmospheric compositions, followed by melodic vignettes that could have easily been realized as love poems, some pieces are very slow, thoughtful and full of feeling, some take the crazy route and showcase the lightning-fast performing skills and unconstrained love for music without borders.

âI played material that accumulated over the past couple of years as well as a few songs written just days before the event.â The compositions are all original, bar one tune that everyone present at the show seemed to recognize. âThereâs a traditional nursery rhyme in Slovakia called The Spotted Rooster, thatâs so simple and easy to play that everyone who messes around a musical instrument learns this as their very first tune. Some time ago, I played some variations on the melody to a friend and she liked it â to my surprise. So I decided to wrap the tune in a very unlikely arrangement and give it more of a sublime quality. Honestly, I never liked the result but funnily, all of my friends ended up loving and asking for this song more than any other.â The result is on the album and may the listener be the judge if it was worth it, whether he knows the original melody or not â it certainly stands well in both cases.

The rest of the songs are equally memorable, featuring singsong melodies, exotic unorthodox harmonies, dramatic twists, distinct chord progressions, spacey musical landscapes, libertine chromatic extravaganzas â and sometimes all of the above combined. The music feels like a soundtrack to a yet non-existent movie and although musical themes are rarely carried over across tracks, thereâs a very strong sense of continuity and conceptual coherence. And although the album is primarily presented as a piano work, other sounds arenât completely eschewed either â due to the cinematic nature of the music, Vlado throws in some atmospheric synth textures, layers and sound effects for good measure. One song even features a "full ensemble" electronic backing, but that doesnât stand in the way of live performance at all.

âI hope people will find something in this musical vision of mine and they will be able to find inspiration in it and escape from the regular world â at least for an hour or so. The recording is not perfect by any means. I had never tried to record and post-process a live performance by myself before and now I know thereâs a zillion of things I did just plain wrong in the sound department. But I hope it works for what it is and listeners will find an enjoyable experience.â The technical imperfections - if any at all - are the smallest of concerns. The recording has a very specific and original sound and is pleasant to listen to.

If you are ready to give a listen to music that does not try to break any walls, cause revolutions and discover whole new worlds, but rather uses conventions as a handy backdrop to explore new musical paths and ways to express ideas, then look no further, you will not be disappointed. They say you shouldnât judge a book by its cover, but in this case it seems fitting. Vlado Bizikâs music is just like its cover art â simple and seemingly straightforward, but hiding lots of metaphors and possible meanings. It makes you realize that we already live Within the Beyond â if we look at the mundane from a different perspective.

Aaron M. Orley