June 8, 2009

Gonzales’s “Solo Piano” Album

Ryan and I are big fans of Canadian music. By that, I mean that a lot of the artists that we like happen to be from there, like Metric, Reverie Sound Revue, Feist, and Peaches, to name a few.

We noticed that both Feist and Peaches often collaborate with an artist called Gonzales, so finally we decided to explore his other works. I was pleasantly surprised by who and what I found: a pianist.

Jason Beck’s (aka Gonzales’) album Solo Piano, released in 2005, is a collection of short piano works, performed by Gonzales himself. The pieces are moody and minimalistic in nature, at times resembling the works of composers like Erik Satie. I encourage you to check out Gonzales’s piano music if you’re into Satie, or even film composers like Yann Tiersen. For the pianists out there, there’s a sheet music book as well.
Gonzales performing “Gogol.” This piece was used in one of my favorite films, Paris je t’aime.

8 comments:

  1. Woohoo, canadians!
    I just can't seem to appreciate piano music. There are some songs that I love so much, but I can never bring myself to care about the playing. Piano playing just doesn't involve a lot of actions, unlike say, heavy metal guitar.

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  2. "Gogol" is so simplistic and eerie, yet you can't stop listening to it! It's a song you'd hear on a rainy day in 19th century France or something.

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  3. Yeah this is Satie all over, quite nice. In the end it don't matter how many notes there are, just the principles governing them - you can have harmonically complex pop songs that are relatively easy to bash out. Lot of people get too into rote technique, it becomes a means to an end rather than a hurdle.
    By the way, thanks for doing your piano vids - I'm still a beginner on the keys and theory in general and as you must know, watching other people play is a good way of picking up or noting certain things down. Your videos have been really helpful in that regard, so cheers for that!
    Just one last question - do you know / like Ryuichi Sakamoto or Yellow Magic Orchestra? It was mental for me to hear the first two YMO albums and realise that they were essentially video game music - in the late 70s!! Even weirder to find out so many of the big game composers were actually influenced by them.
    Again, cheers and keep up the good work - with any luck there'll be a game out one day with your name on the OST (as trite as that sounds :P)

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  4. @Savin - "Speed" alone seems most impressive, but I don't believe it's the defining mark of a good musician. Many fast passages are easy to play - it just depends on the conditions surrounding it. What I like about Gonazales's performances are his attention to detail. He has a way breathing life into each note, especially the softer ones. It requires a different kind of mastery than shredding on a guitar does - BUT, I agree that action-packed performances are usually more visually interesting.

    @Nat - It does sound very influenced by romantic-era music.

    @GSK - I agree with that completely! Anyway, sounds like you're off to a good start. I'm also happy that someone could find my videos to be useful - imitating others is an efficient way to learn most anything.

    You know, Ryuichi Sakamoto sounds very familiar but I really can't recall listening to his music. I'll have to give Yellow Magic Orchestra a listen. Thanks for your kind comments! (Also, nice username.)

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    I have a feeling you'll enjoy this blog a lot.

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  6. I really love the sound coming from the piano. Every time that i listen this rhythm i feel comfortable and i can improve my mood. I like to read useful information too, so this blog is amazing. I must to say that i found another one,that i considered interesting too, called costa rica investment opportunities i invite you to visit it.

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  7. I didn't really like that movie. The music is very beautiful though. Thanks!

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